International Business Machine (IBM) as part of its 100 years anniversary has announced the opening of a new procurement centre in Ghana to support IBM’s rapid business growth in the region and lay the foundation for additional industry growth initiatives throughout the continent.
The new Accra centre will serve clients and business partners in Ghana and 16 other African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Seychelles, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The procurement centre opening coincided with the launch of the IBM 2011 “Driving Efficiency” road show.
In a presentation, the Head of Strategic Lead, Muhammed El Shanawany said storage efficiency expectations continue to rise as information keep doubling from 18-24 months, 20 -40 per cent growth per year with 70 percent of IT budget spent on management systems. IBM will staff the procurement centre with local talent to help ensure the development of new skills for a modern workforce and to help stimulate economic growth market.
“IBM has made substantial investments in Ghana over the past few years in terms of skills development and we see opportunities for further development as business and government leaders capture the potential of information technology to transform their enterprises and support efforts to build a smarter planet,” said Joe Mensah, General Manager of IBM Ghana.
Procurement services to support the region will include activities such as purchase order creation, amendments and supplier invoice management, all designed to drive client value, productivity, and effective supplier management. IBM will staff the procurement center with local talent to help ensure the development of new skills for a modern workforce, and to help stimulate economic growth in the region.
“This center opening is another example of IBM’s efforts to become the world’s premier globally integrated enterprise,” said Fran O’Sullivan, general manager, IBM Integrated Supply Chain. “The expansion of our procurement operations in Ghana will help extend IBM’s business value and service in an important growth market.”
The new procurement center opening is being announced at the launch of the IBM 2011 “Driving Efficiency” Roadshow. The customer conference will bring nearly 200 IT managers and professionals together to review IBM systems and technology in an effort to drive efficiency and growth for Ghanaian businesses. IBM previously announced a collaborative partnership with the University of Ghana. Through this partnership, IBM provided educational programming, curricula and technology experts to the university.
It is however believed that the launch of the new procurement center in Ghana, though extending IBM’s commitment to supplier diversity and environmental responsibility in Africa, may be a subtle way of reducing the corporate presence of the global brand in West Africa's biggest economy, Nigeria. Quoting unnamed staff of IBM in Nigeria, sources claim that an official notice has been received to the effect that majority of the west African operations of IBM be re-directed to Ghana from Nigeria. It is believed that the move is not unconnected with the persistent infrastructural and security concerns in Nigeria at the moment.
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