Accenture and Whirlpool Corporation Sign Global Application Outsourcing Contract

Whirlpool has been implementing SAP in various regions for thepast several years. Accenture helped Whirlpool implement SAP in itsLatin America operation and has been providing support for thoseapplications on an outsourced basis since 1998. This new contractextends Accenture's support to provide consolidated global applicationmanagement services for SAP for all regions where Whirlpool operates.

"Our contract with Accenture is part of our plan to transform ourglobal information systems," said Esat Sezer, corporate vice presidentand CIO, Whirlpool Corporation. "It is an important element, whichshould help enable our strategic vision to develop a single globalapplication management model, to focus Whirlpool resources onstrategic capabilities and to maximize the return on applicationmanagement investments."

"Our mandate is to help provide Whirlpool achieve a higher degreeof flexibility and lower its costs for SAP application support," saidKevin Dooley, senior executive, Accenture Industrial Equipmentpractice. "As companies prepare for future growth, they are smart toconsider outsourcing as a way to achieve greater standardization,increased efficiencies, reduced costs and better tools to maximizetheir return on IT investments."

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology servicesand outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenturecollaborates with its clients to help them become high-performancebusinesses and governments. With deep industry and business processexpertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenturecan mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clientsimprove their performance. With more than 129,000 people in 48countries, the company generated net revenues of US$15.55 billion forthe fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005. Its home page iswww.accenture.com.