McDonald's has announced a multi-year extension of its partnership with tech company Cognizant to boost staff enablement, customer experience and operational efficiency.
Cognizant will continue supporting McDonald's across key enterprise areas such as global finance systems and human capital management, covering payroll processing, franchisee management, master data management and legal applications.
McDonald’s seeks to harness Cognizant's “product expertise, digital engineering, and quality assurance services”, along with innovations in cloud, enterprise AI and generative AI, all backed by domain knowledge in the food services industry.
The partnership leverages tools such as Cognizant’s Skygrade and Neuro IT to transition to cloud-native systems and automate IT functions.
McDonald's global technology enterprise products and platforms vice-president JT Scott said: "Cognizant has been an invaluable partner in helping us streamline our enterprise applications across major markets and further our journey to the cloud.”
"Cognizant brings a rich history across our enterprise and deep expertise in global finance and people systems that enabled us to focus on our core mission of delivering delicious food and exceptional customer experiences. The next several years will undoubtedly bring exciting advancements as we continue working together to embrace new technologies and innovation."
The move follows the announcement of McDonald's "Digitizing the Arches" initiative during an investor day in late 2023, aiming to modernise the brand and spur future growth.
The extended partnership with Cognizant originated from an initial collaboration in early 2017 with the Riyadh International Catering Corporation, a strategic partner of McDonald’s in Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh International operates 200 restaurants in the kingdom.
Cognizant senior vice-president and consumer business unit head Anup Prasad stated: "We are thrilled to extend and expand our partnership with McDonald's as part of this critical agreement. Our collaboration has enabled the transformation from a legacy enterprise to a modern cloud-based business, delivering exceptional value.”
In early January 2025, McDonald’s launched its new McValue menu at its restaurants across the US.
