Dive Brief:
- The Magnum Ice Cream Company struck long-term partnerships with six key technology vendors that will help establish the ice cream giant’s digital foundation, according to a Thursday announcement. The company selected Accenture, HCLTech, Kinaxis, Microsoft, Salesforce and SAP to build its future operating model in the aftermath of its 2025 spinoff from Unilever.
- Kinaxis, Microsoft, SAP and Salesforce will provide The Magnum Ice Cream Company’s core SaaS technologies for its tech stack while Accenture and HCLTech will operate as deployment partners. The company plans to introduce the platforms in waves over the next 18 months as it completes its exit from Unilever’s IT systems by the end of 2027.
- “Establishing our own technology stack is a significant milestone, and we have chosen partners with the scale and capability to support us over the long-term,” Sandeep Desai, chief supply chain and operations officer for The Magnum Ice Cream Company, said in the announcement.
Dive Insight:
The Magnum Ice Cream Company’s selection of core technology vendors to build its tech stack marks the latest step in its plan to create an AI-ready foundation from the ground up.
The ice cream giant — home to brands including Yasso, Breyers and Ben & Jerry’s — has been operating as a standalone company under transition services agreements with Unilever for IT functionality and support. As it prepares for the agreements to come to an end, The Magnum Ice Cream Company is gearing up to transition to its own IT services unencumbered by legacy systems.
Selecting technology partners that are investing in AI capabilities was a critical consideration for The Magnum Ice Cream Company, Michael Friedlander, CIO of the Americas, told CIO Dive in an April interview. The company also plans to avoid highly customized systems, which Friedlander said could impede its ability to rapidly scale and upgrade.
Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure will underpin the company's digital workplace, while Salesforce will provide a single, standardized CRM for market tools and processes. SAP’s ERP system will operate across finance, supply chain and operations. Kinaxis will serve as the company’s supply chain, sales and operations planning hub.
Accenture will lead deployment of The Magnum Ice Cream Company’s core enterprise, AI, data and cybersecurity products, and HCLTech will helm the infrastructure rollout and end user service management.
“As we move forward as an independent business, this roadmap will enable better visibility, planning and decision-making for our teams,” Desai said. “This is about more than moving existing processes onto new systems, it is about creating the right digital backbone our people need to make, move and serve ice cream for our customers and consumers around the world.”
