Accenture and KLM Sign Multi-year Agreement to Enhance KLM's Web-based Systems

Companies establish a separate IT business unit to handle project

AMSTERDAM; Nov. 26, 2002

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and KLM today announced that, following a successful test phase, they will move ahead with a long-term "co-sourcing" agreement, announced earlier this year, under which Accenture will help KLM enhance its Web-based Internet and intranet systems.

The six-year agreement is designed to help KLM lower its system development costs, improve the quality of systems development and reduce the time it takes to complete information and communications technology projects.

To handle the more than 20 related projects that are part of the agreement, KLM and Accenture will establish a new group, called UnIT, combining skills and expertise from both organizations. UnIT, which will be staffed by 60 employees from KLM and Accenture, will design, build and maintain new Internet and Intranet systems for KLM, using technology based on Java J2EE architecture. Accenture will manage the day-to-day operations of UnIT, providing its experience in information technology, systems development and project management, along with its deep knowledge of the airline industry.

"Together with Accenture, we are breaking new ground, initiating a change that will spread like wildfire within the information and communications technology community and the airline sector as a whole," said Cees Koster, KLM’s chief information officer. "This innovative approach is in line with our goal of increasing our responsiveness and, where possible, collaborating with partners to provide enhanced services. We expect noticeable improvements in productivity, even in the first year. The initial results from the nine-month trial period are very positive."

Jan-Coen Smit, a partner in Accenture’s Transportation & Travel Services practice, said, "The co-sourcing agreement underlines the close collaboration between our two organizations. The traditional client-supplier relationship has been replaced by a fruitful collaboration based on the best of both worlds. Furthermore, this agreement will provide the KLM and Accenture employees in UnIT a challenging work environment with great opportunities for self-development, the use of advanced technology, training and knowledge exchange."

About KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was founded on 7 October 1919, making it the oldest scheduled airline in the world still operating under the same name. In the 2001/2002 financial year, KLM carried 15,949,000 passengers and 490,000 tonnes of freight and mail. In terms of international transport in tonne-kilometres, KLM ranks 5th among the more than 260 IATA companies. KLM and its partners fly to more than 360 cities in 78 countries on 6 continents. On 31 March 2002, KLM employed a staff of 30,381 world-wide, of which 26,728 work in the Netherlands and 3,653 abroad. KLM is the centre of the KLM Group, which also includes KLM Cityhopper, KLM UK and Transavia. The KLM Group fleet comprises 186 modern aircraft. Its homepage is www.klm.com.

About Accenture
Accenture is the world’s leading management consulting and technology services organization. Through its network of businesses approach—in which the company enhances its consulting and outsourcing expertise through alliances, affiliated companies and other capabilities—Accenture delivers innovations that help clients across all industries quickly realize their visions. With more than 75,000 people in 47 countries, the company generated net revenues of $11.57 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2002. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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