September 13 2010 - Hitachi Consulting UK today announced that it has implemented a new risk management and claims process and handling system on behalf of the Co-operative Group Risk and Insurance Department (GRID). Known internally as, the GRID @Risk Project, the new strategic platform, based on Microsoft SharePoint, is designed to enable the company to gain a true picture of risk, identify higher risks faster through trend pattern analysis and facilitate collaboration for better decision making. By removing duplication of effort and establishing improved methods for the collection, sharing, presentation and dissemination of information, the new system is projected to save the Group an estimated £800k per annum.

The Co-operative Group is a unique family of businesses run by over five-and-a-half million members, which together each have a say in how these businesses are run. With sales of over £13.7 billion in 2009, the Group employs over 120,000 people serving around 21 million customers per week in over 4,800 high street branches and through online shopping. The Group’s values influence the products and services of each of its businesses, showing that good quality products and value don’t have to come at the expense of honesty and social responsibility.

“We have recently amalgamated two teams into one,” said Phil Willsmer, Group Head of Operational Risk at the Co-operative Group. “We had numerous existing systems across our Operational Risk Department and our Insurance Department to support core business process, but these didn’t integrate as well as we would have liked. Hitachi Consulting UK enabled us to create a single risk management solution across the business that enables effective collaboration and implementation of our risk management activities and projects. They had a deep understanding of the technology requirements as well as our business objectives, and worked closely with our in-house teams to ensure we had a consistent approach to managing risk across the group.”

In creating the new system, Hitachi Consulting UK provided both onshore and offshore consultants to establish a framework upon which the Co-operative Group’s business applications can be rapidly assembled. The framework can be accessed by the wider CoOp community of over 100,000 through self service and departmental portals, mobile applications and is regularly updated through enterprise-wide content management. The initial phase of the project went live at end of August 2010 and included case management functionality for the management of incidents, accidents and claims, as well as integration with the company’s Learning Management System. Subsequent phases around data protection, compliance and business continuity are due to go live from October 2010 onwards.

###

About Hitachi Consulting Corporation
As Hitachi, Ltd.'s (NYSE: HIT) global consulting company, with operations in the United States, Europe and Asia, Hitachi Consulting is a recognized leader in delivering proven business and IT strategies and solutions to Global 2000 companies across many industries. With a balanced view of strategy, people, process and technology, we work with companies to understand their unique business needs, and to develop and implement practical business strategies and technology solutions. From business strategy development through application deployment, our consultants are committed to helping clients quickly realize measurable business value and achieve sustainable ROI.
Hitachi Consulting's client base includes 25 percent of the Global 100 as well as many leading mid-market companies. We offer a client-focused, collaborative approach and transfer knowledge throughout each engagement. For more information visit www.hitachiconsulting.com

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2010) consolidated revenues totaled 8,968 billion yen ($96.4 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
** Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Hitachiuk **

For further information, please contact:
Vanessa Land
Devonshire Marketing
Tel: 0870 242 7469
Email: vanessa[at]devonshiremarketing[dot]com

Distributed on behalf of Devonshire Marketing by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)