Here's the Sara Lee story. Hope it hasn't been posted yet either.
Fez
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Sara Lee <SLE.N> picks Dell <DELL.O> for computers
CHICAGO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Sara Lee Corp. said Friday it had selected Dell Computer Corp. as the sole provider of personal computer hardware and related peripheral equipment.
Sara Lee said in a statement the two year agreement would generate "significant" annual savings.
Sara Lee, which makes consumer packaged food goods and counts Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Hanes, Coach and Playtex among its brand names, said it estimated that its personal computer purchases would exceed $30 million annually.
It said that beginning this month, it will purchase all new desktop and laptop personal computers exclusively from Dell, which will customize each system to meet specific end-user needs, whether the employee works at Sara Lee's Chicago headquarters or at any of the corporation's global operating units. Prior to the Dell deal, Sara Lee offered general procurement guidelines to its divisions and regional offices for PC purchases, without requiring standardization.
C. Steven McMillan, president and chief operating officer of Sara Lee, said in the statement that the agreement is one of several cost-saving initiatives considered within the company's worldwide operations as part of its restructuring program announced in September 1997.
"In addition to leveraging our large-scale computer purchases, we are able to reduce the administrative costs associated with maintaining multiple hardware and software platforms," Sara Lee chief financial officer Judith Sprieser said in the statement. Sara Lee shares were up 1/16 at 56-5/8 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
10:23 10-23-98 |
