Credit: Dreamstime
The Department of Defence has awarded IBM Services Australia a $95.5 million contract that will see the vendor deliver the initial design of the Defence Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) program.
Under the contract, IBM Services will implement SAP S/4HANA, acting as a systems integrator for the first tranche of the project, which covers enterprise logistics and land materiel maintenance functions.
IBM will also be involved in high-level design for subsequent ERP tranches and set the foundation elements for finance and human resources.
The vendor said it plans to work with the following delivery partners: COSOL; Dalmation 6; DASC; DXC Technology; Ernst & Young (Plaut); Fujitsu; Infosys; KBR; Noetic; Southern Cross; Synchrony Global; TAMS; XKG and Veritec.
The contract, awarded on 22 July, will run for 18 months and replace a wide range of existing end of life systems.
The Defence ERP program is Defence’s largest-scale Information Communication Technology transformation program that will meet Australian Defence Force demands as it modernises capabilities and builds high-performing supply chains, Defence said in a statement.
The ERP program plans to roll out initial capability for finance reporting in 2020, followed by a larger logistics and maintenance capability in 2022.
"It will provide a near real-time view of critical information across Defence to better inform decision making," it said in a statement.
According to IBM A/NZ managing director David La Rose the new deal is a testament to IBM's 40-year partnership with the Australian Government, and more than two decades of working with the Department of Defence.
"Making the best-informed decision is key for the Department of Defence,” said Damien Bueno, president and managing director at SAP Australia and New Zealand.
"With SAP S/4HANA, Defence can leverage embedded intelligence and deliver real-time insight to critical business operations. As the foundation of an organisation-wide transformation, SAP S/4HANA will help optimise the value of important defence investments and resources, in addition to underpinning future innovation," Bueno added.
