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ZOHO OFFER ITS NEW VERTICAL RELIEF PLAN DURING COVID-19 IN UAE

Non-profit & government, and retail would be the sectors benefiting under the elaborate plan

Zoho Corporation has introduced its Vertical Relief Plan (VRP) in the UAE. The VRP is comprised of programs and tools to assist businesses and organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic across two verticals: non-profit & government, and retail.

"We are so grateful to all the workers who are helping us weather this storm," said Sridhar Vembu, Zoho co-founder and CEO. "Beyond those on the front lines, there are workers in industries who are struggling, who are persevering, who are inventing new paths forward. The Vertical Relief Plan is a way to support those people, whether they be government workers, or retailers, who are entirely committed to helping others and returning the world to solid ground."

The VRP is a targeted effort to provide maximum assistance for businesses and organizations critically hit during this crisis. In addition to these programs, Zoho is encouraging small businesses, as well as finance, sales, marketing, and HR professionals within larger organizations to utilize discounts, training, and support programs that the company is offering. Here are some of the key features of the Vertical Relief Plan:

NON-PROFIT & GOVERNMENT

• Zoho Creator COVID-19 App Program: The program helps non-profits, government bodies, and communities that are working on various programs like patient monitoring or food distribution to execute their mission more efficiently with the help of apps. These organizations can place a request, and Zoho will build web and mobile apps for free using Zoho Creator, a low-code application development platform.

• For government agencies and departments around the world that are working on COVID-19 relief initiatives like citizen helplines, Zoho is currently offering free software licenses of Zoho Desk, the company's help desk software

• Increasingly, non-profits are turning to social media to drive donations and manage distribution pipelines. Governments are using social media more than ever to spread awareness and communicate breaking developments. To aid them, Zoho Social is opening up its advanced edition for free for six months.

• For non-profits working to provide relief during the pandemic, Zoho Checkout is available for free, enabling them to collect online donations easily.

RETAIL

• Retail store-fronts, shuttered due to the crisis, can build out an online presence using the Zoho Commerce Starter Plan for free, up to 60 days. For the existing Commerce customers, the company is raising the transaction fee threshold for the next 3 months to assist with tougher economic conditions.

• Businesses providing essential services, such as retail or pharmaceuticals, can quickly set up their online presence by availing free training and rapid onboarding of Zoho Inventory, Zoho's order management software, set up specially for them. Sridhar Vembu Zoho co-founder and CEO

Additional Programs in Support of Change Management

• Zoho Survey is now available at a 50% price reduction and comes with several crisis-related survey templates to help organizations jump-start the data collection process. Furthermore, Zoho Campaigns now offers crisis templates to assist with outreach and communications.

• Zoho has increased the storage limit for businesses using WorkDrive to 1TB of shared storage for the Starter plan and 3TB of shared storage for the Team plan to help businesses currently experiencing higher-than-normal volume of data.

• Zoho is offering several development programs through Zoho People, including unexpected change management training, stress management training, new technology training, onboarding training, and role-change training.

• Zoho is rolling out free Zoho Recruit video credits until the end of June, 2020. Zoho Recruit has integrated with Zoho Meeting to make the video interface possible.

SPEED HOUSE GROUP SELECTS EPICOR ERP

Epicor Software Corporation, a global provider of industry-specific enterprise software to promote business growth, announced that Speed House Group of Companies has chosen Epicor ERP, a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, to enhance operational efficiency, scalability, and customer satisfaction. Valued Epicor partner Knowledge Web Consultancy will work with Speed House’s stakeholders to bring the full value of the Epicor commerce platform to the company and its employees.

Speed House has been providing quality manufacturing products to the regional construction industry since the early 1970s, expanding from 50 employees to more than 1,200. From its home base in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Group has spread across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, to serve customers in Australia, UK, India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Lebanon. The Speed House Group now encompasses nine companies and exports to more than 20 countries.

“In this modern era, digital transformation is inevitable if we want to maintain the high standards that our customers have come to expect from us,” said Saymaad Mansoor, ERP project manager, Speed House Group. “We committed ourselves to a comprehensive overhaul, including an upgrade from our existing ERP, HRMS and other core applications, to a next-gen, cloud-ready ERP solution.”

Speed House’s stakeholders were keen to increase transparency, responsiveness, and traceability in their processes, as well as improve on lead times. The management team also sought to establish a foundation to enhance product quality and improve customer satisfaction. Speed House’s procurement team scoured the market for a scalable ERP platform that would give the best possible fit for the company’s Amel Gardner Regional Vice President – MEA, Epicor Software

ambitions.

“Our legacy ERP solution’s data models were just not designed to handle a high volume of information in a real-time environment,” said Mansoor. “Redundant information was saved and stored by different divisions, and incompatible part codes from different applications meant stock-taking was a tedious task. The system was also not designed for a multi-company environment.”

After a year-long procurement process, which evaluated several vendors and included a proof-of-concept run, Speed House selected Epicor ERP.

“While its core functionality covered most of our important business processes, it was the modular approach and flexibility in customisation that set Epicor ERP apart,” Mansoor explained. “Epicor was also the best fit for our manufacturing requirements, and the software has scalability options that will empower us in our pursuit of becoming the leading manufacturing company in the region.”

Knowledge Web Consultancy (KWC) was chosen by Speed House for its proven record of Epicor implementations with manufacturers. Knowledge Web will assist two of Speed House Group's companies with implementation in phase one, covering an estimated 30 users and expected to last six months. Subsequent phases are intended to cover another six companies. Epicor ERP modules to be deployed by Speed House include Supplier Relationship Management, Advanced Planning and Scheduling, and Customer Relationship Management.

“We expect to improve productivity and reduce decision-making time thanks to the effective transfer of information,” said Mansoor, of the projected benefits of implementing Epicor ERP. “We believe that the new software will give us a competitive edge on a regional level.”

As part of its ambitions to compete on the international stage, Speed House is exploring further cloud solutions from Epicor, including Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

“The Middle East and North Africa construction industry is currently a competitive hot zone for the entire supply chain,” said Amel Gardner, regional vice president – Middle East, Africa & India (MEAI), Epicor Software. “Companies that want to stay ahead of the pack know this is the time not just for optimisation, but for continuous improvement. Finding a flexible, tailored ERP platform that supports growth and is easy to deploy, integrate, use and maintain is the cornerstone of any such initiative. Epicor ERP is designed specifically to address these requirements and we are excited to help Speed House reap the benefits of the platform and be able to accelerate its growth ambitions as a result.”