HP wins Swedish government contract

Hewlett-Packard Co. won a contract with the Swedish Agency for Public Management to provide desktops, portable PCs and accessories over the next two years.

The total contract has a value of 650 million Euros, or about $707 million. HP will supply up to 40 percent of the deal, worth about $283 million. The balance of the contract will be filled by eight other vendors also awarded a spot on the contract.

While price and quality were two key factors within the evaluation process, HP also met the rigorous corporate social and environmental responsibility requirements set for the contract, according to the agency.

"HP was clearly a partner of choice for this project," said Rolf Bengtsson, responsible for all IT agreements at the Swedish Agency for Public Management. "Among those nine suppliers who signed the agreement, it outperformed the majority of its [competitors] on both products and pricing, as well as demonstrated corporate social and environmental responsibility."

The Swedish Agency for Public Management is responsible for coordinating information and communication technology purchases for the Swedish government. In order to simplify IT purchases for public authorities, municipalities and county councils, the agency signs framework agreements with suppliers. These general agreements also contribute to a common and secure electronic infrastructure. This is the second agreement between HP and the agency. Last year, the company was awarded a two-year contract worth about $180.5 million, covering all federal procurement of servers and storage.

Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, Calif., reported revenue in fiscal 2002 of $56.6 billion, and employed 141,000 people worldwide.