TCS wins SKF AI-led transformation contract globally

Tata Consultancy Services has won a global contract from SKF to support an AI-led business transformation programme. The agreement is framed as a long-term partnership covering SKF's operations worldwide.

Under the deal, TCS will provide managed services across applications, infrastructure, data, end-user services, security and connectivity. The work will focus on modernising SKF's existing IT landscape and laying the foundations for wider use of artificial intelligence across the industrial group.

SKF, the Swedish bearings and industrial technology company, is seeking to reshape its operating model through more standardised systems and processes. The programme also includes plans to strengthen technology architecture, update core infrastructure and accelerate the design and rollout of a new enterprise resource planning platform.

The agreement reflects continued demand from large manufacturers for external technology partners as they overhaul legacy systems and seek to integrate AI into day-to-day operations. For suppliers such as TCS, these contracts combine traditional infrastructure and applications management with newer work around automation, data and AI-driven workflows.

Manufacturing push

The partnership is intended to help SKF create a globally connected operating model that balances centralised systems with local market requirements. That model is expected to extend across IT, business processes and products.

SKF is one of several industrial groups exploring how AI can move beyond pilot projects and be embedded more broadly into manufacturing, service and back-office functions. In this case, TCS said it would apply AI-led agentic workflows alongside manufacturing and IT expertise as part of the transformation effort.

Rickard Gustafson, Chief Executive Officer of SKF, set out the company's view of the shift facing manufacturers. "The next decade of industrial manufacturing will be defined by how deeply companies integrate AI into how they design, produce, and serve. SKF intends to lead that shift. With TCS as our partner, we are not just modernising our technology, we are also building the operational and AI foundations that will set new standards for precision and customer value across our industry. This is a long-term commitment, made between two companies that share a conviction about where industrial manufacturing is heading," Gustafson said.

For TCS, the contract strengthens its position in the Nordic market, where it has operated since 1991. The company employs more than 20,000 people across Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, serving clients in several industries.

Sweden remains a key market for the Indian IT services group. TCS has maintained offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö for more than three decades, reflecting the country's importance to its regional business.

Regional presence

The SKF engagement adds to a portfolio of long-running client relationships in Europe, where customer satisfaction and local delivery have become important competitive markers for technology service providers. TCS has ranked among the top IT service providers for customer satisfaction in Europe for more than a decade in Whitelane Research's survey, including the top position in Sweden in 2026.

The company also highlighted its standing with the Top Employers Institute, which recognised it as a Top Employer in Europe for the 14th consecutive year and ranked it first in Sweden in 2026. Such rankings are often used by large service providers to support recruitment and retention in markets where competition for digital and engineering talent remains intense.

K. Krithivasan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tata Consultancy Services, said the work with SKF would centre on core systems renewal as well as wider operational change. "Our partnership with SKF is centred on modernising its global IT landscape and building a resilient, scalable digital foundation for the future. Together, we are applying data-driven intelligence and AI to create an agile enterprise that can adapt to technological and market change while supporting long-term sustainable growth and competitiveness. This collaboration reflects our joint commitment to making SKF an AI-native, industry-leading, technology-driven industrial manufacturer. TCS will bring its deep domain expertise, advanced technology and partner ecosystem to deliver outcome-driven, enterprise-scale business transformation across the value chain," Krithivasan said.