OREANDA-NEWS. Fujitsu today announced that it has been selected as a partner by Halfords Group plc. Under the terms of the three-year contract, Fujitsu will provide ongoing IT maintenance and support for Halfords 465 stores across the UK & Ireland. The move supports Halfords' wider business objective of IT becoming an enabler for future growth.

Halfords has set a three-year plan in place that will see it transform its IT business in line with its people, processes, partners and technology. Halfords is currently reviewing its IT suppliers with an aim to significantly reduce to a smaller set of strategic relationships. Following a competitive tender Halfords chose Fujitsu to manage and maintain its IT hardware within the UK and Ireland stores.

"Providing a strong IT maintenance service to our colleagues in store enables them to deliver great service to our customers," said Anna Barsby, CIO, Halfords. "Fujitsu was a natural choice, as a partner with tried and tested credentials which would strive to help us continuously improve the way we run our business. Beyond this contract, we're talking to Fujitsu about a number of future projects and are looking forward to welcoming them on board as one of our strategic partners."

"This is a really exciting time to work with Halfords as it transforms its approach to IT," said Paul Patterson, Executive Director, Fujitsu UK & Ireland. "Retail is an incredibly fast-paced sector to operate in - and ensuring that all technology is running smoothly is a critical part of providing the best service to customers. The next few years isn't simply about maintaining the organisation's IT, but also about working together to identify new technologies that can ensure that Halfords IT platform will facilitate sustainable long-term growth."