Andersen Consulting and J.D. Edwards announce global strategic alliance

Andersen Consulting and J.D. Edwards & Company have entered into a strategic alliance to provide professional services, business strategy and enterprise software products targeting companies world-wide.
Andersen Consulting, the world's largest management and technology consultancy, and J.D. Edwards, one of the world's largest enterprise business software providers, will be preferred business partners in more than 100 countries. The companies will collaborate to transform organisations' information infrastructures by developing strategies, designing new business processes to achieve greater business value, and helping manage pervasive organisational change.

As part of joint efforts to help customers achieve greater return on their enterprise solution investments, the J.D. Edwards software portfolio will be installed in all Andersen Consulting Enterprise Business Solution Centres. The firm's 33 Enterprise Business Solution Centres around the world enable on-site experts to collaborate and share knowledge and research in e-commerce, business process reengineering, and change management. Andersen Consulting is currently training 100 consultants on J.D. Edwards software products and has started the process of building a training delivery capability across its Global Solution Centre network.

"This alliance is part of Andersen Consulting's strategy of forging deep relationships with fast-growing companies to transform their business infrastructure and to integrate areas such as electronic commerce, supply chain optimisation, customer relationship management, and human resources," said Karl E. Newkirk, Managing Partner, Enterprise Business Solutions for Andersen Consulting. "The alliance will tackle business and operational issues across the full range of industries, especially benefiting from J.D. Edwards' core strengths in the chemicals, consumer products, automotive, industrial equipment, and forest products industries."
"Smart companies recognise the need to control their IT systems if they're to manage their expansion successfully. This is the most compelling reason ever for them to purchase enterprise solutions that can adapt quickly to opportunity," said Douglas S. Massingill, president and CEO of J.D. Edwards. "This alliance builds upon our Idea to Action strategy of enabling customers to change their systems as needs dictate, ensuring they have predictable and viable solutions as times and technologies change."

Andersen Consulting is a $ 8.3 bn global management and technology consulting organisation whose mission is to help its clients change to be more successful. The organisation works with clients from a wide range of industries to link their people, processes and technologies to their strategies. The firm's fast-growing Enterprise Business Solutions line of business is comprised of more than 5,000 consultants. Andersen Consulting has approximately 65,000 people in 48 countries.

J.D. Edwards provides Idea to Action software for managing the enterprise and supply chain. The Company's integrated applications give customers control over their front office, manufacturing, logistics/distribution, human resources and finance processes for the consumer products, industrial and services industries. Founded in 1977, J.D. Edwards is headquartered in Denver and posted fiscal 1998 revenues of $ 934 mm.