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CGI has landed a massive consulting contract with Couch-Tard, Canada’s largest convenience store operator, that will be worth $380 million Canadian dollars over 10 years.

Under the deal, CGI will provide managed IT services to the retailer in order to support its technology infrastructure.

Couch-Tard started out in 1980 as a single convenience store. Today, the company has more than 14,000 stores that generated revenues of $71.86 billion during its most recent fiscal year.

Couch-Tard’s operations are spread all over the world. Most of the company’s stores are in Canada and the U.S., but it also maintains retail venues across more than ten other countries.

Couch-Tard’s international presence is likely part of the reason it chose CGI for its $380 million managed services contract. 

Like Couch-Tard, CGI maintains a presence in multiple parts of the world. This means that when an overseas Couch-Tard subsidiary needs help with an IT problem, CGI has local employees who can quickly come over and help.

“Our proximity model around the world enables us to draw on the talents of our technology and retail industry experts in areas that map to key Couche-Tard locations,” explained CGI COO François Boulanger.

As for the services that CGI will provide to the company, there’s quite a bit to unpack.

CGI said that it will provide “infrastructure support for mission-critical business functions” as part of the contract. The company specified that those functions include the software Couche-Tard uses to support the day-to-day work of its store managers.

Another item on the agenda is “business process automation.” 

CGI didn’t specify exactly what this means. But given the immense CIO interest in AI, it’s plausible Couche-Tard’s business process automation roadmap will involve using machine learning to handle repetitive chores that are done manually today.

CGI also said that its contract with the retailer will encompass “data access and visibility”. This can mean anything from outsourced database administration services to the delivery of analytics consulting offerings such as Tableau dashboard creation.

Like all consulting deals that involve a major brand, CGI’s contract with Couche-Tard is valuable for more than just the revenue it will bring in. The next time CGI pitches a retailer, it can point to its relationship with Couche-Tard as a proof point and thus boost its chances of closing the sale. 

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