Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Leading regional systems integrator and digital transformation champion, Seidor, today announced that it has joined forces with BASF to support the global chemicals producer in a sweeping corporate-restructuring project in their construction chemicals business unit.
Having decided to operate the division as a standalone entity, BASF needed to separate the unit’s technology systems to prepare it to run independently. For the past 12 years, BASF has been running SAP R3 COBALT but since SAP announced that support for R3 will not extend beyond 2025, BASF decided that its restructuring project should also involve migration to a futureproof system.
The project will extend to 22 countries ― across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and South America — and affect some 280 users. Given the tight timeline to complete the implementation, and the need for optimal efficiency, BASF’s stakeholders identified Seidor — and specifically its Dubai based entity, Seidor MENA — as an ideal partner, given its technology credentials and global reach.
Seidor MENA began by helping BASF to classify countries by the size of operations. As an SAP partner, Seidor MENA was then able to advise BASF’s IT team on the best business application fit for the company’s transformation needs, as well as the best implementation approach to ensure a smooth transition from the legacy R3 system. BASF opted to deploy a mixture of SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business One ERP running on Amazon Web Services.
“It was vital for us to move our small and medium sized operations within the construction chemicals division to a robust system that offers high flexibility,” said Jose Vizoso Capiali, regional IT Manager Middle East, West Asia, CIS, Africa, BASF. “The fact that Seidor MENA was also able to offer us technology advices and fast deployment, with the added benefit of having a global presence, were key deciding factors. We were very keen to adopt a solution that was easy to maintain. In the digital age, IT decision makers are, I think, always looking for ways to reduce in-house workload, so the AWS cloud model suggested by Seidor MENA was a great match. And Seidor MENA’s own expertise in the domain of ERP in general, and SAP in particular, will also be invaluable to us throughout the business transformation project.”
While Seidor is a global company with local presence in many of the 22 countries involved in BASF’s deployment project, Seidor MENA will manage the entire implementation, from its Dubai offices. The implementation started last month and will take place in phased rollouts throughout the year. Seidor MENA’s role will extend beyond technology consultant to include supporting BASF in the change-management process, as the new business entity adapts from an enterprise system with a high degree of automation, to a leaner solution built for the small and medium enterprise.
BASF’s project team will work from a Seidor MENA-crafted global template for the consolidation of business processes. As lessons are learned from initial rollouts, implementation will be standardized for subsequent waves to lower TCO for BASF. Seidor MENA will continue updating this template over a three-year period, based on business needs.
Seidor MENA will also engage heavily with end users in the pilot countries to ensure successful implementations and boost users’ confidence in, and acceptance of, the new solution. Over the next three years, BASF will continue relying on Seidor MENA to enhance and support the ERP deployment, and explore options to engage further with the systems integrator in the procurement of other business applications and cloud services — with Seidor MENA not only serving as a technical advisor, but as a consultant in business-process standardization.
“Successful digital transformation is about much more than technology migration,” said Ignacio Ruiz de Eguilaz, Managing Director, Seidor MENA. “At Seidor, we recognize that business transformation requires organizations to evolve and make changes to company culture. Our global reach and technology expertise now complement a deep, nuanced knowledge of business-process standardization. BASF faced a daunting transformation challenge with their construction chemicals division, but recognized that Seidor was their ideal partner because we take a business-first approach to everything we do.”
© Press Release 2020Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.
The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.
