TCS and Primark extend partnership for IT transformation

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has extended its partnership with Primark, a leading international fashion retailer, with a new five-year deal aimed at transforming Primark’s IT systems to support its ambitious plans for global growth.

This move expands on an eight-year collaboration between the two companies, which began in 2016.

The upcoming phase of this partnership will see TCS develop a product-based operating model powered by intelligent automation and DevOps technology. This initiative aims to provide Primark with a cohesive and real-time view of its technology and business processes, enhancing overall performance and enabling the agile ecosystem required for rapid store openings and other facets of business expansion.

Andrew Brothers, Chief Information Officer at Primark, commented, "To help support our ambitious growth plans we're expanding our partnership with TCS to build a robust, resilient, and reliable IT operating environment to become a more efficient, technology-led global organisation with the agility to quickly adapt to changing demands and requirements in a fast-paced industry. Working with TCS will provide us with the ongoing operational stability and accountability needed to support our business to scale. This will allow us to respond to market trends and customer preferences in a timely manner, ensuring that we continue to deliver quality products at the best value for our customers."

TCS has played a crucial role since 2016 in stabilising Primark’s core platforms and enhancing its cybersecurity capabilities. Over the years, improvements in these areas have been demonstrated by increasing NIST maturity scores, which measure the depth and maturity of a company’s cybersecurity procedures.

Under the new agreement, TCS will continue to ensure operational stability for Primark while promoting standardisation and consistency across its IT environment. This will be critical as Primark seeks to accelerate the speed of new store openings in its bid for global growth. The introduction of a more agile and product-based operating model, supported by intelligent automation and DevOps, will integrate application development, testing, and maintenance processes to create an efficient and responsive technological backbone.

Shekar Krishnan, Vice President and Head of Retail UK and Europe at TCS, stated, "The fashion industry is continually modernising its entire value chain—from conceptualisation, to design, to production and retailing—with innovation-led initiatives to achieve environmental, social, and governance goals. We're thrilled to support Primark's mission to offer affordable fashion for everyone and its global vision for growth."

This enhanced operational model aligns closely with Primark's business functions and priorities, providing the retailer with a comprehensive, real-time overview of its technology and processes. This alignment is expected to significantly improve performance and create the agile ecosystem required to meet Primark’s rapid growth objectives.

TCS has a substantial footprint in the UK market and has established itself as a prominent IT service provider. The company works with around 200 well-known UK businesses, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Sainsbury’s, Nationwide, M&S, Asda, and Boots. With a workforce of 23,000 people in the UK and Ireland, TCS has been recognised as a leading IT service provider for customer satisfaction according to an independent survey of CIOs of the largest IT spending organisations in the UK.