Wal-Mart plans IT back office in Bangalore

By siliconindia   |   Saturday, 21 June 2008, 01:26 IST
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Bangalore: Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, plans to set up a captive IT/ITeS unit in India's tech capital, with the potential to create several jobs, sources said. The $388 billion company, based in Bentonville in the U.S., has ongoing outsourcing ties with firms like Infosys and has done a recce on developing the captive shared services center to cater to multiple functions in its worldwide operations. Apart from IT development and maintenance, a shared services center also normally supports different parts of a global enterprise such as HR, finance and accounting. While a definite call on the captive unit is still pending, Wal-Mart is believed to have looked at senior tech resources to take the idea forward. "Wal-Mart is expanding its IT resources globally, including in India, to support its growing international business and its operations in India. However, we have made no further announcements to that growth. We currently have no plans for a captive development center in India," a Wal-Mart spokesperson said. In February this year, the retailer said it was expanding IT staffing in India through outsourcing deals with unidentified vendors. The press statement at the time made a specific mention that Wal-Mart was expanding outsourcing even as it created several hundred new jobs in Northwest Arkansas in the U.S. The development comes when there is a raging but inconclusive debate about the long-term viability of captive IT units on concerns of escalating costs. But several global retailers like Tesco, Target and Supervalu have set up captive support centers in Bangalore in the last three-four years.