TCS deepens Nordic push with Kalmar IT transformation deal

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has signed a strategic IT transformation partnership with Finland-based Kalmar, a logistics and supply chain solutions provider, as the Indian IT major continues to focus on large, multi-year core modernisation deals in Europe.

Under the agreement, TCS will serve as Kalmar’s strategic IT partner, consolidating its global IT operations into a single, integrated delivery model covering applications, infrastructure, end-user services and hybrid cloud operations. The engagement is aimed at reducing costs, improving agility and enhancing the digital experience for Kalmar’s 5,200 employees, while enabling a future-ready IT foundation.

As part of the partnership, TCS will deploy an AI-powered digital core and a unified command centre to improve observability, service reliability and operational efficiency across Kalmar’s global operations. The initiative is expected to strengthen Kalmar’s operational resilience and long-term competitiveness.

The deal mirrors several large-scale transformation contracts announced by TCS over the past year across manufacturing, logistics and industrial services. In these engagements, enterprises are prioritising the simplification of fragmented IT landscapes, vendor consolidation and AI-led operations to drive efficiency and resilience, rather than pursuing greenfield digital transformation programmes.

TCS has secured similar end-to-end IT modernisation mandates from global clients in sectors such as automotive, energy and transportation, particularly in Europe and North America. These contracts typically involve cloud and infrastructure modernisation and the deployment of AI for IT operations (AIOps), employee experience and predictive maintenance—areas that have remained relatively resilient despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.

The Kalmar partnership comes at a time when TCS reported steady but muted performance in its Q3 FY26 results. While revenue growth remained modest amid delayed discretionary spending decisions, the company continued to report strong deal bookings, driven by cost-optimisation and transformation-led programmes.

Management commentary during the quarter highlighted sustained demand for large, long-duration contracts focused on operational efficiency, cloud and AI-led service delivery, especially in manufacturing, BFSI and travel and logistics. However, near-term growth remains uneven, with clients cautious about launching new digital initiatives not directly tied to productivity or cost savings.

TCS’s long-standing presence in the Nordic region—where it has operated since 1991—has emerged as a strategic growth driver, supported by local delivery capabilities and its Pace innovation ecosystem in Stockholm. The Kalmar deal further strengthens TCS’s positioning in the region as European enterprises increasingly prioritise scale, resilience and AI-first IT operating models.

Analysts say such transformation-led contracts could offer TCS improved revenue visibility and margin stability over the medium term, even as discretionary technology spending remains under pressure globally.