Business Review Middle East - January 2017

We talk to BTGroup about its technological revolution

January 2017

www.businessreviewmiddleeast.com

MICROSOFT

AND THE RISE OF

DIGITAL NATIVES

LUSAIL CITY

QATAR’S

SMARTEST

INVESTMENT

Digital revolution

OF BANKING We talk to MasterCard’s MEA president Raghu Malhotra

Most valuable BRANDS in the Middle East

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

TALKING TECH HELLO AND WELCOME to the opening edition of Business Review Middle East for 2017.

We start off the year by speaking to MasterCard about how it is bringing vital payments and billing services to unbanked populations across the region.

Also talking tech is BTGroup and healthcare provder Cerner, with other profiles featuring Fursan Travel and Al Ghurair Investment.

Before this you will find an exclusive contribution from Microsoft MEA’s Isabell Scheuber who discusses the rise of the gig economy and the implications this has on business. The proliferation of smart cities is another trend to watch out for this year – we explore Qatar’s Lusail City and why this is a flag bearer for the country ahead of the 2022 football World Cup. Finally, we run down the top 10 most valuable brands in the Middle East, looking at what makes them stand out from the crowd.

We hope you enjoy the issue. As ever, continue the debate: @BusinessRevME

Enjoy the issue!

Tom Wadlow Editor tom.wadlow@bizclikmedia.com

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CONTENTS

F E AT U R E S

PROFILE

10

The rise of digital natives

TECHNOLOGY

18

Qatar’s smartest investment

LIST

Most valuable brands in the Middle East

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7

CONTENTS

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C O M PA N Y P R O F I L ES

Mastercard Technology

Cerner

Healthcare

50 8

BTGroup Technology

January 2017

68

90

Fursan Travel Business services

104

80

Al Ghurair Investment Supply Chain

Prometal Metal Industries Factory L.L.C Construction

Khimji Ramdas LLC

Construction

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digital natives

The rise of

Written by: ISABELL SCHEUBER, GM, Marketing and Operations for Microsoft Middle East and Africa

PROFILE

How the ‘gig economy’ lets us hit refresh on our work lives

PROFILE WHAT ARE YOU doing with your life?

Maybe you’re a recent graduate, ready to put a tentative toe on the career ladder. Perhaps you’ve been working for a few years and want to take control of your life and put your experience to better use – if only you could figure out your big idea. Or else you’re sitting at your laptop, quietly figuring out how to make your mark on the world.

What you’re probably not doing is looking for a company that you can call home for the rest of your days. That’s because we’re waving a collective goodbye to outdated notions of success. We now want – and sometimes need – to embrace careers that give us the opportunity to try new things and explore our passions to make a living.

These changes in working attitudes are fuelling the ‘gig’ economy. A working model that involves taking on lots of different jobs or interesting projects for shorter periods of time.

The concept is nothing new. The word ‘gig’ was coined by musicians in the 1920s, at the height of the Jazz Age, as shorthand for ‘an engagement’.

Artists, musicians and photographers have been working this way for years.

But now this style of working is about 12

January 2017

to hit the corporate mainstream with today’s technology empowering entrepreneurs. Start-ups within the sharing economy such as Airbnb and TaskRabbit are making it easier for anyone to tap into new ways to earn.

Etsy allows the creatively-minded to sell their wares on a global marketplace, while blogs and social networks like Instagram and YouTube help people build a profile doing what they love, and start generating attention that can help turn their passion into a career.

These changes don’t just benefit you as the worker. Businesses of all sizes are growing wise to the advantages of the gig economy and turning to an increasing amount of freelance support.

Corporate managers understand that injecting a regular flow of external perspectives and fresh creativity can help them grow their organisations.

By embracing project based working they can also adjust focus and resources as needed. Meanwhile, you get the flexibility to try a wider variety of roles in different environments.

So, this flexible world suits your ambition and way of working. You can accept that our world is constantly evolving and you want to play your part. Where do you start?

T H E R I S E O F D I G I TA L N AT I V E S

‘Businesses of all sizes are growing wise to the advantages of the gig economy’ – Isabell Scheuber

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PROFILE

Don’t be scared to blur work and play Look at your own interests and assets and consider how they could enhance what you could offer to employers. For example, if you spend time volunteering for organisations including things like tutoring students, building schools or working in a homeless or refugee shelter during a break in studies, speak to your manager about ways that you can contribute that experience to your company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. You’ll get a chance to share your knowledge and experience while helping your firm to contribute to the community

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perhaps in new and innovative ways.

Creativity is your biggest asset The ability to bring the outside world into the office, and provide a new perspective, is one of the biggest reasons businesses are looking to hire people like you. But having creative ideas is no use if you can’t express them in a way that grabs attention and gets your message across.

Experiment with tools and tricks that suit you. Try technology that helps you share ideas and information in a visual way, or services that analyse and unpick complex data to get your point across.

Bring the outside in: discussions in

T H E R I S E O F D I G I TA L N AT I V E S

social networks, things that inspire you and your peers or innovation you’ve seen in your daily life and share it with your teams as inspiration. Your ideas will sing if they’re centred on your own passions. Having some tricks up your sleeve in a job interview or your first meeting with your new boss could help set you apart from the masses.

Set up time –virtually or in person – to discuss how these might work in your organization and how you could work together to make them a reality.

Build a network Switching jobs or roles more frequently means you’ll need to get

used to working with different teams, in different locations and across different industries. Today, there are really no geographical or technical barriers – your attitude and ability to share ideas and resources is the key to success. Being ready to plug in and get started immediately will make moving around that little bit easier and collaborate with your adopted team.

Keeping track of your contacts and knowing who to tap up for support as you move around is essential, and makes working with like-minded individuals simple. The relationships you establish and cultivate will help you expand your knowledge, provide

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PROFILE

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January 2017

T H E R I S E O F D I G I TA L N AT I V E S

invaluable career advice and could even help you secure your next gig.

Be prepared to start again The concept of a ‘regular’ day in the office no longer exists. ‘9 to 5’ is a thing of the past, and startups are questioning whether they even need permanent offices. So why should your career continue to follow a traditional path? Don’t be afraid to coursecorrect if the role you’re in isn’t working out. With employers increasingly looking for soft skills, focus on the transferable knowledge you acquire along the way when considering a jump between jobs or industries.

To be successful in the gig economy, it’s important to bring the right tools along for the ride. According to analyst firm IDC, oral and written communication, attention to detail, and proficiency with Microsoft Office top the list of skills students need for highpaying, fast-growth jobs. Office is used at the smallest of start-ups through to the majority of Fortune 500 companies, meaning that you’re ready to be a part of the team from day one, whatever the environment. Office 2016 combines familiar tools like Word, PowerPoint and

‘As the skills needed in the workplace change, having the ability to adapt will help you make a greater impact on the world’ Excel with new ways to work together, play out creative ideas and visualize complex information, like OneDrive, Sway, Sunrise, Wunderlist, Outlook, Skype, Yammer, Delve and Power BI. But perhaps the most important skill required in today’s gig economy is reinvention. Being born as a digital native means you’re naturally more inclined to explore new technologies.

Exploring this desire to grow will help keep you hungry, willing to learn and ready to share your ideas. As the skills needed in the workplace change, having the ability to adapt will help you make a greater impact on the world and lead its digital transformation.

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Qatar’s smartest investment Lusail City is the latest Middle Eastern smart city to be developed, and is set to highlight Qatar as a high-tech hub W R I T T E N B Y: N E L L WA L K E R

TECHNOLOGY

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TECHNOLOGY SMART CITIES ARE starting to become a commonplace feature within the developed world, as construction and technology companies increasingly join forces to create the most advanced yet userfriendly living situations for citizens.

The ‘smart city’ concept is defined as being an urban living space connected by integrated IT (or the Internet of Things), not just within people’s homes, but in all available services required in day-to-day life, ensuring a fully digitally-supported lifestyle.

The Middle East has been a trailblazer of smart city innovation, with an especially successful cluster of such companies existing in Israel,

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particularly Tel Aviv. One of the most recent such developments of this kind is at Lusail City in Qatar, which aims to provide a high-tech environment for residents. Lusail is the newest planned city in Qatar, just 23 kilometres from the centre of Doha, on the coast in the north of the municipality of Al Daayen. It is 38 square kilometres in size and covers four exclusive man-made islands and 19 districts including residential, entertainment, and commercial. It is expected that 450,000 people will live there, and there will be around 22 hotels for visitors, ensuring that Lusail City and Qatar itself will become a hub of investment and international interest.

Q ATA R ’ S S M A R T E S T I N V E S T M E N T

Utility Control Room The planned districts include: • Commercial Boulevard District • Commercial Waterfront District • Waterfront Residential • Northern Villas District • Education/Hospital District • Boulevard Towers • Entertainment District • Entertainment Island • Energy City 1&2 • Golf District • Fox Hills • Marina District • Qetaifan Islands • Al Khareej Towers • Media City • Al Erkya District

Developers plan to use a common fibre optic network infrastructure to integrate all systems and services, and they will be controlled via the Lusail Command & Control Centre (LCCC). This is placed at the heart of the city, and is the hub at which all smart services will be monitored. It is composed of an Operation Centre and a Data Centre, each including a team of dedicated operators keeping the LCCC working at optimal levels.

The LCCC provides three levels of service to residents, the ‘base’ level including mobility, security, municipality administration, telecoms, and traffic management.

Value-added services will enrich 21

TECHNOLOGY

the experience of the smart city resident and include: emergency, entertainment, marina operations, light control, energy management, utility monitoring, billing, smart card, private parking management, nontraditional communication, and other aspects which can be included to make life ever more easily managed.

The Lusail City project includes a strict public transport strategy, which is expected to cut road traffic incidents enormously, and ensure a swift and organised service. There will be a pedestrian network for

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walkers, bicycle ways for cyclists, and the promotion of buses, trains, and water taxis to be integrated in what has been named the Future Highway Network Development. A top-of-therange underground train network is being developed, and emphasis is placed on the conservation of energy.

Sustainability, not always a priority in this region, is an important element of Lusail City. Utilities are a particular focus, and the project boasts district cooling, pneumatic waste collection, and an innovative gas network. City operations and maintenance costs will

Q ATA R ’ S S M A R T E S T I N V E S T M E N T

“Lusail City also falls in line with Qatar’s ongoing 2030 national vision and the Kyoto Protocol, which was signed by the nation in 2012”

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TECHNOLOGY be lowered due to the integration of all necessary daily services. Lusail City also falls in line with Qatar’s ongoing 2030 national vision and the Kyoto Protocol, which was signed by the nation in 2012 and outlines a strategy to reduce the world’s carbon footprint.

Lusail’s eHome service for within private buildings is perhaps the smartest element of the city.

The available functions are diverse and innovative, and include: • A ‘mood’ function which creates appropriate entertainment atmospheres • The ability to open curtains and close shutters remotely • eHome sprinklers which water the garden remotely • Specific lighting effects • The opening and closure of the garage door • The remote turning on and off of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning • eHome can link to the home’s security systems • Access to security cameras via the internet

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Q ATA R ’ S S M A R T E S T I N V E S T M E N T

The pinnacle of Lusail City will be its Iconic Stadium, which is set to host the opening and final matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It will have a capacity of at least 80,000 people, and the design is inspired by the sail of a traditional dhow (a lateen-rigged ship). Post-World Cup, and once it has accumulated welldeserved fame, Iconic Stadium will be used to host other sporting events.

Lusail City should be completed by 2019, and will undoubtedly be a cultural and technological jewel in the Middle East’s crown.

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Most valuable brands in the Middle East W r i t t e n b y: J E S S S H A N A H A N

TOP 10

Brand Finance has put together a list of the most valuable brands in the Middle East based on a range of factors including future sales. We take a closer look at the top 10 27

TOP 10

Now in its seventh year, the Middle East 50 lists the top 50 brands in the region based on brand value. This list is put together by Brand Finance, which looks at brand strength within the market, revenues, and potential future sales to calculate the values that determine the list.

The total value of these brands has grown by 11 percent between 2015 and 2016, although that’s down on the 23 percent growth seen in 2015. This show that the Middle East’s top brands may be reaching their potential.

10

Ooredoo (Telecoms)

In position 10 is Ooredoo, a communications company dedicated to making Qatar one of the best-connected cities in the world. It’s moved up from position 11 with a 23 percent increase in brand value on 2015. With an AA+ rating from Brand Finance, Ooredoo is one of the strongest telecoms companies in the region.

In the full Middle East 50, the rivalry between the UAE and Saudi Arabia remains close. There are 21 Saudi brands present in the table against the 16 from the UAE. However, the latter are significantly more valuable with the total brand value of UAE brands at $27.9 billion compared to $26 billion for Saudi Arabia. www.ooredoo.qa 28

January 2017

MOST VALUABLE BRANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

NCB (Finance) The National Commercial Bank was the first Saudi bank to be licensed in the Kingdom and is one of the leading financial institutions in the region. It’s new to the Brand Finance rankings with an impressive jump into eighth position. www.alahli.com

09 08 Emirates NBD (Finance) This bank continues to grow with an increase of 23 percent on its brand value in 2015. This is down to the expanding Dubai economy and more people taking out loans through the bank. Like many other banks, Emirates NBD offers a diverse selection of products that satisfy a range of customer needs. www.emiratesnbd.com 29

TOP 10

07

Almarai (Food)

‘Diversification has been a large part of Almarai’s growth as it’s moved into the juice business and is now a clear market leader in the GCC’

Almarai has come a long way since its formation in 1977 and today is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy company. The continued growth is down to its specific strategy and continued dedication to improving the core offering. Diversification has also been a large part of the brand’s growth as it’s moved into the juice business and is now a clear market leader in the GCC. www.almarai.com 30

January 2017

MOST VALUABLE BRANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

05

QNB (Finance)

Banks make up a huge 50 percent of the top 50 brands in the Middle East with Qatar National Bank at the top with a brand value of $2.4 million. The value has dropped six percent over the last year but not enough to move the brand from fifth in the rankings. www.qnb.com

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Al-Rajhi Bank (Finance)

Al-Rajhi Bank, however, has seen growth of 13 percent over the last year. It’s one of the largest Islamic banks in the world with a customercentric approach that positions it as one of the leading and most progressive banks in Saudi Arabia.

Its growth is down to continued diversification of its services to meet the needs of its customer base. alrajhibank.com.sa 31

TOP 10

04

Qatar Airways (Aviation) With the largest growth in the top 10, Qatar Airways has jumped 26 percent in brand value going from $2.7 million in 2015 to $3.4 million in 2016. This growth over the larger Emirates airline is down to the fact that Qatar Airways serves more destinations while still having room to expand, unlike Emirates which is limited by its hub of Dubai International. www.qatarairways.com

03

Etisalat (Telecoms)

With growth of four percent over the last year, Etisalat is another telecoms company making the top 10. Based in Dubai, the company is pioneering 5G trials in the UAE, including co-ordinating the development, design and deployment of future technology platforms for fifth generation mobile broadband.

Since government restrictions on investment in the company were lifted in June 2015, shares have rallied. www.etisalat.com 32

January 2017

MOST VALUABLE BRANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

02

STC (Telecoms)

The Saudi Telecom Company ranks once again as one of the most valuable brands in the world and places second in the Middle East despite a one percent drop in brand value on 2015. Like many telecoms companies, there is a focus on innovation through technology to help drive profitable growth while transforming the business to meet the needs of its customers.

STC also aims to drive socio-economic development in Saudi Arabia and in its other markets by enabling a knowledge-based economy. www.stc.com.sa 33

TOP 10

Emirates (Aviation) The airline has consistently dominated the rankings and from 2015 to 2016 has grown 17 percent with a brand value of $7.7 million. This year there has been a change in strategy and mindset which has seen the company become more receptive to partnerships. In partnering with Qantas, Emirates is able to offer more flights to more destinations and has since formed a smaller deal with Malaysia Airways.

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01

Emirates continues its relentless rise despite already being the quickest growing carrier with the largest fleet of A380s; it has 75 of the passenger planes with another 65 on order.

As well as revenues on the up, the brand is gaining favour with customers too. Its score for familiarity, consideration, preference, satisfaction and, crucially, its recommendations are all up. www.emirates.com

MOST VALUABLE BRANDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

‘The total brand value of UAE brands is $27.9 billion, compared to $26 billion for Saudi Arabia’

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MasterCard’s MEA president

Raghu Malhotra on the digital revolution of banking Written by Leila Hawkins Produced by Craig Daniels

MASTERCARD

The world of banking has been revolutionised in the last two decades. Digitised payments have made it faster than ever, but it’s also reaching populations who have never before had access to it

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he world of banking has been revolutionised in the last two decades. Digitised payments have made it faster than ever, but they are also reaching populations who have never had access to them before.

Things have changed a great deal from the period Raghu Malhotra joined Mastercard in 2000 as Director – Area Countries, South Asia,to now when he leads the company’s Middle East and Africa operations as President. There used to be no such thing as scanning bank cards for shopping, and bills had to be paid face to face. Now consumers hold technology in

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their fingers, and policymakers are realising that a cashless society is the way to move forward.

Malhotra manages 69 markets stretching from Pakistan to Morocco in one direction, and from Lebanon all the way down to South Africa in the other. He pushes Mastercard’s innovative agenda through these territories, and it was this aspect that led him to join the company after a long career in banking. “I wanted to make a difference,” he says. “It’s a job that allows you to leave a legacy behind.”

Financial Inclusion One element of this legacy is

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financial inclusion. As Malhotra explains, “I look at financial inclusion in three parts. The first is people understanding that a range of financial products exists that can better their lives. The second is actually giving them access to bank accounts or to services, and the third is once they actually have a bank account to start to transact, use it, and access credit.”

Speaking about the company’s strong commitment to financial inclusion, Malhotra says, “Financial inclusion matters and it affects

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all of us directly or indirectly and interoperability is the key to financial inclusion. At Mastercard, we believe that strong collaborations between the public and private sectors are crucial for the success of any financial inclusion efforts and to drive inclusive growth that benefits all segments of the society.”

In Tunisia, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tunisian Post, the country’s national postal service. “In large parts of the Middle East and Africa, including Tunisia, Algeria,

TECHNOLOGY

12,500

and even Morocco.

Here they’ve This partnership, also introduced Number of employees in particular, is a Mastercard debit cards at MasterCard really good example for refugees. Thanks of the government and the to this scheme, the UN’s private sector coming together.”

World Food Programme is able to Another instance of Mastercard send money directly to the accounts joining forces with the government is of the refugees’ families, who are in Rwanda, where they’re upgrading given debit cards to withdraw money the country’s infrastructure for for food and other essentials. people to pay for driving licences, This is not their only cash transfer ID cards and birth certificates on system. In Pakistan, the company mobile or online platforms. This way had previously developed HomeSend they don’t need to visit municipal in partnership with Meezan Bank, offices and wait in line all day. for expatriate Pakistanis to send

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MASTERCARD

RAGHU MALHOTRA

PRESIDENT, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA Raghu Malhotra is president, Middle East and Africa for MasterCard. Based in Dubai, Mr. Malhotra is responsible for driving the evolution of the company’s technologies and delivering increased value to MasterCard stakeholders in markets across the region. He sits on the company’s Global Management & Operating Committees.

Mr. Malhotra joined MasterCard in 2000 and has held a variety of leadership roles, spanning General Management, Marketing, Business and Product development across multiple geographies in Asia, Middle East and Africa. He was most recently the Division President, Middle East & North Africa. Prior to joining MasterCard, Mr. Malhotra worked for Citicorp Credit, American Express and ANZ Grindlays Bank in a variety of leadership roles across the Consumer Franchise and Financial Services businesses.

Mr. Malhotra holds a variety of board and advisory positions across international markets, including being a member of the board of directors of INJAZ Al-Arab Middle East and North Africa, an organization focused on building youth entrepreneurial skills in the region. Mr. Malhotra was ranked as one of the top Indian Leaders in the region

by Forbes in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Mr. Malhotra graduated with an honors degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi and earned an MBA from the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne. He also has management training from IMD, Lausanne.

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money home. Pakistan is a huge market given its population of 180 million who largely use mobile phones; so Mastercard launched the Masterpass QR, allowing users to pay with their smartphones. In November 2016, it opened a new office in Karachi.

The Masterpass QR was also rolled out in Nigeria around the same time as well. “I believe this will drive a very different kind of financial inclusion,” says Malhotra. “The costs of doing this are very low now. Access to information and bank accounts is very easy. You don’t have to put billions of dollars or hardware into the shops any longer. So if you’re talking about true digital economy and true financial inclusion, it’s these sorts of product lines that drive that forward.”

“Similarly, our work with Egyptian government is helping to bring the benefits of financial inclusion to 54 million citizens of the country through a digital ID program that links their national ID to the existing national mobile money platform. Similarly, our collaboration with the Nigerian government to issue National Electronic ID (e-ID) is empowering Nigerians

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aged 16 and above to have access to an electronic payment platform which will benefit Nigeria’s 170 million citizens. In Pakistan, our collaboration with Pakistan’s Bank of Punjab saw us launch a first-ofits-kind Social Security Program that automates and streamlines government disbursement, subsidy and assistance initiatives – driving greater financial inclusion in a country where only 13% of the citizens have a formal account.”

Cashless Another burgeoning, cashless economy is Mauritius. As a popular holiday destination, there’s an influx of tourists here all year round who mostly carry contactless cards.

It made sense for Mastercard to launch their contactless scheme here, both for the visitors and for the local population who benefit from accessing their bank accounts without having to take their wallets out.

Mastercard’s vision for cashless societies goes further with the creation of what they call “digital

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cities.” In November 2016, they signed an MoU with the Egyptian government’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), to introduce cashless transactions in technology parks and villages.

Beyond that, Malhotra recounts travelling on the London Underground recently, and despite not having a UK-issued travel pass or bank card, he was able to move seamlessly around the city with his Mastercard card. “Allowing for global interoperability and [creating] smart cities is going to be very big,” he says.

Could the MEA region become entirely cashless one day? “We are a long way from it being totally cashless,” he says, but adds that governments are realising that this is a much more efficient way to work. “Maybe, it’s quite possible in my lifetime.”

Around 546 people are currently employed in the region; however, Malhotra explains that even though they are actively hiring, technology firms don’t measure their business in terms of revenue per FTE anymore.

Staff development is paramount;

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“When I say diversity it’s not just gender diversity.

It’s diversity of the mind, how different people come together and think, and create something bigger and better” – MasterCard’s MEA president Raghu Malhotra

MASTERCARD

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there is a huge focus on in-house New, small businesses starting up and external training completed will be of great value to the economy. either by attending formal courses The Girls4Tech programme or through online training. is also aimed at women, with Just as important is collaborating employees mentoring young girls to with outside agencies to develop pursue careers in STEM (Science, young entrepreneurs. Malhotra is on Technology, Engineering and the board of INJAZ Al-Arab, a nonMath). Scholarships are awarded profit organisation that works with the in partnership with the Singapore public and private sectors University of Technology to promote education and Design, and some from elementary mentees have even school all the way up joined the company. to college. “When This program was you train and developed after enable students, Mastercard’s you get a better research showed The year MasterCard economy and a how few women was founded much better nation as were entering the tech well,” he says. The latest world. However, Malhotra project is in Egypt, with a programme says the number of women in teaching women aged between their workforce is higher than the 21 and 27, business management industry standard for the region. skills. As well as benefitting the “Diversity is big for us,” he says. empowerment of women, it will “You can do well by doing good. help boost the country’s finances And when I say diversity, it’s not unemployment is currently at 12.5 just gender diversity. It’s diversity percent - and while women make of the mind – how different people up half the population less than a come together and think, and create quarter are part of the labour force. something bigger and better.”

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Looking ahead, Malhotra believes Africa is the next big emerging market. I see us coming up with new business models, new product lines and new services to drive that, not just here but exporting them globally as well.”

Innovation Committed to setting new benchmarks in the payments industry, innovation lies at the heart of Mastercard’s business philosophy as Malhotra explains, “When you are in the business of technology, you cannot afford to have multiple definitions of innovation. For us at Mastercard, innovation means making a difference in the way people think about cash and realize and take advantage of the convenience and simplicity electronic payments offer.

“While the list of innovations

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pioneered by Mastercard is long, there is one example that I can highlight which is truly making an impact in the way people pay for services or goods – online, in-store and in-app. Masterpass™ is our global interoperable platform that enables all types of digital transactions and richer consumer experiences. It is a digital payment solution that simplifies the entire shopping experience for consumers, allowing Mastercard cardholders to pay with any enrolled payment card, anywhere, using any device and eliminating the need to enter detailed payment and shipping information with every purchase, and simplifying the process of completing a transaction from any connected device.”

Masterpass is currently available in 34 countries, including the UAE.

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Transforming Technology Written by Nye Longman Produced by Craig Daniels

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With a number of entrepreneurial tech companies under its belt, BTGroup is seeking to springboard innovation with a large-scale business technology transformation

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ith the mandate to transform the business, Hatim Mouminah and Jawad Ali have embarked on a large-scale overhaul across several companies that make up the BTGroup.

Small business units have produced a number of innovations that served the company at large (which in turn fulfils the technology requirements of its parent company, amongst others), but they had lacked the institutional structures to drive them to appreciable scale and stability.

Enter the business transformation.

With the Saudi economy moving ever further from its dependence on oil, aligning with the Kingdom’s National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2020 and Vision 2030, the role that companies

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like BTGroup are playing is absolutely crucial to increase diversification and to reach the milestones set to achieve the Kingdom’s transformation objectives - a large part of which is driving efficiencies in, energy, power, water and waste management.

“When I took over in October 2015,” says Mouminah, who serves as the Managing Director. “We said ‘how can we transform to meet the future needs of the market and build upon the success of each company in the Group with minimal disruption and still accomplish our mission of transformation at every level of our operation?’

“We clearly wanted to become more efficient, competitive and customer centric - in a market that is

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Hatim Mouminah, Managing Director of BTGroup

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BTGroup Jawad Ali, COO and Head of Transformation

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predictably going through many twists scale of the undertaking. Between and turns. We had to acknowledge several technology companies that some companies in the Group making up BTGroup, the combined were leaders in their domain and capabilities include everything from credited for delivering several complex communications technology and IT technology solutions for megainfrastructure, to systems integration, sized projects in the Kingdom. facilities management and a number of “This posed a dual challenge for mission-critical technology solutions. us, as we had to ensure that we can These can also be tailored to deliver improve our market leadership for a wide range of industry - while institutionalising segments – oil & gas, and setting processes industrial, banking, that will boost retail, hospitality, our competitive healthcare, advantage education, and customer and mixed use relationships.” construction, Number of Jawad, who holds amongst Employees at the dual role of Chief many others.

BTGroup Operating Officer and Mouminah says: Head of Group Transformation, “This is a business adds, “We transformed some opportunity because when you talk of these companies from an about technology and innovation, entrepreneurial state into institutions.” the manufacturers are the ones who are coming up with it. So, our job Operations as a customer centric technology The changes that the dual business company is to harness evolving and technology transformation technology and develop it to continue to bring about are made all provide value to our customers.” the more impressive due to the sheer Jawad adds: “We first asked

2000

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BTGroup

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ourselves ‘why are we in this business in the first place?’ As a market leading systems integrator we are the bridge between the ICT and Building BAS industries and those industries that, despite decades of efforts, have not succeeded in integrating their respective platforms.

“BAS in particular has gone through many mergers and acquisitions as the industry is trying to consolidate; they are not quite there yet. The gap between the supply of scalable and seamlessly integrated systems and what the client really wants, remains. This is a niche market industry and it’s extremely complex.

“What drives our business are

projects; we go into the projects early where we work with, clients, their consultants and engineers, creating the services to see what kind of a functionality they need. We go in early to add value and help make systems as seamless and as low cost as possible in terms of integration, installation, operations and maintenance.

“Overall we evaluate the total cost of ownership and offer value engineering that would allow our clients and their customers to enhance their experience of feeling productive, safe, comfortable and enjoy their environment at an affordable investment and with high reliability. Our customers manage their core business while

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we manage, operate and maintain their backbone infrastructure.”

Mouminah adds further: “BTGroup has built an eco-system with deep engagement from customers to innovative technology partners that gives us the ability to offer end to end solutions from supply only of products through our distribution business unit, to full 360 degree solutions for projects requiring innovative solutions and services.

“Our involvement from early design stage to turn-key solution delivery and onward to operations and

maintenance is a unique proposition in the market, and gives us the sustainable edge over our competitors.

“Our employees are our strength and no transformation is possible without the cooperation of employees.

We also recognise that nurturing their strengths and empowering them to make our vision reality is the right approach and in alignment with Kingdoms’ Vision 2030.

“When we began the process at BTGroup we shared our vision with our employees, we listened to their inputs and ideas and took into account the innovative ones that were in line with our objectives.

To improve our

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“We have a rich history of delivering complex technology solutions for spectacular projects” - Jawad Ali, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Transformation

competitiveness, we have continued to enhance our staff skills for productivity and specialised trainings regularly.

We send our specialist staff to Europe and America for certified and expert training programs conducted by our technology partners.”

Mouminah adds: “To synchronise with Vision 2030 and Saudisation plan to develop human resources, we at BTGroup are very keen to create opportunities for the fastest growing segment of our population - the young Saudis. We intend to participate in internship programs for graduating students to give them a head start before they enter the real job market.

Jawad adds, “We have a rich history of delivering complex technology solutions for spectacular projects including; King Abdul Aziz Endowment project in Makkah that has the capacity to accommodate 75,000 residents and contains 800 retail outlets for which we introduced a remarkable converged network, capable of delivering 18 separate services from wireless connectivity to security and building automation systems.”

Other technology solutions that BTGroup has delivered include, Princess Noura University (PNU) that has 75,000 service outlets for IP CCTV, IP access control, fire alarm, and other systems serving PNU buildings and housing for over 12,000 residents, as well as the Capital Marketing Authority (CMA) Tower.

For the King Abdullah Financial District project in Riyadh, consisting of 25 high-rise towers, BTGroup delivered fire management systems of 30,000 plus fire/smoke detectors, fire telephony, voice evacuation, disabled refuge, and smoke management systems.

BTGroup has received high

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accolades for the Hajj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah project where the Group has delivered state-of-the-art solutions including, airport operations databases, visual guidance docking system, common use terminal equipment, baggage reconciliation and information display systems, and flight information display systems. After the handover of these systems BTGroup’s O&M division won the operations and maintenance services of not only the solutions provided by BTGroup but of third party suppliers, and especially for handling providing 24/7 support and maintenance services during the peak season of Hajj and Umrah.

“Our specialised ICT business unit has delivered innovative Tier 3 Data Centre solution for the largest data centre in the Kingdom located at the King Saud Abdullah University that serves the National Guards Health Affairs and the largest children’s hospital in the Middle East.”

BTGroup has continued to deliver complex and mega systems with operations and maintenance services for other large government funded

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projects including classified projects for Ministry of Interior and Royal Palaces.

Transformation “We took several routes,” Mouminah says. “For example, we utilised individual company functions and mutualised them at a group-level so we could have consistency. Then we merged the companies that had a similar route to market and similar offerings to their customers, thereby coming out and having three specialised Strategic Business Units (SBUs) rather than several.”

With operations in Dubai, Qatar, Egypt and Bahrain we also had to ensure the institutional excellence and transformation we are executing in our KSA operations can be replicated across our regional footprint. We took several initiatives including implementation of Salesforce.com CRM and Oracle ERP that will be used across all our operations to bring consistency.

‘Institutionalising’ companies from an entrepreneurial stage takes a special approach, as numerous factors come into play, from people management

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and economies of scale, to ensuring that the innovative spirit can be sustained under constant expansion.

Added to this are the myriad challenges of an industry that refuses to stay still.

Jawad explains: “These companies represent very different, specialised industries but some are not currently able to merge. We recognise this limitation and build technology partnerships based on our market segmentation and choosing the best in breed partners to build our solution portfolio.

“Internally we recognised that functionalities across the BTGroup companies, particularly HR, IT, and finance are moving from individual silos into a shared, transparent work space.”

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“Building a unified services platform is very important to establish the parameters and objectives of the plan and the KPIs that allow you to monitor the progress with proper governance and how you conceive and implement the transformation plan.

“These moves could not have taken place without a strong, group-wide vision for the future that would not only ensure that skills are appropriately allocated, but also one that hits home how and why the companies were undergoing such enormous changes.”

Mouminah continues: “Transformation requires a shared vision. In line with the best practices, we have clearly outlined our objectives

TECHNOLOGY

for the future. We are adding the final touches to our plans for the next five years so we have a final plan and strategy on how we achieve these.

Of course, we are in the process of developing all the KPIs and milestones that need to be monitored by the board and the management team in order to achieve the set objectives.”

A number of key partners have supported BTGroup at every stage of the transformation, as Jawad explains: “Global companies consisting of Renkus Heinz, Corning, CISCO, Tyco, United Technologies, CommScope and HPE have all been instrumental.

He says: “From a partnership perspectives, these companies are

very innovative and come up with new technologies. They innovate approximately every six months which poses a challenge, however true to their partnership commitments, they fully support us in, by training our people in new technology and when a new functionality becomes available.

We are a centre of ICT and are the largest ICT player; we are continuing to invest internally and in the region.”

“It’s about our vision,” Mouminah concludes. “Believing in our vision, mission, and values, and bringing it to our employees, stakeholders and to the people as well. You need to believe in it to deliver it. So, our efforts so far in even sharing our vision and transformation and what we are trying

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“We have the business expertise, the industry specific knowledge, a committed management team and the emotional management experience required in a turnaround stage�

- Hatim Mouminah, Managing Director

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to achieve is vitally important especially when we’re dealing with information.”

“We have the business expertise, the industry specific knowledge, a committed management team and the emotional management experience required in a turn-around stage. In order to execute you have to align, fully coordinate and adapt. We want to let it happen based on business merit and not because we built it and it has to happen. We firmly believe we are building the foundations for future success.”

Having developed a well backed up plan with both staff and partners on board, BT Group is poised to continue leading the Saudi ICT and Building Automation markets as well as other fields.

Centralising a number of operations while ensuring that entrepreneurial companies retain innovation while growing to scale, the company is rising to the challenge of a changing region and a changing industry.

By implementing strategic management practices and cumulatively developing advanced capabilities, and continually refining and updating these they are aiming to become a world-class, global operating model. Watch this space.

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Healthcare in the 21st century Written by Jackie Cosh Produced by Stuart Shirra

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The Managing Director of Cerner Middle East and Africa explains how, in the ever-changing world of healthcare technology, much is available to make the patient safer and healthier and the provider more efficient

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eing voted number two in Fortune 2016’s World’s Most Admired Company in the Healthcare, Pharmacy and Other Services category is an accolade to be proud of. For Michael Pomerance, Managing Director, Cerner Middle East and Africa, it is a reward for many years of hard work.

“Cerner has been doing what they do since 1978, and it is good to see that the effort and the vision which has really been there since the very beginning has led our company to achieve such great things and be recognised as the number two,” he says.

Pomerance describes the Cerner Middle East office as being like a mini Cerner Corporation, with all the relative

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business units its parent company has. The company is 100 percent selfsufficient, so his role encompasses everything from setting strategies to execution, implementation and financial responsibilities. Liaising with clients and motivating and mentoring staff takes up much of his time.

“We have come a long way since the inception of our operations in Saudi Arabia in 1991 and are well entrenched in this geography with our pioneering presence that exceeds a quarter of a century. Our regional footprint has expanded considerably and currently we have more than 200 client facilities spanning Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt, ranging from mega governmental hospital networks to elementary health clinics,” affirms

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1978

Pomerance. translation of names The year Cerner On an average, from English to Arabic more than 68,000 users and vice-versa, and also was founded log into Cerner’s system adherence to Gregorian every month and over 37 or Hijri calendar dates as million people across the Middle applicable,” remarks Pomerance.

East have health information stored Healthcare is ever changing, in Cerner Millennium, a premium with companies such as Cerner application suite facilitating a single needing to stay on top of both latest patient database that gives holders technology trends and the change in a different view of the patient’s data what clients want. But the fact that in the hospital or clinic. “Cerner the patient is central never changes. solutions can be localised and “Our core belief system is that adapted for regional applications, everything we do should make the as exemplified in our patented patient better,” says Pomerance. process that allows the ready “It should help the patient get

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better faster, it should help them have better outcomes, and one of the major elements of that is patient safety during medication.”

He recalls one of the company’s clients in Qatar who migrated from a paper-based medical ordering system to a fully electronic Cerner one, including matching drugs with patients through barcoded administration.

This change led to a notable 50 percent reduction in medical errors.

Electronic medical records (EMR) are slowly being implemented across all areas of healthcare, but what separates

Cerner from its competitors is that it has moved beyond using EMR simply as a vehicle for data collection.

“Today we provide consulting services for systems that are not Cerner. We are looking at how we take information that is contained in an EMR and then leverage that to help predict which patients are going to be sick soonest, which ones are most likely to come back and visit the hospital, so that we can start building intelligence with the data that has been collected over the past 15 years. Most EMR’s of today are just a data collection tools. Just

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because you put data in a tool doesn’t mean you get any benefit from it. ” The EMR can provide a wealth of information for population health management, but Pomerance describes the idea that this is all we need as a fallacy.

“Cerner sees population health management as trying to find out about that other 95 percent of data that exists in the world today, so a lot of people have smart phones, they have portal information where they enter how much they have walked or weight they have lost. You go to pharmacies over the city picking

up drugs whenever you need them.

You go to gyms where you work out or you don’t go to gyms and work out, and all that information is out there in our community.”

The Know, Engage, Manage continuum has been set up to highlight to healthcare providers how they can provide the best and the most efficient care for patients. ‘Know’ refers to knowing what is happening and predicting what will happen with the population. ‘Engage’ is about engaging with providers and patients in health and care delivery, and ‘Manage’ is about managing

“Our core belief system is that everything we do should make the patient better” – Michael Pomerance, Managing Director, Cerner Middle East and Africa

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health and improving care. to care for the people living here.

“Today’s healthcare is reactive,” “By taking greater care of the says Pomerance. “When we citizens living here they will reduce increase the data we have you the spend,” points out Pomerance. can now look at the population “We believe that all governments you serve and say ‘who are the and communities will soon come people that should be coming to the realisation that healthcare is to us for care but are not?’ Then too expensive and needs to change. as a caregiver you can engage And we will be ready for them. with them in a meaningful way.”

“One thing we are excited about is There has been an the fact that now insurance increase in interest in is becoming mandatory population health here in the UAE, and management, it will be in Qatar in particularly with another year, all the declining oil prices private and soon the cutting budgets public healthcare electronic medical and most notably providers need a full records stored in the ever-increasing solution, from the clinical Cerner Millennium cost of healthcare EMR to the billing system. putting a strain on We have a combined governments. Cerner has been system which enables them to also involved in a number of projects. collect insurance, which I think is an One in particular is the National advantage over other competitors Unified Medical Records project that just focus on the clinical side. in the UAE. The aim of this project Now going forward if you don’t have is to aggregate all the information a financial billing system connected from various sources in the UAE to the clinical system you are really into a single record, so that the going to be at a disadvantage.”

Ministry of Health has the ability The vision for the next five to 10

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years involves evaluating current markets and watching closely as new markets begin to evolve.

“When countries such as Oman, Bahrain, Morocco or South Africa become ready for next generation healthcare tools, we will be able to engage with them and help them go through that evolution,” says Pomerance.

Moreover, care and community work across the Middle East region is the credo as part of Cerner’s CSR responsibilities. The company is long associated with rehabilitation and other philanthropic and humanitarian causes. It raises funds for medical charities and contributes to endowments for women who deliver premature babies in Africa, cancer patients, and children with other impairments. The company’s long association with the Children’s Cancer Hospital Centre in Egypt is a case in point. It also supports various initiatives and educational programmes in the UAE. “We have a very good outlook for the next few years. Today we have 250 people working in the Middle East; that could be as high as 700 by the year 2022 so we are very excited about it,” Pomerance concludes.

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ENTERPRISING

in the UAE Written by Dale Benton Produced by Heykel Ouni

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Al Ghurair, one of the largest diversified companies in the Middle East, has transformed its procurement function and will spearhead the evolution of procurement functionality in the UAE

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l Ghurair is one of the largest diversified industrial enterprises in the UAE. With over 40 years of experience spanning 20 countries across nine different businesses, including food, construction, property development, energy, resources, international exchange, printing and education, it has been crucial that the group has a strong procurement foundation to fully utilise those business units and continue to be a market leader.

For Pekka Sammallahti, Group Head of Procurement, a way to achieve this has been through the development of a centralized or centrally led procurement function.

“To try and build this centralised function in a diversified group with multiple Business Units, each focused on its own aspect, there’s no real major common procurement category,” he says.

The bottom line At the start of this procurement process, the key goal was to make an impact on savings in both

indirect and direct procurement.

Sammallahti set out to separate what can be categorised as direct procurement and indirect procurement to achieve maximum savings for the enterprise. During this time, the group was also undergoing a shift in focus with regards to functionality.

“Al Ghurair had previously focused on ensuring that we are buying our products at the right time for the lowest cost,” says Sammallahti.

“But I have built up the procurement function so that we have adopted e-sourcing and e-auctions which is key in making the efficiency of procurement much better than the traditional model.”

The development of the procurement function has been driven by two key goals: to improve the bottom line through significant savings and to create a more strategic function and be a business partner to the stakeholders.

“We ensure that the supply is there and the prices are there, but now we are looking at total cost of ownership and specifically, the total value that

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procurement can bring from an end to end perspective,” Sammallahti says.

procurement strategies in which I define the key initiatives for the following year, set the KPIs and ensure that our processes are streamlined across the various different Units,” he says.

Sammallahti will work with the Units to tweak and change the processes where necessary to reflect the expertise and various unique demands of each particular Unit.

Diversification In an enterprise that is diversified through so many business facets within the UAE and globally, support from procurement across the whole board from central Group Procurement out to the procurement teams in each Business Unit (individual sector) is key Flexibility Years Al Ghurair in ensuring then, is key.

Investment has maximum “All processes are been operating efficiency and savings. defined at a Group level, For Group Procurement which we as Al Ghurair and Sammallahti, the roll out to our businesses. focus is on supporting the We look at cycle times, lead Business Unit procurement times and define the approval in all aspects, from e-auctions matrix before tailoring the policies to defining the processes and the to be able to work in any particular policies which are then adapted Business Unit,” Sammallahti adds. by each and every one the Units.

The Heads of the Business Unit Market driven procurement teams report back Market dynamics change on a daily to Sammallahti through matrix. basis and for any business it is key “Each year we conduct annual to be aware of how those dynamics

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“E-auctions have been key to our success due to the fact that many people didn’t believe it would work in this particular business or the business units, or even if it was applicable on this scale” – Pekka Sammallahti, Group Head of Procurement

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impact the business.

For Al Ghurair, flexibility across the internal processes is met with agility from an external perspective.

A key question that the group must ask and be aware of is how the current world economy impacts its businesses and therefore its procurement.

Sammallahti stresses the importance of understanding what the drivers in the businesses are and what the drivers in the world economy are for the group’s suppliers.

“We are not isolated; we are aware and following on all things that are happening across the world which have an impact on the supply chain,” he says.

Technology in procurement In any transformation or development strategy, the role of technology cannot be underestimated. In the Middle East, technology can often prove to be difficult to adapt and businesses and the suppliers have in the past proven to be reluctant to take that risk and adopt a new technology.

One of the key successes for Sammallahti

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and Al Ghurair has been the group’s role in adopting new technologies that have been key in advancing the development of the procurement function.

“Al Ghurair is one of if not the leading group using e-auctions, which is something we run hundreds of times a year,” he says.

“It has been key to our success due to the fact that many people didn’t believe it would work in this particular group or the Business Units, or even if it was applicable on this scale.”

E-sourcing and e-auctioning are now everyday practices across the whole of Al Ghurair in what Sammallahti describes as the “standard way of negotiating” for the group.

Start of something special For Sammallahti, being offered the opportunity of building and

developing the procurement function of a group so embedded within the very make-up of the UAE was one he simply could not turn down.

Al Ghurair, through its nine different Business Units, serves communities all across the UAE and globe, be it one of the largest trading houses in the world in food commodities, to supplying external cladding and glass for the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.

Sammallahti has worked for over 17 years in procurement, with companies such as Nokia and Siemens, but he admits that it was the level of understanding and focus on procurement from senior management that was a turning point in helping him begin his journey with Al Ghurair.

“During interviews I started to fully appreciate just how much of a dynamic and forward thinking

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group Al Ghurair really is and it was something I really bought into from a procurement perspective,” he says.

Naturally, for one of the largest diversified groups in the UAE, it needed to ensure that Sammallahti was the right man to take it forward.

To do this, there was one final interview with a gentleman named Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chief Executive Officer of Mashreq Bank and Chairman of Al Ghurair at the time.

“I was so impressed that the Chairman of a group of this size understands and really values procurement; it was and still is an

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20

excellent opportunity to create something dynamic here,” Sammallahti says.

Number of countries that Al Ghurair Investment works in

Evolving the procurement function Looking to the future, Al Ghurair is entering a new chapter of evolving the way procurement functions in the Middle East which has been focused on buying the right supplies and goods at the lowest price.

Sammallahti and Al Ghurair are looking to transform suppliers into business partners to collaborate together and ensure key benefits

for both business and partner.

“We are looking at consolidating certain categories and consolidating the spend so we can go to the market as one whole entity with a stronger purse to utilise,” says Sammallahti.

“It’s all about looking at supplier life-cycle management and how the partners can better support the ongoing growth ambitions of the group,” he concludes.

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Transforming corporate travel

Written by Wedaeli Chibelushi Produced by Jonathan Bradley 91

Berthold Trenkel has become CEO of Fursan at a turbulent time for the Saudi travel sector. We interviewed him to find out what strategies he’s got planned, and how he’s going to steer Fursan to e-business success

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iddle Eastern corporate travel – a travel sector that recently moved into the limelight as one of the last frontiers for online travel. For an insight into the industry today, we spoke to the new head of Saudi travel service Fursan. Founded in 1980, Fursan is Saudi Arabia’s leading Travel Management Company (TMC) that serves corporations and government institutions.

“There’s lots of things happening.

The whole GCC [Gulf Corporation Council] region is impacted by the drop in oil prices that occurred since June 2014. Governments had to reduce their spend in 2015 and tighten their belts. As a result economic growth massively slowed down – be it in Riyadh, Dubai or Doha” CEO Berthold Trenkel explains.

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Trenkel has worked for major firms like McKinsey & Company and Carson Wagonlit Travel. His career also spans across countries like Germany, South Korea, France and Singapore, so if you ask us, he’s a reputable information source for travel industry trends.

Trenkel continues: “The impact is pretty much the same across the region and that oil price effect kind of ripples all across the economy.

It leads to a couple of things, like in corporate travel, companies have cut their work force and tightened their travel polices, leading to a huge reduction in overall spend, but also in average ticket prices.”

He gives us an example: Emirates recently released its latest financial results, in which, according to Trenkel, they “complain how tough

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the environment is”. Emirates has seen its profits drop by 78 percent as a result in air fare reductions.

He elaborates: “The market has become way more competitive and there’s still more capacity coming into the market in form of brand new aircraft that the major players ordered 2-3 years back. As a result with supply exceeds demand and air travel, prices had to come down.

“Overall, the average air fare when you would buy the same ticket, Riyadh to Delhi or so, is down 14 to 16 percent vs last year,” Trenkel says. “If you

look at the ticket prices for corporations, what they are spending on the average air ticket, it has even come down 25 percent.”

Clearly, Trenkel has taken over Fursan at a challenging time in the industry. Having started in April this year, he was hired to “professionalise the way the business operates”. Despite the challenging economic climate, Trenkel feels confident about Fursan’s future progress. He tells us about how he plans to bring Fursan, and

1980

The year that Fursan Travel was founded

FURSAN TRAVEL

thus the rest of the Saudi travel industry, up to speed with Western business practices.

Trenkel explains that the US and Europe suffered from the 2008 financial crisis, however, their travel industries maintained quality corporate management strategies. “The difference with corporate travel in Saudi is the way corporate is managed,” he says.

For instance, firms like Lufthansa have corporate agreements, bespoke corporate mileage point systems, etc. With Saudi companies, policies are “not clear, not crisp, not communicated”.

Furthermore, in the US and UK, corporations normally pay via credit card, like American Express Corporate Travel Account (CTA), to manage and gain insight into their travel spend. In Saudi Arabia, everything is still on upfront approval, because according to Trenkel, most employers are not yet ready to empower their employees. He adds: “Nearly all business is still on invoice, compared with UK or the US, where credit card penetration in corporate travel would be in excess of 90 percent.”

Trenkel is truly bringing the change he wants to see. As CEO, he is working to speed up Fursan adaptation to e-business and help it reach major Western travel companies. Many of Fursan’s process’ are moving online – be it internal or with corporations.

It uses global systems like Sabre or Amadeus to provide its customers access to global content and partners with over 20 hotel content aggregators to

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“The market has become way more competitive and there’s still more capacity coming into the market in form of brand new aircraft that the major players ordered 2-3 years back” – Berthold Trenkel, CEO of Fursan

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1000

Number of Employees at Fursan Travel

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ensure competitive prices. However, the firm still heavily relies on paper forms for travel approvals with clients, who insist on traditional travel orders with signatures. “We’re trying to get clients off that but it’s a slow process,” Trenkel tells us.

“I think there is a huge opportunity for the whole industry to move to electronic travel orders or web-based systems, but I can’t do it alone.”

Here lies the challenge: If a customer insists that they want a paper form with physical signatures for audit purposes, Fursan has to comply,

despite its efforts to go electronic or remove the need for approval altogether. “At the moment, we don’t have many clients who are ready to go without approval process or move it at least completely to email, but of course we can twist it towards that,” he says.

Trenkel believes that the current economic pressure will spur a regionwide change from physical to digital. “Clients who embrace online will obviously enjoy the benefits of lower cost of travel and lower cost of services – as we’ve experienced everywhere else in the world” he adds.

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MANAGE TRAVEL WITH BIG DATA – FURSAN TRAVEL HELPS One of the buzz words in corporate travel lately has been ‘Big Data’. But few put it to actual use. Fursan Travel has invested into its Data Warehouse and analytics capabilities and is putting it to actual use for their clients.

While everyone knows, booking your flights last minute will cost you more.

Few act and know how much money they are leaving ‘on the table’. Fursan’s Travel consulting division is advising its clients with their travel spend data and patterns, how much they can save and how. And the savings can be significant. See the data in the below infographic. Prices are up to 28% higher when bookings are made on the day of departure. Obviously, every client is different, and not all bookings can be shifted to 1-2 months earlier, but Fursan is helping it’s clients to save money. A key differentiator – especially these days where lots of travelers might book direct – circumventing policies and controls – not to mention optimization opportunities like this one.

TICKET PRICE OVER TIME (Before travel date)

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Fursan is dedicated to servicing and advancing its client base in partnership with it’s major suppliers in air, hotel and car rental. “The major airlines in the US or Europe have become very corporate centric in the last 5 years,” says Trenkel. “For the big corporations, they have become very flexible and innovative. Whereas here, when it comes to working directly with corporations, most airlines aren’t yet that sophisticated, they don’t have corporate reporting solutions or partnership programs like Lufthansa has built and developed over years.”

Fursan eschews this trend. Trenkel tells us about the company’s customer relations structure. “In every sector, we have a sales team that’s focused

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on government or that’s focused on corporate,” he says. “With sales teams you have the classic split between people who are going after new clients and account managers that are in touch with large corporates, so that way you have the constant interaction and dialogue with customers. In corporate customer relations it’s about 3 things – service, savings and security. So the need to consult corporates on their travel spend and how they can reduce their cost in a proactive manner is paramount these days. Having a dedicated reporting team that advises customers is an absolute differentiator that Fursan is putting first forward.

In a market where rapid airline

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“The biggest thing for me at the moment is to get the transition to online, but even more importantly, mobile” – Berthold Trenkel, CEO of Fursan

growth struggles against economic slowdown, Fursan is armed with substantial strategies.

“The biggest thing for me at the moment is to get the transition online, but even more importantly, mobile,” Trenkel says. “As you can imagine, with such a young population in Saudi Arabia, everyone has a smartphone, often even two. And the transition from offline that would happen physically coming to the retail store and paying for a ticket in cash to booking on the go with your mobile phone and paying with cash or debit card is going to be the biggest change that’s already started to happen.”

Trenkel acknowledges that this is not a new trend. However, for all the players in travel here, that transition is only just starting. With Trenkel at the helm, Fursan is equipped to lead this movement in the Saudi travel industry. “If you boil it down to the key points. There are 5 things happening simultaneously. 1) we’re professionalising things internally and with our clients, 2) we’re become a digital player, 3) we’re moving to modern forms of payment like Amex CTA card, 4) we’re helping clients to professionalise their programmes with clear policies and we’re consulting them on spend optimization, and 5) we’re partnering with suppliers to introduce specific programs for corporates such as corporate air deals and preferred hotel programs” Trenkel concludes.

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PROMETAL AND PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Written by Catherine Rowell Produced by Dennis Morales

Chief Operating Officer Mark Lutton has been leading the company’s operations and driving ASSA ABLOY’s strategy of radically reducing break-even costs

“

My job is to cover operations, quality and operational excellence,” comments Mark Lutton, Chief Operating Officer of Prometal Group. Through ASSA ABLOY’s acquisition of Prometal in 2015, the company has sought to increase its market presence within the Middle East construction industry by becoming a ‘one stop shop’ in supplying the total door opening solution.

Undertaking a multitude of projects from specifications to execution and installation, the company is working on projects such as the Workers’ hospital in Doha and the Doha Metro (currently at design stage), in addition to the Jewel of the Creek, a residential development in Dubai, the company’s prominence within the region is significant.

Having recently finalised Habtoor city, one of the biggest construction developments in Dubai, incorporating

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three hotels, an array of shops and several facilities, the company is also undertaking one of the most rewarding projects in Jeddah, the King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA).

There is no project too large or complex for Prometal, which aims to be considered for an array of projects going forward. Mark explains: “A lot more projects are now taking longer because of the current business climate. Saudi Arabia has been on hold all year but we’re starting to see signs that things are starting to move again.” Prometal’s acquisition by ASSA ABLOY has enabled it to offer a onesupplier strategy for doors, hardware, and access control, thereby reducing costs, hassle and complexities for the industry at a time when companies need to rein in costs without sacrificing the quality of their services.

By continually seeking to economise direct material costs without impacting

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the quality of its products, Prometal aims to ensure cost efficiency through various processes. Mark explains: “The cost efficiency comes from using technologies or manufacturing processes, such as Lean, Value Analysis and Value Engineering (VA/ VE) and Automation.” All staff at the company are trained in using Lean tools, in addition to the hiring of Lean managers, ensuring improved efficiency within the manufacturing process. We also undertake sufficient research and development to improve products through VA/VE, reanalysing materials and the functionality of products to reduce costs and increase quality. By utilising Should Cost, a professional procurement tool, Mark explains “it is about going to the supplier and working out the price the components should cost based on the material weight, the material type, the surface finish and the quantity that we’re buying”. This method enables the company to reduce current labour costs, direct material costs and improve product quality, incorporating a zero defects policy.

However, the company is also keen

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“The cost efficiency comes from using technologies or manufacturing processes, such as Lean, Value Analysis and Value Engineering (VA/VE) and Automation” – Mark Lutton, Chief Operating Officer, Prometal Industries

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to implement further technologies through the use of automation and robotics. “Our European sister factories have been implementing robots for over five years and we believe robotics is the way forward, even in the door industry,” Mark comments. “The labour rate will eventually rise and robots will become more effective. We are looking at investing in robotics in 2017 and 2018.”

Overcoming regulatory challenges Prometal is currently able to produce 45,000 steel doors sets and 30,000 wooden doors sets per annum, and have recently had their Latched Single Acting Double Leaf Steel Doorset certified by Thomas Bell-Wright

International Consultants, a strategic supplier which undertakes vital tests of the company’s fire doors, for both British or UL American standards.

In the Middle East we use European and American regulatory standards in the construction industry. Mark explains: “The government and civil defence have realised with several high-profile fires in the middle east in high rise buildings that there needs to be almost a higher standard. That’s going to put an emphasis on us to have tighter controls in terms of having certification and a verified supply chain to provide quality products meeting these new specifications.”

“Everyone will have to be more on

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30 MN USD

Annual Revenue for Prometal Metal Industries Factory

Building integrity, safety and comfort through fire, smoke, sound and energy solutions • Intumescent fire & smoke door seals • Acoustic door sealing & testing facility • Weatherstripping & thresholds • Antimicrobial clean room seals • Fire rated glazing solutions • Fire rated louvers & dampers • Door hardware protection kits (interdens) • Fire rated & acoustic sealants T +97142674339 F +971 4 267 5339 M +971 50 255 3265 E jafri@kilargo.com.au www.kilargo.com.au Kilargo Middle East LLC P.O Box: 231386, Dubai, UAE.

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their toes in terms of having the correct certification and traceability that the door has been manufactured to the correct standards and specification.”

To this end, the company is currently working with Thomas Bell-Wright to construct a labelling system which Mark says will link back to an online website so anyone can scan the QR code on the door and immediately see what rating it is, who manufactured it and that it’s been approved.

The company currently utilises expert suppliers such as glass manufacturing company Saint-Gobain, in addition to Kilargo seals which provides vision panel beading and fire seals. On top of providing fire doors, Prometal have also the ability to offer a master key system for businesses who wish to obtain high levels of security. Mark explains: “Master key systems allow convenient access to authorised personnel while providing high levels of security against those without access rights. With both mechanical and electromechanical solutions ASSA ABLOY are able to ‘tailor make’ some of the largest, most flexible master key systems in the world.”

Rise of green building Alongside the change in regulations, the Middle East is increasingly moving towards sustainable buildings and the rise of LEED through the prevalence of Green building regulations.

Prometal is effectively responding to this change by transforming its products and services. However, Mark acknowledges that companies in the region are a few years behind Europe with regards implementation of sustainability initiatives due to the increased costs this incurs. “We need more suppliers here to offer LEED products to get economy of scale and bring down costs,” he says. More FSC materials, which Mark explains is “about how much of the wooden material comes from a sustainable forest” will need to be utilised, where it encompasses up to 100 percent of the product. With all these changes, staff will have to undergo vital training and an update of our current systems.

Not only are there a limited number of LEED materials suppliers, the company initially struggled to find suppliers who were prepared to undertake recycling services. However, Mark confirms:

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“In the last quarter we have managed to recycle cardboard and plastic.

We’re also looking to remove organic solvents from our products, so we’ve made the decision to move to water based paints.” Mark is also currently collaborating with Emathal about how they can utilise water-based paints within the region on wooden doors.

However, he acknowledges: “It’s going to take us working with Emathal and the Dubai municipality in order to change the behaviour of the construction industry. It’s only legislation that’s really going to drive it because price is still the key player.” Nonetheless, the company has become increasingly proactive, offering customers a LEED alternative up front, whilst also recording sustainability efforts through quarterly

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reports, covering various aspects, from energy and water consumption, to paper and plastic recycled.

Ensuring successful communication ASSA ABLOY’s acquisition of Prometal has bought many advantages, alongside a number of challenges.

Mark reflects that the company is multicultural, where many different languages are spoken within the factory areas alone, so translation is a large factor to consider. However, the company has overcome this through the use of visual communication boards. Mark explains: “We have visual communication boards to

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communicate with the labourers, who speak Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bangladeshi and Nepali. We use a lot of photographs with as little words as possible and everything is displayed around the walls of the offices and factories.” With external staff, a number of technologies are used, such as video calls and WhatsApp to provide information to remote staff.

“It’s about adapting or taking on board the new technologies that are available today”, comments Mark, “teaching people to be proactive, and for managers to take responsibility and ownership of information and share it.”

With such diversity and communication techniques, ASSA ABLOY is eager to deliver a safe working environment, maintaining high global standards which many employees might not have previously experienced. Through rigorous policies and increased communication, the company has decreased its injury rate from 20 to 4 in 10 months, below the ASSA ABLOY group average. An impressive feat which Mark is proud to acknowledge. “My policy is to be open and empower people with information,”

“If I look at the vision for the factory, it’s about improving efficiency to lower cost, maintaining our continuous improvement journey and speeding up automation by adding robotics” – Mark Lutton, Chief Operating Officer, Prometal Industries

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he says, supplying appropriate training and guidance. An employee survey over the last year has highlighted that more than 88 percent of employees stated they were proud to be part of ASSA ABLOY. “That was very positive, and that was within nine months of the acquisition that they felt part of the bigger company,” comments Mark.

Despite internal changes and external challenges, the company has seen an improvement in construction in the region due to the World Cup and various infrastructure projects in the region, which has enabled Prometal to implement distributor networks and enable future growth.

However, Mark is cautious at this rapid growth, of which he explained: “I think the market really needs to

learn how to expand at a slower rate.

I don’t think we are going to get back to 100 dollars a barrel very soon, so the industry needs to learn how to improve cashflow in order to utilise its money better at a lower price of oil.”

Nonetheless, Prometal has a strategy to increase its sales, and is always looking for new companies to acquire in the region and worldwide, including opportunities in Iran. With regards to the long-term vision, Mark reflects: “If I look at the vision for the factory, it’s about improving efficiency to lower costs, maintaining our continuous improvement journey and speeding up automation by adding robotics.”

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Technology at Khimji Ramdas: driving corporate strategy Written by TOM WADLOW Produced by CRAIG DANIELS

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From supporting actor to chief protagonist, the role of technology at Khimji Ramdas has transformed in recent years and is now enabling key strategic decision making

“

Being involved with so many businesses and industries certainly keeps me busy,” muses Chandra Shekhar Jajware, CIO at Oman’s Khimji Ramdas. “I learn things all the time and face challenges every day, but this keeps you going.

No two weeks are the same.”

It is no surprise that no two weeks are the same, given the mighty portfolio of the organisation. One of the most established names in Oman, Khimji Ramdas has been in business for almost 150 years. Today, it maintains market leadership in four key business verticals: consumer products, infrastructure, lifestyle and projects and logistics. Within this, more than 50 different business units span across luxury retail, lifestyle products, appliances, restaurant services, telecommunications and educational services, fast moving consumer goods, food commodities,

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building and construction related services and supplies, shipping services and logistics, as well as defence products and services.

Backed up by some 3,500 distribution points, with a state-of-art warehouses, Khimji Ramdas serves as a key strategic partner for more than 400 different brands. These include long-standing partnerships with multinational organisations from Proctor & Gamble and Philip Morris to Bel Groupe and Rolex.

For Jajware and his team of 40-45 IT experts, day-to-day running of critical business processes is no mean task. “Our IT is centralised and provides support services across the group’s businesses,” he says.

“On a day-to-day basis we deal with everything from information systems, infrastructure changes, upgrades, new innovations, partner communications and much more. Around 50 percent

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“Today we are far more dependent on systems providing the right information than we were ever and going forward our dependency on system would be more ” – Chandra Shekhar, Jajware CIO

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of the time we are doing the dayto-day keeping the lights on work, while the other half is dedicated to new project implementation, innovation for digital transformation.

“Today we are far more dependent on systems providing the right information than we were seven or eight years ago. Our systems are a lifeline to the business, they are a vital asset we must maintain and grow.

IT is now a strategic function, it has transformed from a support function.”

And while the technology itself may be complex and subject to constant change, this is not the major challenge for Jajware and his team. Rather, it is engaging businesses strategies with group IT strategy and IT initiatives, convincing key decision makers across the whole group about the need for certain major change in technology for digital transformation.

“Business alignment and building consensus which marries with your point of view on how technology can transform a whole business and drive change – that is the challenge,” he says. “It is not always easy to

convince very complex IT issues or new IT initiatives to everybody, you have to speak in a different language and build credibility. Communication is massively important, and we have great management support here and a team who understands how technology can take us all forward.”

Technology transformed The past year has seen the planning and execution of a landmark IT transformation project at Khimji Ramdas. This involved upgradation and migration of all KR SAP systems to SAP HANA on cloud and introduction of an enterprise mobile system with many apps.

That minimal disruption across the business was felt is testament to how well the delivery of the project went. None of the system users were aware of such massive change that happened after the cut over until they noticed the improvement in the system performance and were introduced to enterprise mobiles apps. For the business, it was the smoothest of transitions.

“The preparation work took slightly

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longer than we initially anticipated, but this has allowed us to deliver the project without any disruption to the business – it was amazingly clinical,” Jajware explains. “Downtime was a challenge for us and we had to align this on days like major public holidays when disruption would be minimal.

This involved a lot of planning and working towards specific targets.

“SAP is our strategic partners for almost 10 years now. Last year, we also joined hands with Tata Communications and welcomed them as the strategic partner for IT

1870

The year that Khimji Ramdas was founded

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infrastructure and Cloud services.

While the idea was conceptualised with SAP, Tata Communications was brought on-board to provide the infrastructure support for the project execution. It was a complete in-house project however during this transformative phase both the partners offered strategic support whenever challenges were presented to them.

Due to our system’s complexity and the need for very high stability, security and continuity, we got a unique system architecture with a detailed testing process and standard quality

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5000+ Number of Employees at Khimji Ramdas

assurance in place. We witnessed few surprises as well as some challenges in this journey of digitisation. And since at the end of the day this is a new technology, we all learnt together - SAP HANA was not known five or six years ago,” Jajware adds.

Srinivasan C R, Senior Vice President, Global Product Management & Data Centre Services, Tata Communications explains the role Tata played in implementing the solution: “Khimji Ramdas required a trusted partner that could not only provide leading cloud, network,

security and data centre services, but also act as an advisor to help them realise the full potential of its digital transformation strategy every step of the way. Subsequently, they chose Tata Communications for these reasons – our complete portfolio of services, our global infrastructure and ecosystem and our customer centric approach to power businesses to stay competitive in today’s digital age.”

The benefits have been tangible.

Not only have ageing systems been upgraded to quicker in memory computing systems, SAP HANA

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“Something I keep telling my team is that if you don’t know more than your users, then you had better become a user yourself to stay ahead ” – Chandra Shekhar, Jajware CIO

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has brought with it significantly improved performance. The upgrade bought many new functionalities and advantages, with high quality mobile apps to access backend ERP systems a truly transformational element.

Jajware explains: “Mobile previously was only used for our private and social communications, but in the next couple of years we are looking to get around 65-70 percent of enterprises systems & processes would be driven by mobile. Over the next 12 months 50-60 new mobile applications will be available on our users on KR enterprise mobile platform.”

Further to this, management and managers can now access critical business data via real time dashboards, allowing them to make important decisions quickly with up-to-date information.

Radwan Moussalli, Senior Vice President for Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, Tata Communications adds: “It is Tata Communications’ privilege to be associated with Khimji Ramdas as their preferred service provider and technology partner. We started with a mere two Virtual Machines

opportunity on our cloud and over a period have helped them transform their IT operations with our wide service portfolio, innovative business models and total commitment to anticipating and serving their needs.

Our objective was to keep them ahead on the curve of technology adoption and help them maintain their leadership position with the competitive advantage of our pay-as-you-go model offering instant cost savings while achieving organisational goals.”

Ongoing enhancements The IT work does not stop, as Jajware and his team will be bringing more of the group’s business units onto the platform in the coming months.

Another project underway involves installing new systems in the hospitality business, looking at how to become more cost effective by optimising the supply chain and inventory management.

Some projects are sizeable, some are small, but there are always several ongoing whether they be to keep the lights on or look ahead at wider strategy for the company.

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“Businesses are now being driven by technology, as opposed to the other way round which may have been the case 10 years ago,” Jajware says. “10 years ago IT systems were a means of keeping information and records whereas now they are a vital engagement tool – every business activity involves some kind of engagement with technology.”

And with this in mind it is vital that Khimji Ramdas can draw on an IT team made up of the region’s bestin-class engineers and technological minds. The company boasts a strong record of finding bright graduates from Oman who then mature through the business via internal, external and on-the-job development.

“We have some of the finest minds who have done wonderfully well since joining us, and they are now a key asset for the company taking on a lot of responsibilities,” Jajware says. “We are blessed with great local people here, and you cannot just throw a book at them. Experience is everything, and there is not just one chart for everybody so we make sure we tailor each individual’s development.”

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Keeping up with the consumer Consumers across many of the sectors in which Khimji Ramdas operates are among the most tech-savvy in the world.

The Middle East region is among the highest for smartphone penetration rates, and Jajware is all too aware that the company must keep up with changing trends and consumer habits if it is to maintain its position as market leader in key industries.

“Something I keep telling my team is that if you don’t know more than your users, then you had better become a user yourself to stay ahead,” he explains. “We see a lot of changes coming – machines, automation and robotics will be dominating a lot of business processes in years to come.

Mobile will be a much greater platform for us, not only in the sense we can be more mobile but also perform those functions quicker and more efficiently.

“Consumers are getting more and more digital savvy, and are well connected socially and through work. They are more knowledgeable than ever, and we must keep up with this.”

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