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FREMONT, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Seeking to streamline its source-to-settle processes for indirect procurement, Ameren Corporation, a St. Louis-based provider of electric and natural gas utilities to 2.4 million customers in Missouri and Illinois, has successfully partnered with Infosys Technologies Ltd to deploy a comprehensive solution built around the Oracle(r) Advanced Procurement application suite. As a result, the company will cut $25 million in costs by improving sourcing, procurement and accounts payable processes, Infosys announced today.
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Mark Brandt, Ameren Manager, Supply Chain
“The potential for unlocking the value of the supply chain has never been greater. Ameren has moved the role of purchasing from being a back-office support organization to a front-end strategic partner with the generation, transmission and distribution businesses.”
“We recognized early on that while our materials supply chain had been improved substantially, the services supply chain could yield strong savings through robust processes and integrated systems to get full value for the 60% of indirect spend that it represents,” Brandt said. “Infosys, with their experience in this area and strong systems integration skills, made a perfect partner to help us design and implement the solution.”
“We worked together with key stakeholders across business units to ensure that their needs were built into a common design and that there was buy-in all the way through the implementation process to achieve the expected results.”
“We are delighted with the fact that we were able to execute this project within the planned budget and timetable. Following the implementation, we were able to stabilize quickly, allowing Ameren to focus on process and system adoption and reap immediate benefits.”
Jay Knobbe, Ameren Manager for Application Development
“This Source-to-Settle program required the close involvement of hundreds of users and IT personnel across multiple business units. Our business and IT personnel worked closely with Infosys team members to examine current processes, prototype the proposed solution and identify functionality gaps. We then translated the design into a very smooth implementation, while creating a truly collaborative environment where everyone adopted a “can do” attitude that ignited the whole team.”
“The Infosys team was very experienced and easy to work with. We appreciated their speed to results, flexibility and functional skills in this area, along with their deep knowledge of Oracle Applications and systems integration disciplines. One of the unique enablers in this project was the Contractor Cost Tracking and Management module developed by Infosys that neatly dovetailed into the Oracle Applications, avoiding data and system redundancy while powering the best of Oracle’s functionality. We’re leveraging some of the best practices used on this project, such as the testing methodologies, in other projects.”
Peter Punwani, Solution Consulting Head, Infosys Process Industry Practice
“Ameren is a very progressive organization that early on recognized the value in tackling this area of indirect procurement, with special emphasis on services procurement. While this is low-hanging fruit in most Fortune 500 companies, it takes a unique focus on strategy, processes, systems, change management and benefits realization to truly unlock the value.”
“We were able to achieve significant results with the support of Ameren’s top-notch Program Management Office; active supply chain leadership and committed IT executives; a laser-like focus on expected results; and the substantial involvement of over a hundred users and IT personnel across multiple business units. We were truly impressed when twice as many users volunteered to perform the user testing than originally planned! It was a huge testimonial to the people of Ameren — and their personal commitment to make this a successful implementation.”
Dennis Weisenborn, Ameren Vice President, Supply Services
“We are well on our way to achieving savings of over $25 million per year from these improvements, as well as addressing lead times, information access and many other items relating to sourcing and contract management. This is truly a case of using supply chain capabilities as an enabler for cost reduction and to allow the supply chain to better meet the needs of our internal partners.”
Infosys Technologies is a Certified Advantage Partner in Oracle PartnerNetwork.
About Ameren
A Fortune 500 company, Ameren Corporation provides energy services across 64,000 square miles in Missouri and Illinois; it’s Missouri operating company — AmerenUE — is the state’s largest electric utility company and the third largest distributor of natural gas. Its Illinois operating companies — AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO and AmerenIP — together form the state’s second largest electric utility company; together they serve almost 900,000 natural gas customers throughout Illinois.
About Infosys Technologies Limited
Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:INFY- News ) defines, designs and delivers IT-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win in a flat world. These solutions focus on providing strategic differentiation and operational superiority to clients. Infosys creates these solutions for its clients by leveraging its domain and business expertise along with a complete range of services. With Infosys, clients are assured of a transparent business partner, world-class processes, speed of execution and the power to stretch their IT budget by leveraging the Global Delivery Model that Infosys pioneered. Infosys has 75,000 employees in 44 offices worldwide. Infosys is part of the NASDAQ-100 Index. For more information visit www.infosys.com. Cheers
On 9/12/07, Eshers wrote: > > The Indian IT companies have posted record growth in the past decade. > However, if the past year’s stock performance is anything to go by, then one > can sense skepticism in the minds of analysts and investors regarding the > future prospects. The key concerns are the rising rupee, domestic salary > hikes, reduction in tax sops and whether these companies are capable of > moving up the value chain. > > > > The > objective of this article is to determine whether TECSYS Inc. [TSE:TCS], > Infosys Technologies Limited (INFY) and Wipro (WIT), the top three Indian IT > companies qualify as a long term investment bet or should investors put > their faith in MNCs like IBM (IBM), Electronic Data Systems Corporation > (EDS) and Accenture (ACN). > > IBM has been in India for about a decade and a half now and is recruiting > at an unprecedented rate. Despite several years of experience, IBM doesn’t > seem to be getting the onsite-offshore model right. Most engineers or > consultants who work in IBM India play “passing the pillow” with the service > requests, not due to lack of competency but because they are not authorized > to work on them. After making a few rounds offshore these requests are > finally resolved onsite ( USA or Europe). The volume of work done offshore > is very low, and the resolution time very high, making the process > inefficient. > > Indian companies, on the other hand, have streamlined offshore processes. > Most companies are CMMi Level 5 certified and ensure that more work is done > from India. At the same time the aspiration of employees to work onsite is > also taken care of. As the hub of activities for these companies is in > India, most resources who work onsite are sent from here thereby reducing > the onsite employee and overhead costs. Currently IBM has only 14% of > employees in India. > > The number of management layers (bands) at IBM is unbelievably high and no > Indian can even dream of getting a foot into the IBM corporate headquarters. > Infy’s HQ is in Bangalore, only stone’s throw from my home, that serves the > career aspirations of the employees better. To put things in perspective, > the attrition rate at Infy is about 13% (excluding Progeon) and in IBM India > it is close to 22%, fifty percent of them leaving within the first six > months. > > The average salaries of Indian software engineers is about Rs 12000 per > month and employees with prior work experience expect a monthly income of > about Rs 25000 (that translates to $ 7200 per year). Even if these salaries > double in the next 3 years, it will only be $15,000 per year. I cannot > imagine IBM recruiting in US or anywhere in the world at that rate. > > My guess is it will be impossible for IBM/EDS/Accenture to recruit > massively in India and at the same time handle the Indian aspirations. > > Another reason why Investment in Wipro, TCS and Infy makes more sense than > in IBM and the likes, is the fact that these top tier IT companies can quite > easily move up the value chain in the IT industry. The core high end IT > consultancy market is huge, still vastly open and no single company has a > monopoly. Since most of these (Indian) companies are cash rich and have zero > debt on their balance sheet, they can raise huge amounts of debt and acquire > companies much larger than they are. For example, Infy can acquire > controlling stake in EDS (market cap $ 11.5 billion) by raising long term > debt, making the debt equity ratio higher but yet keep it at comfortable > levels. Or they can acquire smaller companies that form a strategic fit and > provide competency in consultancy services, something that Wipro has already > been doing in the past few years. > > The only aspect that these companies need to gear up to, in my opinion, is > the fact that the market for Indian and other Asian companies’ IT needs is > rapidly growing. Catering to the Indian and Asian companies’ IT needs would > not only add to the topline but also reduce the currency appreciation risk > to a great extent. > > Regarding the tax sops, withdrawal of these sops can in one way be a boon > to the top tier companies, hitting the margins of smaller companies that > cannot scale up easily and making them less competitive. Hence, the clients > of these companies may also move to the bigger IT firms. > > So, with the strategy in the right direction and solid execution > capabilities in place, I think these companies can beat the MNCs. Maybe one > will realize this looking at the rear view mirror. > Source : Seekingalpha > > cheers > > On 9/4/07, Eshers wrote: > > > > Company Recognized for its Success Bolstering Chemical Industry Leader’s > > Competitiveness > > > > BANGALORE, India–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: > > INFY - News) > > today announced that it has won Eastman Chemical Company’s Supplier > > Excellence Award for superior performance and service for 2006. As a > > recognized supplier of global information technology (IT) services, Infosys > > has earned the status assigned to Eastman’s most valued suppliers. > > > > ADVERTISEMENT > > The designation signifies consistent performance in providing Eastman, a > > $7.5 billion chemical company, with high quality, value-added services and > > working on its behalf to improve efficiency and competitiveness in an > > ever-changing and challenging global marketplace. > > > > “We are proud to present Infosys with the distinguished Eastman Supplier > > Excellence Award for meeting Eastman’s high quality expectations in > > consulting, software development, and application maintenance services,” > > said Keith Sturgill, vice president and chief information officer, Eastman > > Chemical Company. “Only a couple of our IT suppliers achieve the stringent > > requirements that merit earning this award. Infosys’ contributions toward > > the customer-supplier relationship, focus on customer satisfaction and > > strategic collaboration have enabled Eastman and our IT organization to > > surpass its strategic goals.” > > > > “Our relationship with Eastman spans seven years and multiple service > > capacities — we are very pleased that we have received this prestigious > > award,” said Naren Koduvattat, vice president and head of Resources, Energy, > > Utilities, Infosys Technologies. “Our relationship with Eastman is another > > example of a strong partnership in the chemical industry and further > > demonstrates Infosys’ commitment to providing high value solutions and > > services with a focus on business results.” > > > > About Eastman Chemical Company > > > > Cheers > > > > On 8/30/07, Pratik wrote: > > > > > > > > > I think Infy Q2 numbers will be good…… > > > > > > 1) they have increased rates by 2-3 % > > > 2) they have given guidance at Rs. 40.48 vs $ — now it is > > > above Rs.41 since last few days > > > > > > Regards > > > > > > Pratik > > > > > > > > > On Aug 30, 7:44 am, Eshers wrote: > > > > Software services provider Infosys Technologies today said that > > > its US > > > > clients had assured to increase offshoring. The company, which > > > has > > > > increased its billing rates by 3-4 per cent on new contracts and 2-3 > > > per > > > > cent on old ones, said that it could win more business from the US, > > > if the > > > > subprime crisis curbed spending there and drove companies to cheaper > > > service > > > > providers in other countries. It would, however, like to change > > > its > > > > revenue mix by reducing its dependence on the US, bringing the > > > revenue share > > > > down from the current 60 per cent to 50 per cent, while increasing > > > Europe’s > > > > share from 26 to 30 per cent. The rest of the world would account > > > for 20 per > > > > cent of its revenue, compared with 14 per cent now. The company’s > > > > > > > earnings forecasts would remain unchanged as its back office unit, > > > which > > > > provides services such as call-centre operations, has been largely > > > > unaffected by the mortgage crisis. GreenPoint Mortgage, an arm of > > > > > > > financial services company Capital One, which contributed 3-4 per > > > cent of > > > > Infosys BPO revenue, had declared bankruptcy on August 20. “We > > > have not > > > > seen any slowdown in terms of number of deals or any such thing from > > > the US > > > > yet. Even when companies are looking to cut costs, the offshoring > > > model > > > > makes sense,” S Gopalakrishnan, the company’s chief executive, told > > > > reporters in Mumbai. The company’s exposure to the subprime and > > > mortgage > > > > industry is about 0.5 per cent. Infosys has four customers from the > > > banking > > > > vertical, which have some exposure in the mortgage space. “The > > > impact of > > > > the subprime crisis will be close to a $1 million this year. But we > > > feel > > > > that large companies can absorb such losses better than the smaller > > > > companies,” said Gopalakrishnan. He said the business environment > > > was > > > > more positive in Europe than in the US. “They (Europeans) have woken > > > up to > > > > the fact that they need to become more aggressive in leveraging this > > > > globalisation phenomenon.” While pointing to talent shortage as > > > the > > > > biggest challenge facing the information technology and other > > > sectors, > > > > especially retail, telecoms and infrastructure, he said the rapidly > > > > appreciating rupee also posed a serious problem. Infosys shares > > > have > > > > fallen 5 per cent in the past three months against a 2.8 per cent > > > gain for > > > > the Sensitive Index of the Bombay Stock Exchange. > > > > Source : BS… > > > > > > > > read more >> > > > > > > > > Cheers > > > > > > > > On 8/29/07, Eshers wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > (Adds comments on rupee, China, competition) > > > > > > > > > By Charlotte Cooper > > > > > > > > > MUMBAI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Indian software services exporter > > > Infosys > > > > > Technologies Ltd ( INFY.BO : > > > Quote, > > > > > Profile > > >, > > > > > Research > > >) > > > > > is reducing its dependence on U.S. business through faster growth > > > in other > > > > > markets, but is not yet seeing a slowdown in U.S . deals, its > > > chief > > > > > executive said. > > > > > > > > > S. Gopalakrishnan told reporters on Wednesday that while the > > > business > > > > > environment was more positive in Europe, U.S. clients were saying > > > they > > > > > would increase their offshoring budgets if the U.S. economy slowed > > > down. > > > > > > > > > And India’s second-largest software services exporter could raise > > > billing > > > > > rates by 3 to 4 percent for new contracts and 2 to 3 percent for > > > existing > > > > > contracts, he said. > > > > > > > > > “From a geography perspective, Europe seems to be positive. > > > Australia is > > > > > also positive,” Gopalakrishnan said. > > > > > > > > > This was partly because Infosys was investing more in those > > > markets, and > > > > > also because these regions were catching up with the U.S. in > > > outsourcing > > > > > work. > > > > > > > > > “They have suddenly woken up to the fact they need to become more > > > > > aggressive in leveraging this globalisation phenomenon.” > > > > > > > > > Infosys shares ended down 2.6 percent at 1,834 rupees in a Mumbai > > > market > > > > > (.BSESN: Quote > > >, > > > > > Profile > > >, > > > > > Research > > >) > > > > > that finished up 0.5 percent. > > > > > > > > > Shares in Infosys, whose clients include ABN AMRO ( AAH.AS > > http://aah.as/>: > > > > > Quote , > > > Profile, > > > > > Research > > >), > > > > > Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote > > >, > > > > > Profile > > >, > > > > > Research > > >) and > > > > > Airbus (EAD.PA : Quote > > >, > > > > > Profile > > >, > > > > > Research > > >), > > > > > have fallen 18.1 percent so far this year, underperforming the > > > sector > > > > > index, which has declined 14.6 percent. > > > > > > > > > Gopalakrishnan said Infosys was not overly worried about a U.S. > > > slowdown, > > > > > because in a difficult environment one of the best options for > > > firms was to > > > > > go offshore. > > > > > > > > > “When you outsource, one of the key benefits is that you are > > > converting > > > > > your fixed cost into variable cost,” he said. > > > > > > > > > Amitabh Choudhry, CEO of Infosys BPO, said in a tougher > > > environment, some > > > > > outsourcing firms might try to win deals by cutting prices, but > > > the market > > > > > was big enough for everyone. > > > > > > > > > “You might see some deals happening at ridiculous rates, and I’m > > > just > > > > > hoping better sense will prevail and people will actually stick to > > > the right > > > > > rates,” Choudhry said. > > > > > > > > > “The demand is big enough, and the flow is big enough; there’s > > > enough fish > > > > > to fry for a lot of people.” > > > > > > > > > FX AND TALENT CHALLENGES > > > > > > > > > Gopalakrishnan said the biggest long-term challenge for all Indian > > > > > industries was shortage of talent, not just in IT but in retail, > > > telecoms > > > > > and infrastructure. > > > > > > > > > The rupee was also a challenge if it rose very rapidly. > > > > > > > > > Last month, the rupee hit a nine-year high of 40.20 per > > > dollar, > > > > > taking its gains for the year to 10 percent, but it has since > > > weakened past > > > > > 41. Infosys has already hedged $925 million at 40.58 rupees. > > > > > > > > > Gopalakrishnan said operations in China had not picked up as > > > quickly as > > > > > the firm had wanted, but the country remained important as it > > > turned out > > > > > 650,000 engineers a year, compared with 450,000 in India and > > > 100,000 in the > > > > > United States. > > > > > > > > > “Long-term, you can’t ignore China,” he said. > > > > > > > > > Nasdaq-listed Infosys (INFY.O: Quote > > >, > > > > > Profile > > >, > > > > > Research > > >) > > > > > would like to see 50 percent of its revenues coming from the U.S., > > > 30 > > > > > percent from Europe and 20 percent from the rest of the world. > > > > > > > > > “We are close to that, but not there yet. There are no target > > > dates,” > > > > > Gopalakrishnan said. > > > > > > > > > The U.S. accounts for about 60 percent of the company’s revenues, > > > with > > > > > Europe at 26 percent and growing rapidly. > > > > > > > > > “We’re not seeing any slowdown in terms of deals from the U.S. > > > yet, but we > > > > > have to wait and see,” he said. (Additional reporting by Himangshu > > > Watts) > > > > > Cheers > > > > > > > > > On 8/28/07, Eshers wrote: > > > > > > > > > > BANGALORE, India - > > > > > > > > > > Indian companies that process U.S. mortgages are reporting fewer > > > work > > > > > > orders and diminishing revenue because of the subprime loan > > > fallout > > > > > > overseas. > > > > > > > > > > Several companies have moved employees once assigned to mortgage > > > > > > documentation and related services to other areas. There is a > > > fear of > > > > > > layoffs should the crisis in the United States continue. > > > > > > > > > > As U.S. lenders tighten credit or close down, the volume of > > > paper work > > > > > > done by Indian outsourcing companies declines because of fewer > > > applicants > > > > > > and fewer loans. > > > > > > > > > > “There are likely to be staff cuts, but companies will first try > > > and > > > > > > redeploy them toward other services,” said Rishi Maheshwari, an > > > analyst at > > > > > > Networth Stock Broking. > > > > > > > > > > Mumbai-based WNS Holdings is in the process of redeploying 500 > > > of its > > > > > > staff after one of its top 10 clients - First Magnus Financial > > > Corp. - filed > > > > > > for bankruptcy in the U.S. > > > > > > > > > > Bangalore-based *Infosys Technologies Ltd.* (nasdaq: INFY- > > > news > > > > > > - > > > people > > > > > > > > >) > > > > > > and iGate Global Solutions Ltd. have also redeployed about 50 > > > and 100 staff > > > > > > respectively due to the winding up of their business with > > > GreenPoint. > > > > > > > > > > iGate said the share of mortgage processing in its total revenue > > > fell > > > > > > from 10 percent to about 7 percent over the past two quarters > > > because of > > > > > > “negligible contribution from GreenPoint.” > > > > > > > > > > Bigger companies such as Infosys Technologies Ltd. say they do > > > not face > > > > > > much downside as mortgage processing forms a very small part of > > > their > > > > > > business. > > > > > > > > > > “There will be some impact on us, though minimal, maybe less > > > than a > > > > > > million dollars,” said Amitabh Chaudhury, who heads the > > > company’s business > > > > > > processing unit. > > > > > > > > > > The full impact will be “clearer in the next two to three > > > months” once > > > > > > U.S. companies complete their year-end budget evaluations, > > > Maheshwari > > > > > > said. > > > > > > > > > > Some companies feel redeploying staff would be cost prohibitive. > > > > > > > > > > Chief Financial Officer Alok Misra at Mphasis Ltd. indicated his > > > company > > > > > > might be forced to cut some jobs. “Redeploying staff … is > > > costly as it > > > > > > involves retraining,” Misra said. > > > > > > > > > > Mphasis, based in the western Indian city of Pune, is majority > > > owned by > > > > > > EDS Corp. of the United States. > > > > > > > > > > *Copyright 2007 Associated Press* > > > > > > Cheers > > > > > > > > > > On 7/11/07, Eshers wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > * > > > > > > > > > > > Q1 revenues grew by 25.1% year on year; sequential growth > > > flat- Hide quoted text - > > > > > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > — > > I work in the IT industry and passionate about markets. Active in the > > markets for the last 5 years. Reading about legends like Buffett, Munger, > > Peter lynch etc gave some good insights about investing and markets.. Great > > Fan of Ramesh Damani.. His chats since rediff days helped me a lot to > > understand and learn (whatever little i have learned) about markets. > > > > Prefer concenrated Portfolio and long-term investing. My core holdings > > are Infosys, Nucleus, KLG Systel, M&M , PLNG.I normally avoid cyclicals, > > Commodities.. > > > > > > > — > I work in the IT industry and passionate about markets. Active in the > markets for the last 5 years. Reading about legends like Buffett, Munger, > Peter lynch etc gave some good insights about investing and markets.. Great > Fan of Ramesh Damani.. His chats since rediff days helped me a lot to > understand and learn (whatever little i have learned) about markets. > > Prefer concenrated Portfolio and long-term investing. My core holdings are > Infosys, Nucleus, KLG Systel, M&M , PLNG.I normally avoid cyclicals, > Commodities.. > >