KUWAIT: Ahmadah International Logistics Service Co held a press conference Saturday at the Crowne Plaza hotel on the occasion of signing a contract with Wipro for Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation. Sheikh Ali Abdul Aziz Al-Sabah, Ahmadah's General Manager, Trevor Packham and Wipro's Head of Business Operations in the Gulf, Raman Sapra, attended the event.
Ahmadah is one of the well-known leaders in logistics services in Kuwait. After eight months of study for ERP software application for their business process, Ahmadah is connecting all branches over the Middle East in Jordan, Egypt, Sudan and the UAE to the ERP system. "Transport services and logistics services became one of the most vital and one of the most successful sectors in the world especially in Arab countries, which created a lot of competition in the area.
For this reason, when we decided to open this company, we had a strategic view in this sector which flourished in the last five years especially after liberating Iraq," stated Ahmadah's Chairman and Managing Director, Saud Salman.
Packham began the press conference by saying, "Ahmadah has been a pioneer in the field of logistics for more than 15 years. Our position in the market, with full logistical services, has created a very positive impact. Our brand name and services are well recognised amongst our competitors and our clients and our continued growth is due to our ability to sustain high levels of repeat business".
He added, " The company owns more than 2,000 assets, and recently took delivery of 250 new Mercedes trucks and 32 cu m tipping trailers to compliment the existing bulk fleet and the services they provide to our local manufacturers and importers. We are also operating in Egypt, Sudan, Jordan and Ras Al-Khaimah. Not only do we provide full logistics solutions (including sea freight, airfreight, and customs clearance and warehousing) to our clients, but we also actively seek opportunities for backward integration, adding values to our customers' business. By providing sustainable transportation and logistics solutions, Ahmadah meets and strives to exceed all customers expectations in every aspect of its business."
Packham explained that the level of professionalism in the region is rising rapidly to attain international standards of excellence and Ahmadah remains vigilant to market demands and trends and for this reason the company is joining hands with Oracle and Wipro for this implementation of the Oracle ERP. This new system will involve the retraining of thier staff, encourage personal development and position the company to effectively manage its future growth.
It will integrate Ahmadah's critical processes and enable them with decision support. This application management solution supports the entire applications like finance, human resources, inventory and purchase management.
Sapra said, "Wipro is the leading consulting and IT services organization with revenues of $3.47 billion and an employee strength of 70,000. We have been present in the Middle East region since 2001. We have more than 600 consultants across our first batch of local nationals and they have been with us for the last eight months now. Kuwait is extremely strategic to us and we have a country manager based in Kuwait managing our business in Kuwait. In Kuwait, we have engaged with over 10 clients in the last one year and we are looking at further investing in the country."
Sapra added: "Wipro is today among the largest partners for Oracle with Certified Advantage Partner (CAP) status. Wipro has more than over 1000 Oracle application consultants and has done over 200 Oracle projects across the globe and over 35 of them are in the Middle East including Kuwait. In the last year we have opened an Oracle centre of Excellence in our Dubai office to cater to the Gulf region. We have also opened a near shore Network Operating Centre and we are servicing many of our clients through this facility."
"Ahmadah investing in the Oracle e-business suite to automate their critical business processes will give the company the leading edge for faster response times to their clients and stakeholders, increased efficiency and productivity of operations and an overall competitive edge to address the market. Implementing the Oracle e-Business suite will take around five months followed by support," he added.
Sheikh Ali noted, "Ahmadah was established in 1989 and till this year, our company is flourishing and developing and is the leading company in logistic services. Due to the great trust of our clients and taking advantages of huge projects and important contracts, our profits rapidly increased allowing the company to spread wider outside the country to include countries like Jordan, Egypt and Sudan. Choosing Wipro is a perfect choice which will definitely add a lot to the company and will also allow our employees to positively benefit."
By Nancy Oteifa
© Kuwait Times 2007
