The City of London Corporation has awarded Accenture a five-year contract to help it reduce its procurement costs by creating a new, world-class procurement shared service center.

Under this arrangement, Accenture will have a proportion of its fees directly tied to the savings achieved to demonstrate its commitment and confidence in its ability to deliver savings. Accenture will initially focus on delivering strategic sourcing -- savings from across the City’s diverse base of suppliers -- and by transforming the way that the City manages its procurement operations.

A new central City of London Procurement Service will be created to undertake all procurement and procure- to-pay functions. This service will be delivered by a joint team from the City and Accenture for the duration of the contract.

“The City is seeking to achieve savings and drive efficiencies through the way in which it conducts its procurement and procure-to-pay functions,” said Chris Bilsland, the City of London Corporation’s financial director. “We selected Accenture because of its proven success in delivering procurement services to organizations across the world, although, of course, this new contract will complement our commitment to local procurement. The City of London Corporation will continue to enjoy the legacy of both the financial and non-financial benefits after the contract period.”