News

Kiosks part of IBM, UK pharmacy chain pact

October 1, 2002

NOTTINGHAM, United Kingdom -- IBM has signed UK-based pharmacy chain The Boots Co. to a 10-year, $1.1 billion services contract that includes point-of-sale systems and Internet kiosks.

The deal calls for IBM Global Services to provide consulting, hardware, software and other IT services to Boots, according to a report by Internet.com. POS systems and Internet kiosks will be placed in each of Boots' 1,600 stores, most of which are in the UK and Ireland.

The companies will establish a research and development center in Nottingham to combine Boots' retail experience and IBM's technology resources, according to the report.

Boots' chief information officer, David Lister, said the pharmacy chain expects the deal to cut its IT costs by more than $200 million in the next 10 years.