Business Review Europe & Middle East – August 2015

ww w.businessrevieweme.com

August 2015

@ CIO of the Castle THE NATIONAL TRUST’S IT TURNAROUND

Colocating In A DATA CENTRE Five-Step Art of Pitching a New Business Idea

SPECIAL REPORTS

City & Guilds Group - Tech Evolution

GO plc

EDITOR’S COMMENT

Technology Serving People W E L C O M E T O T H E A U G U S T issue of

Business Review Europe & Middle East. This month we are showcasing some amazing and very diverse companies that are transforming what may at first sight seem like very traditional businesses through IT. Notably, these organisations are adopting outsourced IT solutions, rather in the Software (or Platform) as a Service (SaaS or PaaS) model. What could be more traditional and embedded in our national culture than the City & Guilds of London or the National Trust? Yet these companies are doing much more than accommodating themselves to the 21st century. They command huge amounts of data and know a great deal about their customers. Learn how they are leveraging this information!

Few business activities are untouched by technology these days, but pitching a business to a potential investor arguably relies more on the charisma of the proposer than on the slides they produce. Matthew Pollard is a people person and his tips are worth reading.

Enjoy the Issue!

John O’Hanlon Managing Editor John.O’Hanlon@wdmgroup.com 3

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CONTENTS

Features

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LEADERSHIP In The Battle For Financial Services Supremacy, Customer Engagement Is The Key To Success

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TECHNOLOGY Colocating In A Data Centre

TOP10 The Five-Step Art Of Pitching A New Business Idea 5

CONTENTS

Company Profiles TECHNOLOGY 30 The National Trust 48 The City & Guilds Group 62 GO Plc

National Trust

30 48

City & Guilds Group

62

GO

74 ADNOC Distribution 90 DU

SUPPLY CHAIN 104 Kuwait Airways 118 Rusta 128 UTL

MANUFACTURING 140 Al Ruqee Group

74

ADNOC Distribution

154 Toshiba 162 OMIFCO 174 Henkel

CONSTRUCTION 186 Mercury Engineering

EXPLORATION 198 Arabian Drilling Company

du

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August 2015

90

104

Kuwait Airways

118

128 154

Rusta

UTL

TOSHIBA

140 162

Al Reqee Group OMIFCO

174

Henkel Mercury Engineering

186 198

Arabian Drilling Company

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LEADERSHIP

In The Battle For Financial Services Supremacy, Customer Engagement Is The Key To Success Roland Bloesch, Global Director Of Financial Services, hybris and SAP Customer Engagement and Commerce, argues that insurers and retail banks capable of transforming their approach to customer engagement can still come out on top ROCKED BY A series of major scandals, under pressure from new, disruptive competitors and tectonic shifts in the customer journey, financial services institutions face an uphill battle to retain the hegemony they have enjoyed for centuries.

Like every sector, financial services companies are grappling with deep and fundamental change. Firstly, the 8

August 2015

traditional customer journey: call a hotline or visit your local branch, listen to the advice of an expert, purchase a financial product like a personal loan or insurance premium, is no longer the norm. It has been replaced by an unpredictable sequence of touch points spanning research, consideration, purchase, and postpurchase. What is clear though is that

the customer, not the brand, is now firmly in control and more confident than ever to compare and contrast products and shop for the best deals.

Secondly, a series of major scandals has undermined the most important part of any financial services company’s value proposition: trust. The cumulative impact of the 2008 financial crisis,

the Libor rate-fixing scandal and the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) has savaged the reputation for integrity and trust that the whole industry’s success depends on. This has encouraged today’s savvy, discerning customer to abandon their traditional loyalty to these iconic institutions, and open their eyes to alternative providers.

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LEADERSHIP

As consumers spend more time researching the products and services they wish to purchase, it is critical that financial services companies offer smarter ways to quickly and easily compare and contrast the benefits of certain deals Finally, just like Amazon and Alibaba in the retail sector, Netflix and Spotify in the entertainment industry and WhatsApp and Skype in the telco space, financial services companies are also under siege from a host of emerging, agile service providers with new, differentiated business models. Price comparison websites like Moneysupermarket. com, or online, ‘branchless’ banks like First Direct are putting insurers and retail banks under additional pressure. Worse, all conquering Google is now delivering insurance quotes in the UK, and Apple Pay is 10

August 2015

on more than 40 million iPhone 6s’.

This ‘perfect storm’ represents a real and present threat to the ability of major financial services companies to retain customers, inspire loyalty and win new business. However, the banks and insurers that aggressively transform their approach to customer engagement in line with the 21st century consumer can still win back the trust sacrificed over the past decade and ultimately retain their positions of dominance in the financial services industry. So, what does this transformation entail?

Firstly, as consumers spend more

T H E B AT T L E F O R F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S S U P R E M A C Y

time researching the products and services they wish to purchase, it is critical that financial services companies offer smarter ways to quickly and easily compare and contrast the benefits of certain deals. The rise of price comparison websites demonstrates the appetite for simplicity and clarity in financial products. At this stage there is an important role for agents to play, across a range of different touch points: a free ‘instant quote’ form, an on-screen chat session, an in-person meeting at their home to help support and educate a customer, hence re-establishing trust and boosting loyalty.

Providing an omni-channel experience: consistent, contextual,

and relevant across every single touch point a consumer interacts with, is increasingly becoming ‘table stakes’ for any company that engages customers in the digital sphere. As consumers get increasingly comfortable with requesting a loan or signing an insurance policy online, every single channel: mobile, web, contact centre, must be capable of performing that function. Furthermore, the physical, in-branch experience must be tied to the virtual, online equivalent so that when a customer walks into a high street bank or insurance broker, the staff inside can pick the journey up seamlessly from the last touch point.

Next, financial services companies must sensitively but aggressively

“A series of major scandals has undermined the most important part of any financial services company’s value proposition: trust” – Roland Bloesch, Global Director Of Financial Services, hybris and SAP Customer Engagement and Commerce 11

LEADERSHIP

Financial services have the competitive advantage with access to transactional data from their customer base make use of one key competitive advantage they possess: a wealth of transactional data about each of their customers. The cheques we write, bills we pay, times we use a debit or credit card all provide helpful ‘signals’ about our purchasing preferences.

Properly harvested, this data can be used to surprise and delight customers; a personalised insurance premium for their new car, or advice on budgeting and saving based on their recent spending patterns.

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It’s a treasure trove of opportunity for financial services companies to differentiate and impress.

The ability to combine transactional and historical data with real-time browsing data is also unlocking the power of contextual marketing and predictive analytics for financial services companies. For example, if a customer bought a car twelve months ago, and is visiting the insurance section of the website – why not instantly target that customer through their favourite channel with a coupon or discount for a driver with one year, no claims? Insurance firms are already starting to embrace in-car devices that measure how a driver uses their vehicle, then provides a quote based on that behaviour.

This isn’t ‘futuregazing’, it’s what your customer expects right now.

Data must also be used reshape the traditional outbound marketing techniques employed by financial institutions for decades. For example, if customer behaviour across different digital touch points shows a spike in engagement around money-saving content after the holiday season, why not provide a free budgeting or bill payment app with the next round of

“The rise of price comparison websites demonstrates the appetite for simplicity and clarity in financial products” credit card statements? Or if in early September customers are looking at long-term savings plans to fund their childrens’ education, distribute a tailored offer designed to inspire action. Using real-time customer data provides powerful, actionable insight that isn’t based on gut or tradition.

In summary, financial services providers are locked in a battle to stay relevant, as a changing customer journey allows agile third parties to

encroach on their turf. Survival and future success depends on their ability to think like retailers, constantly finding ways to surprise and delight customers and move them along the purchasing funnel. They are sitting on a number of important advantages: strong brand recognition, a wealth of powerful data, but in order to make them count, they must put customer engagement right at the heart of their business.

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TECHNOLOGY

Coloca

A DATA C

Roger Keenan, Ma London Data Centre at some of the thing entrusting your da

Writ ten By: RO

ating In

CENTRE

anaging Director Of e, City Lifeline, looks gs to consider when ata to a third party

OGER KEENAN

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TECHNOLOGY AS INFORMATION, COMPUTING and data communications technologies evolve business demand for data centre services grows simultaneously.

That demand is split into two parts; public cloud, where computing is available on demand and delivered from data centres owned and operated by large US corporations, and commercial data centres, spread all over the world. In the UK, London is the dominant location for data centres partly because of the size of its internal market but also because the internet is in London and almost everywhere else is a spur from London. It’s vital for

companies to consider, think through and understand whether it is better to house their most critical IT and data communications operations in-house, colocated in a data centre or remotely with a public cloud provider. And which choice or combination of choices will prove most beneficial for their business.

As the hybrid cloud model’s popularity grows, so does the trend of businesses moving from in-house to a combination of external colocation and on-demand public cloud services.

The flexibility of public cloud means choosing a provider is simple and if the cloud service provider does

Roger Keenan, MD Of London Data Centre, City Lifeline

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C O L O C AT I N G I N A D ATA C E N T R E

not meet business needs, moving is equally simple. This is not the case with colocation, where the choice of an external data centre requires care, thought and research. It is even less simple for in-house installations, where a complete mini-data centre may have to be constructed, along with redundant electrical feeds, redundant diesel generator backup, duplicated cooling systems and multiple carrier fibre digs.

Many organisations are now looking away from in-house data centres for exactly those reasons and moving to hybrid cloud, with a dynamically variable combination of their own equipment in an external colocation data centre and public cloud as needed. With this in mind, there are five key points companies should consider when looking for a safe, secure and reliable data centre to host their own critical equipment.

Location It may sound counter-intuitive in an era where fast fibre means latencies are in milliseconds, but location really does matter.

It’s vital you can access equipment quickly and conveniently to make

‘Many organisations are now looking away from inhouse data centres … and moving to hybrid cloud, with a dynamically variable combination of their own equipment in an external colocation data centre and public cloud as needed’ changes and investigate any problems, as if there is a real crisis, fast access can be a lifesaver.

Knowing where your key technical people live and how quickly they can get there is critical to where you decide to locate your most critical operations. So, hosting operations in a location your business and your most critical people can access in a timely manner is essential.

Location in colocation matters.

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TECHNOLOGY

Location: hosting operations in a location your business and your most critical people can access in a timely manner is essential Connectivity For non-critical applications where a few Mb/sec of IP Transit are all that is required, a carrier choice may not be relevant. For more complex applications, a wide choice of connectivity colocated within the data centre is essential. This is especially true for situations where businesses anticipate heavy traffic or diverse international connectivity issues, 18

August 2015

‘London is the dominant location for data centres, partly because of the size of its internal market but also because the internet is in London’

C O L O C AT I N G I N A D ATA C E N T R E

such as international events or the launch of a new website. In these instances, finding a data centre with a wide choice of data connectivity suppliers colocated on site is critical.

People Perhaps the most easily overlooked factor for businesses investing in a data centre provider is the way the organisation works. Providers should

play a pivotal role in business growth plans so the partnership should be long term and it’s therefore vital you can trust its employees to offer the highest quality service. Ask yourself: does the data centre add value to your business, or is it just trying to sell you something? Knowing you can trust your colocation provider when business critical issues arise after hours on a Friday is vital, as having to wait until 19

TECHNOLOGY communications offerings. When there are a range of providers in the market offering high standards, there is no place for providers who do not come up to scratch. However, security arrangements and standards do vary considerably and it is important you’re satisfied any technical claims made will be valid for the time you will be colocated in the data centre.

Monday for crisis resolution can be crippling. In colocation, working with people you can trust is essential.

Technical Standards Data centre technology has improved greatly over the last few years. New data centres have been built, while existing centres have been brought up to the necessary standards, so data centres do now offer similar propositions in terms of their electrical and cooling resilience and in terms of their IP transit and data 20

August 2015

Price Price is an issue in all business decisions and choosing a partner to host your business critical data is no different. Much like clothing brands, well established data centres charge high prices because companies will pay them. A small number which monopolise a particular market – usually a glut of connectivity providers or an eco-system of financial customers sometimes charge eyewatering rates for colocation services.

If it’s central to business success, the customers have little choice but to pay. If not, there are a range of wellestablished data centres, especially in London, offering similar services charging sensible prices. Any buyer of data centre services should also be aware of what a fair market price

C O L O C AT I N G I N A D ATA C E N T R E

Choosing a high quality colocation provider is mostly common sense, although diligent research is key, as is recognising that emotional personal preferences will play their part is for the level of facilities they want and for the geographic location they choose and is prepared to pay for.

Any data centre provider offering pricing below that is probably doing so for a reason, possibly because they have big cash outgoings relating to building a new data centre and little in the way of cash coming in to support it. Such providers almost inevitably fail and should be avoided.

Choosing a high quality colocation

provider is mostly common sense, although diligent research is key, as is recognising that emotional personal preferences will play their part. The choice impacts long term business growth plans, so identifying your organisation’s needs, defining and building a coherent, reasoned and justifiable strategy that integrates in-house, external colocation data centres and public cloud providers will pay off in the long run.

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TOP 5

The Five-Step Art Of

PITCHING A NEW BUSINESS IDEA

Matthew Pollard (the Rapid Growth Guy) shares with readers of Business Review Europe & Middle East a short checklist of essential points to cover when trying to sell an idea to an investor who has heard it all before Written by MATTHEW POLLARD

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TOP 5

THE PERSON AND THE ISSUE

01

You must remember that getting people interested in your idea isn’t about the what of the product, but about the whom: the person your product will help.

Your idea had to start somewhere, and it was likely either experiencing a problem first hand, or knowing someone who experienced it. As a result, you took action to help; you must put your audience in the shoes of the person who has the issue, so that they feel similarly interested in alleviating it.

Really focus on how the person with this issue feels and the daily struggles they face to build an emotional connection between your audience and the person you want to help.

I guarantee, this is the key first step to getting everyone from investors to cofounders on your team.

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THE FIVE-STEP ART OF PITCHING A NEW BUSINESS IDEA

02

THE ISSUE WORLDWIDE Once your listeners are emotionally involved, you can share with them the actual scope of the issue.

Move from your original person and expand outwards to feature the community of

people just like the one in whom they’re already invested.

Not only will they be even more motivated to help ease the pain of the many people experiencing this particular problem, but they will also notice that fixing it has the potential to be very profitable.

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TOP 5

THE ‘WHAT IF…’ You might be tempted now to tell your audience about the fantastic solution you’ve dreamed up, but resist: first, you must let them do a bit of their own dreaming.

Point them in the right

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direction by saying, “what if there were an app of a website or a service that could help?”

The listener then bypasses the ‘why do I care’ stage because you’ve guided them into imagining a solution of their own.

03

THE FIVE-STEP ART OF PITCHING A NEW BUSINESS IDEA

04

THE SOLUTION You’re finally presenting your solution, and your audience will be connecting it with the one they’ve dreamed up.

Some will have imagined a grand solution and will see potential to add features to your innovation. Others will have dreamt up a less satisfactory solution and will be amazed at yours. Either way, they will be on board. Now for the trickiest

part: I have seen many ideas get destroyed because investors wished to add on features before the product could be launched.

If add-ons are suggested, be open, but advocate for a minimum viable product to start. Suggest that you don’t want to become one of the many start-ups that goes bankrupt before anything can be launched; you will gain their respect and create a perception that you are a safe investment decision.

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TOP 5

05

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THE FIVE-STEP ART OF PITCHING A NEW BUSINESS IDEA

THE ASK You’ve got your audience invested in an issue and seeing its potential for profit allowed them to dream up a solution, you’ve given them yours: it’s now time to ask for their commitment in helping you.

Begin this transition by showing that you are the right person to make the idea come to fruition, then cite research and other evidence supporting the viability of your product/ idea and that consumers want it. Include detailed financials, expert opinions, etc: the more wellrounded your research is, the more likely you’ll inspire your audience,

but be concise. I’ve seen many pitches lose their audience by slipping into boring industry jargon. Before adding anything, ask yourself: “what is its purpose, what message does it convey, do I really need it?” Pitching a new business idea is really an act of moving your audience through steps that will touch their emotions and inspire them.

Once you master the art of building people’s personal investment in an issue as well as your solution, you will have the rare superpower of securing enthusiastic support for every new business endeavour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Matthew Pollard is The Rapid Growth Guy! By the age of 30, the young Australian established himself as a major player in the business world. Not only has he founded several multi-million dollar businesses, but Matthew has a passion for sharing his insights with other entrepreneurs. With five multimillion-dollar business success stories to his name in industries as vastly different as telecommunications, construction, and nationally accredited education, Matthew has been characterised as a true differentiation, niche marketing, and sales systemisation powerhouse.

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The National Trust’s IT journey CIO, Sarah Flannigan explains how Technology is helping to facilitate operational change across the organisation.

Written by: John O’Hanlon Produced by: Kiron Chavda

A visitor in the shop at Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire

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T H E N AT I O N A L T R U S T

The National Trust is a UK conservation charity, protecting historic places and opening them up for ever, for everyone.

National Trust staff and volunteers wearing branded clothing at Trerice in Cornwall

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V

isitors to National Trust properties are invariably charmed. From arrival to departure members and non-members alike are supported by staff and volunteers who are there because they love their heritage.

Car parking, access, help for the disabled and children are all managed with dedication, and once inside the property, the Trust’s room guides demonstrate and share their profound knowledge.

There are a million reasons to love the National Trust, and one of them is that its need to make money to plough back into saving endangered houses and landscapes, and maintaining those it already has, is never in your face. However the Trust is a business and needs to work properly.

When in 2010 Sarah Flannigan was brought in to transform the National Trust’s IT strategy, a lot of things were wrong. From the visitors’ point of view, this might be seen in membership cards not getting issued, or taking ages to arrive, difficulties in joining, and the inability of reception staff to check online when a member turned up without their card for any reason.

The status quo ante bellum There were three main areas that needed immediate attention. The first was a CRM system that was causing problems at the point of sale, the second the ‘cuppa tea’ syndrome that pervaded more than 400 locations (average

R E TA I L

Visitors using the Kitchen Cafe at Allan Bank and Grasmere, Cumbria.

logon times were in the region of 45 minutes), and the third a culture of suspicion within the business, and little confidence in the ability of the IT department to deliver change.

Right at the beginning, she says, the need for a thoroughgoing IT transformation was apparent in an organisation working its way around a babel of outdated legacy platforms, and the vision of the Systems Simplification Programme (SSP) started to form. However nothing on the scale she envisaged could be started till the underlying problems had been tackled. Her first three years in office were spent doing this. “We spent a lot of time fixing the CRM and membership servicing problems,” she said. “What I found when I joined was that we had a big problem around how we were servicing our membership. At

Key Personnel

Sarah Flannigan National Trust CIO

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Richard Feest, Head of IT, Anglia Regional Co-operative Society.

www.omnicogroup.com

T H E N AT I O N A L T R U S T

4.5m The number of National Trust Members

the time we had 3.5 million members (now it’s 4.5 million). Our members are our lifeblood.”

Then she moved on to essential infrastructure. The properties are largely rural, and few were served by high speed broadband, let along fibre-optic. “We invested £15 million putting in place upgraded infrastructure to our properties. Where BT could install fibre at a sensible cost we paid them to do that. Where that was impossible or too expensive we turned to microwave or satellite solutions or put in network optimisers to make things work more quickly.”

This, together with computers upgraded to Windows 7 and weeding out apps that had

Visitors in the garden at Packwood House, Warwickshire

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R E TA I L

accrued but were slowing the system, has created an effective network across the Trust, though this was a painstaking process – each property had to be treated as a separate case.

Trust in IT At the same time as addressing these nuts and bolts projects, Sarah Flannigan knew she had to establish a new relationship between the IT department, and the rest of the organisation.

One of the most hard-won successes to date has been establishing the credibility of the IT department. That took some inventive thinking. She insists that every member of her team puts in at least five days each year doing work experience at a property. “They can choose the where, when and what they want to do but they are not allowed to work for me unless they do this property work experience and embrace all that the Trust stands for.”

This goes down well with the IT people, who come back with knowledge and respect for the people who conserve and manage Trust properties or work in the shops and cafés.

Each person is accompanied by a minder – the IT Teddy (‘IT Loves special Places’) and comes back with a location photo, but above all re-energised and with new ideas.

“It is a spiritual refreshment,” she says.

Having restructured the team itself, she looked for ways to convince the management about what IT can do for them. At the time

Staff at the National Trust Membership Department at Warrington.

“We invested £15 million putting in place upgraded infrastructure to our properties” –S arah Flannigan, National Trust CIO

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“Supporting a strategic initiative to cover accelerated global business growth whilst reducing business risk and providing the flexibility to scale and adapt services aligned to changing markets and demands.”

BSi “We are delivering the single biggest change programme of its type that the Trust has ever taken on, and Attenda is helping us to achieve that.”

The National Trust “Transforming the IT infrastructure to ensure that key business applications supporting the day to day operations are always available to internal and external users.”

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T H E N AT I O N A L T R U S T

“The integration between them is where you really get the business value,” – Sarah Flannigan, National Trust CIO

MI Dashboard, a tool designed by property managers for property managers.

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they’d struggle to access information on which to base decision making. They were used to waiting six weeks to look at critical KPIs like visitor numbers, energy use, staff and visitor satisfaction scores, and to compare performance between properties was laborious. “We created what we call the MI Dashboard, a tool designed at the time by property managers for property managers.

Now, in one place, they are able to see all of their property management information; not just day to day visitor numbers and takings but also their non-financial information, which is crucial to how we run the Trust.”

A small number of ‘hero’ projects like this helped create confidence that a larger structural upgrade was deliverable. In a strategy paper Sarah set out a roadmap for transformation, promising that in three years the landscape would be different – with IT a trusted resource, basic problems fixed and the way open to choose whether to invest further in IT or simply use the funds for conservation. The foundations had been laid for the introduction of SSP. “Different parts of the business have legitimate requirements and the role of the CIO is to spot where they join up,” she explained. “For example the marketing teams were very keen to find out exactly who all our different customers were.

Members, people who book holiday cottages, buy from our online shop, who visit but are

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not members and so on: these might or might not be the same people. They wanted to find opportunities to communicate with them in a much more relevant and personalised way.”

Connected with this requirement was the fact that the Trust’s tills are little more than cash registers, with no connection to any central finance system. “Literally, we record our visitor numbers and the takings in our shops and cafés with pen and paper. The data is therefore not reliable. It takes forever and so does cashing up at the end of the day. If you really want to understand your customer and build their loyalty you need a till system that will record that visit properly; then you can understand the visitor and communicate

Visitors being served at the counter at the Stables tea-room at Osterley Park and House, Middlesex.

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N AT I O N A L T R U S T

Visitors walking outside at Knightshayes, Devon.

with them more clearly.� To be able to integrate sales Omnico was selected as the Trust’s Epos (electronic point of sale) partner.

Staff at the properties wanted to be more efficient; marketers wanted to offer more personalised communications. An integrated till device at each property is the answer to both problems. A joined up till system is being rolled out this year. It will be backed up by a new finance system from Unit 4, to replace ageing systems and multiple manual interfaces. This whole suite of new integrated systems is hosted by managed services partner, Attenda.

Enterprise applications

designed for people Unit4 is a leading provider of enterprise applications, including the Unit4 Business World ERP solution, specifically designed for dynamic organisations that experience frequent, ongoing change.

Thousands of organisations such as The National Trust within notfor-profit sector, commercial, education, public sector and financial services benefit from our solutions.

At Unit4, we are in business for people

unit4software.co.uk

In business for people.

R E TA I L

The roadmap drawn Five distinct programmes go to make up the SSP. “The integration between them is where you really get the business value,” said Flannigan.

The Amazon Redshift data warehouse holding 13 million records, drawn from every available source and cleaned and integrated, is already in place, with analytics from Tableau and Adobe Campaign that enable property managers to understand the visitor patterns behind the numbers. “For example Knightshayes in Devon runs a summer festival every year that attracted about 500 people. They wanted to increase those numbers but weren’t sure how best to do that. They used the data warehouse and the marketing analytics tool to

“We have a clearly integrated programme that is managing that complexity and it is spitting out an enormous amount of value as a result.”

–S arah Flannigan, National Trust CIO

Visitors enjoying a picnic in the gardens at Knightshayes, Devon.

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T H E N AT I O N A L T R U S T

Visitor sitting at a table outside Sutton House and Breakers Yard, Hackney, London.

Two weeks after the devastating fire at Clandon Park, Surrey.

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understand their local market, and which members and non-members were visiting. They used this to target three specific postcodes, placed bus stop adverts in them, and saw three times as many people at this year’s festival than ever before!”

That very positive result is mirrored by a very recent IT success, triggered by the shocking fire that destroyed the 18th century Clandon Park in Surrey. As the careful salvage process got underway the Trust’s supporters were asking how they could help. “Before the SSP we would have no way of directly communicating with those people,” says Sarah, “but now we could very quickly create an e-mail campaign, contacting supporters within a very targeted set of parameters.”

The donations and expressions of support flowed through the door and a response that would previously have taken six weeks to put together was accomplished within an hour.

Implementing a bunch of platforms

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simultaneously may seem crazy, she admits, but to gain value from one part you need the others. “We have a clearly integrated programme that is managing that complexity and it is spitting out an enormous amount of value as a result.

The staff’s vision for SSP, Systems Simplification Programme

Organisational engagement The Trust is over half way through a transformation process that will end around the end of 2016. Sarah Flannigan has been getting the organisation to be change ready as part of the SSP, overcoming resistance and reassuring everyone. “We are w w w. n a t i o n a l t r u s t . o r g . u k

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T H E N AT I O N A L T R U S T

Family visitors having a picnic in the garden at Melford Hall, Suffolk.

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August 2015

putting standardised processes in place, which may not be popular but are right for the Trust.�

To encourage buy-in she ran a series of regional roadshows, presented the programme, gave out art materials and asked them to draw it.

After a bit of head scratching people started to depict their vision of their world today and how they think the SSP will change it. Dinosaurs, penny-farthings and quills featured, then some storm clouds followed by feel-good images like

R E TA I L

champagne corks and rainbows. “We pulled it all together into a montage which tells the story from the staff’s own perspective. It communicated the change process in a better way than the usual e-mail saying what is going to happen.”

To keep up the momentum, regional champions represent the programmes. “In every communication I try to be completely honest about what is going well and what is going less well,” insisted Sarah. “You don’t enter a major transformation programme without something going wrong along the way, so we need to be honest about where it has gone wrong and why, and learn from that. That has been a really important part of how we have built confidence among staff.”

Glitches have been relatively minor. She had hoped to have the new website up and running before this summer season: now it will go live in the autumn. But it will make a big difference to users, 53 percent of whom now access it on a mobile device. The new website will be optimised for mobile, and make it a lot easier to join the National Trust.

It will help draw in funding, improve access and make the most of the Trust’s remarkable image bank. In the end, the charm and humanity of the National Trust won’t be jeopardised by IT, and its increased efficiency and revenues will serve its core purpose to protect historic places and green spaces, opening them up for ever, for everyone.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Heritage Preservation HEADQUARTERS

Swindon, UK FOUNDED

1895 S TA F F

5,500 permanent, rising to 10,000 in the summer season, plus 67,000 volunteers PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

A UK conservation charity, protecting historic places and green spaces

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Qualifying in the Cloud City & Guilds CIO Ian Turfrey is taking a great training institution global with IT Written By: John O’Hanlon Produced By: Kiron Chavda

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THE CITY & GUILDS GROUP

Though a product of the late 19th Century when the City and Guilds of London Institute (the City & Guilds Group) was founded by a group of ancient livery companies, if you think there is anything quaint about it, look again!

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I

n reality the guilds of London were well ahead of their time when they came into being in mediaeval times, overseeing skills training, wage control, labour conditions and industry standards.

When the Institute came into being it quickly established itself as the UK’s leading provider of vocational examinations and qualifications.

Today, while still run as a not-for-profit and embedded in the UK’s national consciousness the City & Guilds Group has grown its global presence to 80 countries serving two million students every year in more than 8,000 learning establishments. It employs some 1,300 people globally, and works with more than 10,000 training providers around the world. Its credentials are respected in the leading economies of the world and developing countries alike. As an example, it has recently entered an agreement with Saudi Arabia to increase participation in vocational education from 10 percent to 40 percent by 2023.

Some 400,000 students will benefit, helping the kingdom to diversify its oil-based economy and reduce its dependence on foreign labour.

But ten years ago, with monolithic and underinvested back office IT systems and a plethora of customer-facing software in place, the City & Guilds Group would have struggled to maintain its strong brand advantage much further into the 21st century. The City & Guilds Group’s IT Director Ian Turfrey was appointed to his present job in 2012. However he has been with the organisation since 2005, progressively

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IT training is taught through over 10,000 providers

updating its software systems and implementing a company-wide SAP ERP system. It hardly needs to be said that IT has evolved exponentially in the last decade, and the path he has set since over the last three years is radically different – and, he hopes future proof, in that business critical IT can be kept up to date by third party specialists. His IT team will not be concerned, in other words, with keeping the lights on, but rather with delivering the applications and services that are core to the City & Guilds Group.

The IT transformation started some four years ago with the desktop systems. Till then the organisation ran on tightly coupled back-office systems and old-fashioned fixed desktops and telecoms, with SAP systems implemented in the 2000s. “At that time we couldn’t even

1,300 Number of staff employed by City & Guilds

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A Trusted IT Partnership delivering City & Guilds £ saving through consolida Managed services for critical applications Cost and operating efficiencies through consolidation Consulting engagement for SAP review and transition Guiding the journey to Hybrid IT A Long-term Business Relationship City & Guilds appointed Attenda as its single strategic IT services partner to operate and manage its critical IT applications; and to provide consulting services to help to evolve and deliver its IT transformation strategy.

It looked to Attenda as a long-term strategic partner, with the right skill set, people and capabilities to accompany City & Guilds on its journey. As Ian Turfrey, IT Director, explains: “The partnership with Attenda has enabled us to consolidate all our critical applications to a single hosting environment, achieving cost savings, gaining operating efficiencies and ensuring that the different technologies all work together.”

Attenda Consulting Services were engaged to review and assess the current SAP environment, make recommendations, and then undertake the SAP transition to the Attenda managed platform. This engagement facilitated a re-design of the platform to reduce cost and improve performance; and minimised the risk usually associated with the transfer of datacentres.

Call us today to book your no-obligation ‘Hybrid IT Readiness Asse

£2.5m ation Critical Applications City & Guilds’ core applications are critical to its users; from initial engagement via the corporate website, through to the core ERP system and e-assessment platform, with real-time transaction processing to ensure that all learners that are using online assessment can get their certificates. Attenda is monitoring and managing these business critical applications 24 x 7, ensuring that it keeps the business transactions flowing.

Cloud Services As City & Guilds look to put in new applications and engines, it is not all on premise. It is working with Attenda to look at cloudbased technologies and hybrid IT. Attenda’s location and platform independent approach can ensure that City & Guilds adopts the right mix of on premise, public and private cloud services to deliver the optimum hybrid IT environment, to meet its business needs both now and in the future.

Consulting & Professional Services Today’s business survival depends upon IT innovation.

Our consulting services are helping to guide City & Guilds on their Hybrid IT journey; advising on their strategy and roadmap development, ensuring that they make the right choices. This is enabling City & Guilds to transform legacy applications, build on-demand services, consume new cloud capabilities; managing their services portfolio across a flexible hybrid delivery model.

Ian Turfrey continues “Attenda consulting and design experts took the time to work with our internal team to understand our coÜlex environment and to provide a coÜrehensive solution for all of our managed systeÙ.”

Ian Turfrey adds, “By working closely with Attenda, as a partner, and letting them know what our strategies are, they have helped us to come up with the right solutions for our business.”

The Business Outcomes

City & Guilds has been able to make a £2.5m saving through consolidating its different hosting environments. Not only does the business now have the capacity for growth, it also has a much better SLA in terms of disaster recovery time.

City & Guilds believes that it is the open engagement that has made its relationship with Attenda so successful. It is already benefiting from the Attenda added value as it moves toward a Hybrid IT model for service delivery.

Supported by HP technologies

essment’ t: 01784 211100 e:info@attenda.com www.attenda.com

SUPPLIER PROFILE

ATTENDA LIMITED Attenda is one of the UK‘s leading managed service and cloud platform providers, specialising in running business critical applications. Our Business Critical IT approach combines business outcome focus with a structured engagement methodology and supporting services and infrastructure. With our structured Review, Design & Change engagement methodology, we help our clients to transform their business services to a hybrid IT model, offering impartial advice to facilitate the right choices.

Our clients benefit from our extensive expertise in consulting, designing, deploying and managing business critical applications.

We have built our commanding market reputation based upon the delivery of premium client experiences. Through the delivery of platform and location independent services, we can ensure better business outcomes, without compromising security and governance; supporting business innovation and IT optimisation.

With the industry’s leading accreditations, ISO9001, ISO27001, ISO20000 and ISO22301, Attenda is a Microsoft Gold Hosting Partner, VMware Premier Service Provider, a SAP Partner, SAP Certified in Cloud Services, HP Gold Service Provider Partner and a G-Cloud certified service provider. Attenda is positioned in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud-Enabled Managed Hosting, 2015.

Tel: 01784 211100 Fax: 01784 211200 Email: info@attenda.com

THE CITY & GUILDS GROUP

TECHNOLOGY

deploy a screensaver to people’s desktops without something breaking! And our contact centres were all located in central London where space is at a premium,” Ian said.

With the vision in mind of a workplace in which people could work from anywhere using a variety of devices, the first thing he did was to put in place Citrix to allow the City & Guilds Group to virtualise its desktop functions, centralise them and deliver them to users on demand, to any device, anytime, anywhere. “Work,” Ian says, “should be something you do, not a place you go!” Now the traditional model – employees working at the office on corporate devices – has undergone a dramatic transformation, and when people (yes, even at board level) come into the office they hotdesk – or use their own device. If they want to work at home, that is fine, and a virtual private network (VPN) gives them access to the information and series they need.

Citrix improved global connectivity a lot but there remained the constraint that information and people had to come through the London office – for a global business operating from Hong Kong to Chicago this was neither fast nor reliable enough. It was time to start moving the IT to the cloud. So Turfrey turned his attention to the telephones, fixed, mobile and internet based. “We started looking at telephony in terms of the devices people need, so as we started moving over towards a more MS based ecosystem we replaced all the

“Work should be something you do, not a place you go!”

– Ian Turfrey, IT Director

City And Guilds London Office

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Helping the City & Guilds Group communicate more effectively and flexibly, wherever they are.

The City & Guilds Group selected Azzurri as their strategic telecoms and unified communications partner over three years ago. The goal was to transform their legacy telecoms infrastructure to become more agile, more innovative and make their staff more productive.

An award-winning solution.

We’re proud to partner with and support the City & Guilds Group on this journey by delivering a pioneering and award-winning* managed communications service. * Winner ‘Best Enterprise Hosted Solutions’, Comms National Awards 2014.

My strategic goal was to remove all of our communications systems and servers from our physical sites. ICON Communicate has enabled me to take a major step forward in delivering on my vision of an unburdened IT team where all IT and telecoms are delivered as a service from external suppliers.

Ian Turfrey, IT Director, the City & Guilds Group

By deploying ICON Communicate, our flexible, cloud-based UC service, the City & Guilds Group’s people can work anywhere, whether in the office, on the move or on clients’ premises.

A simpler solution.

ICON Communicate integrates IP telephony, UC, mobility contact centre and audio and video conferencing into a single, seamless managed service.

Cost effective communications.

The City & Guilds Group has been able to drive down its direct communication costs by 33% on its fixed voice and 41% on its mobile estate over three years.

Find out how we can help your organisation become faster, more connected and more competitive through our unrivalled expertise and award-winning communications services. www.azzurricommunications.co.uk

0844 324 0000

Greater peace of mind.

Key SLAs and a guaranteed up-time of 99.99% ensure the City & Guilds Group receives a quality, reliable service.

More flexible, more productive, more satisfied.

Moving to the cloud allows employees to access standardised telephony features and work anytime, from anywhere. 65% of employees surveyed now claimed they had “the right tools for the job,” a rise of 8%.

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BlackBerrys with Windows phones and started to manage all that in the cloud. We then put in our own VOIP internal telephony system.”

This was an Azzurri solution designed to consolidate the existing telecoms suppliers (covering mobility, IP telephony, audio and video conferencing, calls and lines and support) into one managed service giving all City & Guilds Group staff standardised telephony features and the ability to hotdesk from any location, as well as access to a single global directory. “All the phone numbers are now in the cloud so you can access your mailbox, or your voicemail any time, any place, anywhere,” he says. “Then we put in

Business Support Skills, City & Guilds is a global provider of vocational qualifications

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THE CITY & GUILDS GROUP

“We have moved from traditional infrastructure that we own, to a situation where up to 30 percent of our business is on the public cloud” – Ian Turfrey, IT Director

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August 2015

SharePoint Online as we moved to Office 365.”

SharePoint Online delivers the content and document management features of MS SharePoint without the associated overhead of managing the infrastructure on your own, he points out. Just over a year ago now, he added the video conferencing element of the Office 365, Skype for Business, which can cope with up to 250 participants at a time. He estimates that before the implementation the City & Guilds Group conducted about one hour of video conferencing a month. Now it is running at more than 200 hours a month, saving correspondingly significant amounts in time and travel.

“This is commoditised IT – any time, any place, anywhere,” he says. “It does not differentiate us as such. I use a set of partners, so I have all the internet capacity I need, am able to leverage the cloud, and the desktop transformation over the last three years has been enabling me to do new things going forward!”

It also means that he does not have to lie awake at night worrying whether the software will work or how he can fix it if not; all that is in capable hands, with redundancy and security aplenty. “We have moved from traditional infrastructure that we own, to a situation where up to 30 percent of our business is on the public cloud. We are a big user of Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure as well as Office 365. We have consolidated Amazon Web Services and Google. And for my business critical IT which is now run by a company called

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Attenda, I am freed from operational concerns about whether the system is up or down. We can focus on the strategy of the City & Guilds Group.”

Ian Turfrey calculates that his department has saved the City & Guilds Group £1 million a year over the last four years. That £1 million has been reinvested back into the business. The board and the entire staff have started to embrace a new way of thinking, and have begun to lose their suspicion of the cloud. This has huge implications for the future of the City & Guilds Group. IT is now able to focus on doing the traditional jobs better, like creating an engine to convert marks into grades, and another to streamline marking; or introducing

The group serves two million students a year

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THE CITY & GUILDS GROUP

ABOUT Ian Turfrey IT Director Having personally saved City & Guild’s IT function from being outsourced as a mere non-core utility, Ian Turfrey has subsequently demonstrated to the company how IT can not only cut costs but deliver strategic advantage too. He has leveraged cloud, integration and SAP streamlining to unburden the business to do bigger and better things.

“IT used to be the last port of call, but now it is the first” – Ian Turfrey

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e-certificates that are impossible to counterfeit unlike the old paper ones (though students can still get a certificate to frame – something of great importance in some parts of the world.)

Bigger things are in hand. Control of its data enables the City & Guilds Group to innovate and explore new ways of delivering excellent products and services to its customers. One example is through its e-Learning arm, City & Guilds Kineo. The company developed an award-winning game for McDonald’s when it wanted to introduce a new till system.

City & Guilds Kineo created the game, which was placed on the crew website with no advertising or direction. The crew found it, played it, and then competed against each other to be at the top of the leader board. The creative use of technology completely surpassed all expectations, and the crew members were already well-trained by the time the till system was introduced. From employee relationships of this quality – and there are many - The City & Guilds Group is uniquely placed to moving on to matching qualifications with vacancies.

What we have been discussing is not just a transformation within The City & Guilds Group.

Today’s businesses need to have their CIO on the board, since IT now leads strategy. “IT used to be the last port of call, but now it is the first.” said Turfrey, and there can’t be many CEOs that would disagree with these words, which are, after all, those of a qualified accountant.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Education & training HEADQUARTERS

London FOUNDED

1878 EMPLOYEES

1,300 REVENUE

£129.85 million PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Enabling people and organisations to develop their skills for personal and economic growth.

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STRATEGY FOR THE

FUTURE Written by: Nye Longman Produced by: Craig Daniels

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GO PLC

GO Group has secured its place as a top competitor in Malta through strategic investments, streamlining business practices and a clear focus on the needs of customers

G

O Group is making a significant commitment to the Maltese market, with a 5 year plan backed by an ambitious ₏100 million investment programme. This comprises a number of far-sighted projects, such as 4G and providing fibre internet access to homes: a gamechanging move that will create a resilient and unmatched network that will revolutionise Malta’s connectivity. GO is also seeing through other wide-ranging initiatives to better its operations, employees, and not only the lives of its personal and business customers but also the broader Maltese community.

In 2006, the Maltese Government sold its 60 percent stake in the national telecommunications entity to TECOM Investments, a subsidiary of Dubai Holdings and the business was rebranded as GO in 2007. Further acquisitions in data businesses, major investment in infrastructure and international investments soon followed.

Operations GO provides customers with mobile and fixed telephony services, alongside broadband access and a variety of television packages. As in almost every other European country, the Maltese telecoms market is fiercely competitive. GO faces two principal competitors in Malta, including Vodafone, as well as several smaller virtual operators. In spite of this, GO continues to grow its market share; in 2014 it achieved 39 percent of the mobile market, 49 percent of the internet market

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Ingrid Camilleri, Manager – Technical Projects at GO plc, was named GO’s Employee of the Year for 2014. She is seen here receiving her award from CEO Yiannos Michaelides.

and 47 percent of the TV market. Not surprisingly, given its legacy, GO also has a 63 percent share of the fixed voice market. Last year, it recorded more than 500,000 customer connections, which is the largest of any provider on the island.

CEO Yiannos Michaelides said that that the company had recently initiated a new approach to its products: “We completely repositioned our mobile products so that we could offer limitless plans, calls, SMS and data. We are also able to provide exceptional value by creating bundles across our whole product range. This which has been particularly successful as a lot of customers now have our home pack, which includes fixed voice, internet and TV, linked with mobile.” This offering has not only enabled the company to pass on savings to customers, but

500,000

The number of recorded customer connections by GO in 2014

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GO

GO is currently investing €50 million in the roll out of 500Mbps fibre optic broadband

also to increase the coverage of its brand.

Michaelides added that its initiatives were already paying off and the company’s strong performance demonstrates GO’s ability to outperform the sector, and is in stark contrast to challenged profitability levels across most EU markets. He said: “We go to great lengths to ensure that we deliver flawless execution. We have been able to grow our mobile revenues, despite most EU telephone providers’ mobile revenues declining.”

W e go to great lengths to ensure that we deliver flawless executionw 66

August 2015

Managing Talent To maintain this momentum, GO invests heavily in its workforce. Following a number of restructuring initiatives, the focus has shifted towards aligning all employees to share a single vision. Michaelides said that at the heart of his

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company’s work ethic is a drive towards clarity: “A clear strategy for the team comes first, so that everybody knows what to do across the board and what the company’s objectives are.”

He added that this was backed up by the right platform which not only made operations easy to monitor, but also ensured more openness, he said: “We have a performance management system that we review on a constant basis; we have made it transparent so that everyone can see what needs to be achieved, alongside the incentives for doing so.” This performance framework is backed by a number of wide ranging initiatives which are targeted to develop employees professionally and also create the right working environment where work feels like home.

Another important development is a 360 degree reward and recognition system. Michaelides stated that it is his pride and joy to see GO employees recognising best practices and outstanding work of their fellow co-workers through online tools that the company developed. Recognised employees are then short listed and formally rewarded on a quarterly basis. Interestingly, the majority of employees being recognised last year were females, showing how GO manages to create the right environment where both genders can excel.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, clear performance objectives, investing in reward and recognition, improved employee wellbeing. More openness in communications across the board has led to asignificant improvement in employee

“We completely repositioned our mobile products so that we could offer limitless plans, calls, SMS and data.

We are also able to provide exceptional value by creating bundles across our whole product range” –Yiannos Michaelides, CEO

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Always Connected.

Always Protected.

Creating Confidence. Mobile devices are our faithful companions, connecting us with other people, machines and devices. But connectivity only feels as good as it should when communication is secure and privacy is guaranteed. Giesecke & Devrient is one of the world’s leading providers of SIM cards and associated solutions such as subscription management, mobile ID and transactions. We serve more than 350 mobile network operators and manage more than two billion SIM cards in over 80 countries. www.gi-de.com

RGI_DE_K15010_AZ_148x210_MS_final.indd 1

20.07.15 14:27

GO PLC

TECHNOLOGY

satisfaction scores over the past three years.

Competitive Edge The constant market pressure from other national and international players in the Maltese market has only meant that GO has rolled out a range of innovative solutions to maintain growth, aside from its substantial programme of on-going investments, including the transformational fibre optic rollout.

Michaelides said: “We have a program to identify areas for operational efficiency, either through cost reduction, modernising networks, or by optimising processes. GO has, for some time, been managing costs very carefully. During 2014, the cost of sales, administrative and related costs, excluding items of unusual nature, size, or incidence, declined by 3.3 per cent to €99.1 million (2013: €102.4 million).

This was due to a decline in wholesale costs and the continued focus on managing costs, naturally without compromising customer experience.

“The numbers clearly show that GO’s strategy of innovative marketing coupled with operational efficiency are bearing fruit. The Company’s profit before tax amounted to €20.3 million, up from €15.6 million in 2013, an increase of 30 percent.

Operating profits increased 21 percent from €18 million in 2013 to €21.8 million. Normalised operating group profit for the year amounted to €24.3 million, an increase of 17.3 per cent.’’

The company is also in the process of increasing the level of automation within its

Key Personnel

Yiannos Michaelides CEO Yiannos Michaelides has been the CEO of GO for over two years, having previously worked in various senior marketing roles for telecoms companies including Du and Areeba Cyprus.

He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Engineering, as well as an MBA from Warwick Business School.

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Compression Performance

Enabling TV Operators and Broadcasters to maximize OPEX with industry leading Video Compression

Logicom Solutions Ltd is a leading provider of total integrated IT solutions in Cyprus, Greece, Malta and the UAE. We specialize in the area of Systems Integration, Network Infrastructure, IT Infrastructure, Business Software, Collaboration, Management, Security and Cloud Solutions. We are highly qualified and offer the following services: design and development, consulting, implementation, systems monitoring, project management, maintenance and sophisticated IT system improvements.

T 357 22 55 1010 F 357 22 66 0969 solutions@logicom.net www.lgcomsolutions.com www.ericsson.com/tv-media

Subsidiary of Hellenic Cables SA Greece

www.cablel.ro

Power in Action • Drawn and twisted copper and aluminium wires and conductors • Flexible rubber insulated cables • Power, control and signalling PVC or XLPE insulated cables, with copper or aluminium conductors • Marine & offshore cables • Data and telecommunication cables • Fiber optic cables • Enamelled wires

Members of

GO PLC

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operations in a move that will not only save a significant amount of money, but also enable customers to interact with GO in a completely different way: “We are moving towards becoming an e-company, which will revolutionise how customers obtain services and pay for them.”

Providing solutions to Malta’s business community accounts for a significant part of GO’s revenues, which is not only testament to the trust placed in the company, but also its significant capabilities. Michaelides noted: “Investment across the years has made sure that the business network has always been the best, supplemented with the largest account management team in Malta.”

Her Excellency Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, President of the Republic of Malta, recently visited GO staff at the Company’s Head Office.

She is seen here greeting employees in the Marketing Department, accompanied by GO’s Chief Commercial Officer, Kurt Camilleri. w w w. g o . c o m . m t

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GO PLC

“Committed as it is to the Maltese market, GO also has a broader, regional vision.

In March 2014, it entered into an agreement to purchase 25 percent in Cablenet, a communications company in Cyprus. Crucially, GO also has the option to acquire majority control in future.”

–Yiannos Michaelides, CEO

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Diversification GO has also initiated investments in three new data centres, in addition to current large data centre clusters, which house its own equipment as well as the critical systems of various reputable international customers. In fact, GO’s subsidiary BMIT is now the largest and most reliable data centre in Malta, and this has obvious benefits for operators who require expert hosting and colocation services. There has also been a network-wide programme to improve the quality and speed of its broadband service.

Property Portfolio Two years ago, GO had made clear that it wanted to pursue a clear strategy to develop its substantial property portfolio and maximise value for shareholders. A spin-off is currently on the

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cards, entailing some â‚Ź50 million worth of property assets. Of course, GO is a communications company, not a property manager or developer, and so there is a clear rationale for empowering a new entity with the freedom to focus on its task of redeveloping the 11 properties currently in the portfolio, thereby generating new income streams and enhancing long-term value.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Technology HEADQUARTERS

Malta

Regional Outlook Committed as it is to the Maltese market, GO also has a broader, regional vision. In March 2014, it entered into an agreement to purchase 25 percent in Cablenet, a communications company in Cyprus. Crucially, GO also has the option to acquire majority control in future.

Cablenet is a privately owned business which began operations in 2003 as a cable TV provider in Cyprus. Since then the company has consistently expanded its network and its operations. Today, Cablenet is the leading privately owned broadband provider and offers packages which include broadband internet access, fixed telephony and digital HD TV to an increasing number of subscribers.

For GO, dedicating its focus to the needs of its customers has enabled the company to grow into new areas while strengthening its core offering in the face of a fiercely competitive market. It is poised to dominate its competitors with a long-term and carefully considered strategy accommodating further advances in the future.

FOUNDED

1991 EMPLOYEES

Not Disclosed REVENUE

â‚Ź125m PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Telecommunications, TV, Broadband.

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From Tank to Bank: Adnoc Distribution’s IT transformation Written by: John O’Hanlon Produced by: Craig Daniels

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Adnoc Distribution does much more than just make sure the citizens of the UAE can fuel their cars: it is a diversified company with a key place in the economy, and an ambitious growth plan enabled by technology

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ention ADNOC and many will think of the iconic headquarters building the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the UAE’s biggest and the world’s fourth largest oil company, has just completed in the capital city. However ADNOC Distribution, its largest subsidiary and the company that manages its parent’s downstream operations, is in its own right an impressive sized organization with over 13,000 employees, 250 service stations across the Emirates, and aviation fuel depots at nine airfields, including military installations.

Owned by the UAE government, which tasks ADNOC Distribution among other key functions with converting cars to gas and vehicle registration and testing, it is a national institution though it has one foot firmly in the private sector, operating as a retailer and a dominant community based brand.

The company is currently in a phase of rapid growth, spending more than $1 billion to increase the number of its service stations from the current level of around 300 to more than 500 by the end of 2016. The booming economy has seen demand escalate. The new stations are needed to cut queues and reach underserved areas. The company is also going to extend its service station footprint into neighbouring Saudi Arabia in this year In neither economy does petrol retailing make any money, since fuel prices are pegged at artificially low prices. As a result every

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ADNOC Distribution – Aviation Operations LOB

opportunity to add value is to be seized upon.

Within the UAE it relies on car washing and other vehicle related services and retail sales from convenience stores and food outlets to generate revenue. ADNOC Distribution’s expansion into Saudi Arabia will add to this revenue, given the strong purchasing power in the kingdom.

Supporting millions of transactions using latest IT technologies at infrastructure level With such volumes and such complexity Adnoc Distribution turned to IT to automate processes and remove silos within the business, explains Ali Abdul Aziz Al Ali, VP of the IT division.

“There are two sides to our technology, the back office that is owned by the company and the customer-facing side that is managed by the business owner. For example we have our ‘Rahal’ fuel smart card customers can use that to purchase any services at our service stations.

Now at the back end I want to make sure my

ADNOC Distribution – Vehicle Inspection Center

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YOUR PARTNER‌. ....LET US BE A PART OF YOUR TEAM Abu Dhabi Oilfield Services is a wholly locally owned company established in Abu Dhabi in 1972 serving the Oil & Gas Industry in the Gulf Region. The company’s primary objective is to provide Services to the Oil & Gas, Petro-Chemical and Utilities Sector throughout the UAE, Gulf and Regional Markets. The company operates from its Head Quarters in Abu Dhabi and has Branch Offices in Dubai (Middle East Oilfield Services - MEOS) and Engineering Facilities in Musaffah and Jebel Ali.

Tel: 00971-2-6344441 Fax: 00971-2-6344447 Email: zuhairs@adosuae.com sales@adosuae.com

www.adosuae.com

ADNOC DISTRIBUTION

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infrastructure is ready for such transactions – so the customer can use the smartcard the way he wants and we can capture his preferences and make changes to the level of service.”

The good news is that Al-Ali and his team have created powerful IT services, applications and infrastructure throughout the organisation.

New service locations will have the benefit of plug and play support systems such as point of sale (POS) that can be installed in no time and at little cost. But that is only a part of the picture he says. “Everyone in the UAE who drives a car or flies in a plane is our customer, and many more besides, since we operate more than 100 C-stores (convenience stores) and are now opening up larger food and grocery stores (G-Stores) in city locations, quite separate from

SUPPLIER PROFILE

“Customer satisfaction is our main business driver, Our systems are optimised to deliver better user experiences: that is why we are investing to improve our infrastructure and business applications” – Awad Ahmed Ali El Siddiq

ABU DHABI OILFIELD SERVICES (ADOS)

Abu Dhabi Oilfield Services is a wholly locally owned company established in Abu Dhabi in 1972 serving the Oil & Gas Industry in the Gulf Region. The company’s primary objective is to provide Services to the Oil & Gas, Petro-Chemical and Utilities Energy throughout the UAE, Gulf and Regional Markets. The company operates from its Head Quarters in Abu Dhabi and has Branch Offices in Dubai (Middle East Oilfield Services MEOS) and Engineering Facilities in Musaffah and Jebel Ali. www.adosuae.com

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Unified Business Application - Enterprise Resource Planning

the petrol stations. Altogether we have about 15 separate business units in the downstream oil & gas sector. We are highly diverse.”

In 2010 the company processed about 300,000 financial transactions a day: today it processes more than a million. That is more than the largest bank in the country, and it has to be remembered that to maintain customer satisfaction these have to be carried out fast. “Customer satisfaction is our main business driver,” points out Senior Database Administrator and Team Leader Awad Ahmed Ali El Siddiq. “Our systems are optimised to deliver better user experiences: that is why we are investing to improve our infrastructure and business applications. Part of our strategic vision is to really enable mobile apps, make use 80

August 2015

ENERGY

of big data and the cloud, and even to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into the picture!”

The IT Roadmap and ERP vision behind the success In employee numbers, ADNOC Distribution has doubled in size since 2010, the year it launched its IT Roadmap. This gave a clear vision of the services to be addressed and the projects to be tackled year by year. “We are working on systematic suite of solutions based on business needs, though in many case we are actually exceeding the business requirement.” said Ahmed Al-Dhaheri , Application Systems Department Manager. “For example in 2011 we started integrating more than 15 major business application and database environments: we have consolidated all those systems. Now we have a single trusted platform for managing the entire company’s key information asset. This led to better IT support and administration and delivered

ADNOC Distribution New Mobile Apps For Customers

ADNOC Distribution – Employee Counts over years

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Intertec Systems is a Top 10 IT systems integrator in the Gulf with 25 years of presence in the UAE. Our practices include: · Managed Services · Consulting · Application Services · Cloud, Data Center & DR · Business Applications · Networks & Security · Contact Center & BPO · IT Service & Operations Contact us: www.intertecsys.com • info@intertecsys.com

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ADNOC DISTRIBUTION

“Part of our strategic vision is to really enable mobile apps, make use of big data and the cloud, and even to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into the picture” – Ali Abdul Aziz Al Ali

ADNOC distribution New Data Center Redesign Project

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over 20 times better application response times!”

It was as recently as May 30 that the company announced the official deployment of Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 12.2.4 running on Oracle Exadata and Exalogic Elastic Cloud engineered systems covering more than 40 Oracle business modules. ADNOC Distribution was one of the first organisations worldwide to successfully complete this mission critical upgrade, very much in line with the goals of the UAE’s ‘smart government’ vision.

The ERP Project covered the implementation of Oracle Human Capital Management (HCM), Financials, Advanced Procurement, Enterprise Asset Management, Order Management and standard Business Intelligence applications using the latest version of Oracle R12.2.4 The organization has also implemented Oracle HR-Talent Management cloud based Solution. That simplified and improved the entire performance appraisal process. Abdul Nazir, Senior Application System Analyst and ERP Project Manager said “The project has delivered the following strategic objectives: improved operational excellence; support for long term business goals, improved customer satisfaction; improved decision making; support for our paperless strategy; and greater system scalability, performance and availability.

IT security is key within the O&G sector, said IT Quality Department Manager Abdelrahman Mohamed Abd Elaal. The implementation of ISMS (Information Security Management System)

and ITPP (Information Energy and Procedures Projects) has laid the foundation for IT best practices, policies and procedures that guarantee safe operation for our customers, partners and employees, reducing information leakage risk and attacks, resulting in millions of dollars saved.�

ADNOC Distribution Core Business Application Architecture supported

by Oracle Engineered Systems platforms

State of Art Data Centre and Disaster Recovery Facility IT service availability and redundancy is a key goal for the company to achieve, so that 100 percent of service levels can be covered in an emergency. To this end the data centre team established a new state of art disaster recovery w w w. a d n o c d i s t r i b u t i o n . a e

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OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION ADNOC Distribution has won many recent international awards for its IT: • Best Energy Sector Deployment of the year 2013/2014 by ACN News • Best Energy Sector Deployment of the year 2014 by CNME-ICT achievements • Achieved ISO 27001 Certification - 2014 • Best Oracle Database Administration Excellence Award for EMEA 2013 • Best Oracle Engineered System of the year For EMEA 2013 • Oracle Downstream – Oil & Gas Excellence Award in Open World 2012 • Oracle Excellence Award for Exadata Implementation MEA Region 2012 • Best Oracle Cloud adoption for the year 2014 by Oracle Corporation

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data centre featuring best of breed technologies and solutions to support business continuity 24/7 and guaranteeing world class level of security and speed. The project also involved a complete redesign for the primary headquarters data centre to support business expansion and additional power and cooling requirement. Not only will all the company’s internal operations be managed on the common infrastructure services and ERP platform, but vital ancillary services as well, like the vehicle management system (VMS) that tracks and monitors the delivery trucks, the burgeoning retail operations, and the aviation operations.

“Every drop of oil that we use is traceable, from delivery from the refinery to the tank farm, on the trucks, at the petrol station and finally to the customer’s tank – from tank to bank!”

Now that the infrastructure is in place, it will be a simple matter to scale it up, said infrastructure and data centre department manager Ahmed Al-Shamsi: “We are implementing systems that can be easily upgraded in a matter of weeks or even days to cater for any additional requirement – so if tomorrow our manpower increases to 20,000, or we decide to expand in the region, we can achieve that. No longer do employees have to juggle a host of applications in their daily work, he adds. Best of breed solutions form vendors such as Cisco, HP, Oracle and Microsoft are integrated on a single infrastructure serving more than 5,000 employees on a daily basis and hundreds of customers and vendors online. “On

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ADNOC Distribution – SMAC Strategy Approach – Four Dimensions

top of that, we have enabled business intelligence so that management can have access to all the key data across all business lines, all of the time to support the decision making process.”

Future plans toward operation excellence & business optimisation The team is very proud to have achieved this vision. “The implementations of various key projects was like completing a five story building, knowing we can safely go up to 20 storeys without having to strengthen the foundations!” said Ali Al Ali. “Energy is evolving fast and will not wait for us to react, so we have to be ready w w w. a d n o c d i s t r i b u t i o n . a e

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Best Energy & Industry Implementation Of The Year 2014 (Adnoc Distribution) 1200000

Organization Growth - Transactions,Users & Database Demand 1000000

1 Million

900000 800000 750000 Year

Transactions Per Day

600000

600000

Database Size (Terabytes)

Active Users Daily 400000

1500 Users

450000

2000 Users

2300 Users

2700 Users

3000 Users

3500 Users

300000 200000

0

2010

3 TB 1

2011

5 TB 2

2012

7 TB 3

2013

11 TB 4

2014

14 TB 5

2015

18 TB 6

Organization Growth – Transactions, Users and Systems Size Graph 88

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to take it on board. Our internal users and our customers all need the IT Division to ensure 24/7 availability of all systems: we absolutely have to ‘keep the lights on’ and at the same time we have to run a greener and a leaner operation.

“Lean” is something understood at ADNOC Distribution, as demonstrated by the IT professionals who are creating an integrated system with Social, Analytics, Mobility and Cloud (SMAC) bundled together. It’s an example of the Enterprise Middleware program that by next year will dramatically cut the number of service requests to the IT Division for manual interventions, leading to zero paperwork in many cases. As Awad El-Sidiq said, “One of our key initiatives in the coming period is to make use of big data and advanced analytics to optimise the business operation, increase revenue and maintain customer loyalty to our products and services.

“With our Enterprise Mobility Program introduced this year, and our first mobile apps for customers, we wanted to promote fast access from anywhere at any time to key business services and applications in order to simplify the process and increase productivity. We believe that cloud computing is a key component on our ROADMAP and we are proud to be one of the earlier adopters to run private and public cloud hybrid implementation to get the best of both worlds for maintaining an excellent CAPEX/ OPEX strategy for our key IT services.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Petroleum HEADQUARTERS

Abu Dhabi FOUNDED

1973 EMPLOYEES

13,000 REVENUE

Not Disclosed PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

UAE government-owned company specialised in the marketing and distribution of petroleum products within the United Arab Emirates and internationally

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DRIVING DIGITAL

in the UAE Written by: John O’Hanlon Produced by: Craig Daniels

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DU

The UAE is more than a growing economy: it is a growing smart economy, driven by technology; its newest communications service provider du is playing a key role in this process

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mirates Integrated Telecom Company is better known as ‘du’, correctly rendered without a capital, its brand identity since 2006. It is the attacker in the market, having challenged the incumbent telecom operator which had the field to itself for 30 years before du came along. There are advantages and disadvantages in being a newcomer: the chief advantage is that it is easier to introduce the newest technology if you are not constantly having to update legacy systems, while the disadvantage is working against an established player.

However du has positioned itself cleverly as the go-to communications service provider (CSP) for business, in a market where business growth is on everyone’s lips. Backed by oil wealth, the country has pursued a policy of diversification, encouraging the establishment and growth of non-oil businesses, with such success that its non-oil trade grew by a factor of 28 between 1981 and 2012. Each of the emirates is pursuing its own enterprise encouragement schemes, following behind Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where du is headquartered.

The company has worked hard to enhance and expand its services in an industry that is at the heart of economic and social transformation.

Earlier this year the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced that it was opening up the market so that du could provide home internet and landline services.

The process is long overdue, mainly because of

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du was named best mobile broadband network in the Middle Eaast and Africa Region in 2012

technical challenges. “You will see infrastructure sharing in phases,” said Osman Sultan, the Chief Executive. He said that the first phase would allow competition between du and Etisalat in fixed-line voice and internet only.

The second phase will expand to allow TV services to be provided. However it is a move in the right direction, and meanwhile du has not lost grip of its lead when it comes to business services and mobile broadband, for which it was named the best mobile broadband network in the Middle East and Africa region in 2012.

Bringing people and businesses together is what du does best, said Rangarajan Kalyanasundaram, Head of Marketing for the Enterprise and Government sectors. For the last six years he has been working on the front end of customer

2,000 Number of staff employeed through du’s products and services

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Abou Moustafa, Enterprise Solutions & Managed Services

Hany Fahmy Aly, Executive Vice President Enterprise Business

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experience, operations and marketing to these key segments. “Our motivation at du is to make more commercially successful propositions, attract more customers and keep those customers happy. The question I ask is, how I can add value to a business client. That business is my customer, but at the end the customers of that business are the ones who will benefit if we can get the communications value chain right.”

From large corporates employing hundreds, such as Standard Chartered Bank and other multinational companies, through major companies with a UAE presence such as Dubai Aluminium and Microsoft, down to a host of small and medium enterprises, du serves its business clients through internal vertical teams dedicated to technology, media, healthcare, hospitality, construction, and aviation. This means that customers will always be able to talk to someone who really understands his business needs.

“It is vital to understand the business of the customer to be able to give them right offers and propositions. We are probably one of the most innovative players, and we aim to be first to market with these solutions,” said Kalyanasundaram.

A good example is the partnership announced towards the end of last year between du and Microsoft, under which du will become the first CSP in the UAE to offer Office 365 cloud-based productivity applications and services directly to its SMB customers in the country. For the first time in the UAE small and medium-sized

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Management staff at du’s main office

companies will have the benefit of cloud-based productivity tools starting from just 20 AED per month. SMBs are du’s fastest growing market, and these entrepreneurial businesses want to be part of a mobile-first, cloud-first environment.

“Currently, the SME market constitutes the biggest chunk of the UAE’s economy and is a key to the nation’s growth. We strive to match the everevolving needs of this dynamic business segment, by simplifying their work process. Our aim is to become the partner of choice for SMEs in the UAE. SME is a rapidly expanding segment, and we are targeting this significant growth by simplifying our processes. At du, we are constantly striving to enhance our customer experience decreasing any hassle that might accompany the business processes; hence, enabling our SME clientele to

“We are probably one of the most innovative players, and we aim to be first to market” – Rangarajan Kalyanasundaram, Head of Marketing, Enterprise and Government w w w. d u . a e

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DU are the first mobile operator in the UAE market to offer free calls within the company“

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enhance their performance and productivity, while reducing costs among other benefits,” said Clinton Haswell, Vice President, SME Marketing in du.

“We want to give our customer the best value packages; no matter who the client is, they expect to receive great value, while managing their costs. We customise our solutions based on our clients’ individual business needs, for example they can add more data or national calls, if their business requires. We are the first mobile operator in the UAE market to offer free calls within the company, one of the best value services that we added to our business plan.

Our sales channels are knowledgeable and equipped to help our customers in choosing the best plans for their businesses. Our new Mobile Business plans, which include simple add-ons, make this possible,” he added.

The Business Mobile Plan comprises a suite of five plans depending on the needs of the clients. Customers will be able to enjoy all of the included monthly benefits. The new plans come bundled with a host of benefits for business customers such as free calls within their company, included data, national and international voice, SMS and devices, at zero upfront cost, thus adding more value to their business. Additional add-ons include the national data bundle, extra national calling, SMS bundles and more.

Hany Fahmy Aly, Executive Vice President for Enterprise Business points out that this segment has huge potential for growth. “We completely

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understand the needs and challenges of SMBs, and from our experience we have seen that they are early technology adopters, if products are packaged right. By offering the Office 365 suite of packages across all our core mobile and broadband services through our new collaboration with Microsoft, our SMB customers will benefit from yet another incredible effort to bring valuepacked, enterprise-grade solutions to this market.”

Office 365 is however only the latest in the line of du’s responsive approach to its business customers. Another first in the region are the du Business Roaming Packs. “Our clients tell us that getting reasonably priced connectivity while travelling is always a problem,” said Kalyanasundaram. “We created this product for them.” The packs are flexibly structured, can run from 30 days to a year, containing a simple e-mail bundle, a ‘social’ bundle or a complete data bundle. Government customers have their own tailored solutions. “Today the biggest requirement for any business is data management and accessibility. We have highly advanced business intelligence tools within the business which keep us informed about our customers’ behaviour and preferences. This gives inside information into customer patterns that we can use develop new services.” This in its turn drives up du’s market share, he said.

Another big growth vertical in the business driven economy is hospitality. On top of its targeted mobile, fixed line and broadband solutions du’s

“Our clients tell us that getting reasonably priced connectivity while travelling is always a problem” – Rangarajan Kalyanasundaram, Head of Marketing, Enterprise and Government

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DU

“Customers really appreciate the value of a one-stop-shop for ICT enabled services” – Hany Fahmy Aly, Executive Vice President Enterprise Business

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IPTV service is proving very popular. It is the ideal solution for businesses like hotels, restaurants, gyms and other hospitality businesses in the UAE, he said, giving them a competitive advantage by offering their clients the choice of television channels from around the world that match their lifestyle and make them feel closer to home.

Despite the fact that it offers its clients a much larger range of tailored services than can be enumerated here this is a company that does much more than just react to perceived needs. Its industry forums bring together like minded professionals in different vertical sectors presenting them the opportunity for bridgebuilding among peers, and open dialogue to discuss the issues affecting their industries. “It is part of our Leadership Series,” Kalyanasundaram explained. “It also covers our Customer Advisory Board which gives them quarterly access industry captains from leading enterprises across diverse industry verticals, and also the CEO forums.” These last have seen some of the most inspiring speakers from round the world come to the UAE to meet an invited group of senior executives: recent speakers include Sir Richard Branson, Clayton Christensen, Chris Anderson and Malcolm Gladwell.

To deliver this level of service calls for world class IT performance in the back office. Hany Fahmy Aly points to the rapidly increasing demand for services delivered over the cloud, top flight security and data warehousing and backup. As every type

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of organisation wakes up to the potential of big data, storage and accessibility, voice, e-mail and even internet services are becoming a commodity.

That is why du has put so much emphasis on differentiating its offering. “We are seeing more customers engaging in conversations with us on how they can introduce smart solutions and cut costs,” said Aly. “As a CSP we are becoming a business enabler. Customers really appreciate the value of a one-stop-shop for ICT enabled services, so the growth areas for us are now in ICT services linked in one way or another to connectivity.”

Traditionally growth areas have been mobile and fixed services, however the market is now evolving toward Cloud, Mobility and Convergence.

In the UAE Managed Services annual revenue is

As a company, du is developing integrated solutions as opposed to standalone products

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TECHNOLOGY

FVC We are FVC – a new generation value added distributor (VAD) that provides tangible ICT solutions across two vital areas of enterprise computing – Unified Communications & Convergence and IT Infrastructure & Security.

With over a decade of cross-domain expertise, we are passionate about creating value in all that we deliver. We draw our strength from 350 world class channel partners in over 50 countries, experience from 350+ enterprise customers and expertise of over 140 passionate team members.

FVC EXECUTIVE BRIEFING CENTRES We believe experiencing is believing and not just seeing.

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DU

“At the end, you are only as good as your people; everything else is just a commodity” – Hany Fahmy Aly, Executive Vice President Enterprise Business

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currently in excess of AED 2.5 billion with double digit growth expected in the next five years.

Managed Services is a dedicated business unit within du’s Enterprise business. du’s Managed Service portfolio covers all businesses Integrated Communication Technology needs including Advanced Connectivity, Managed Security, Business Cloud, and Converged Communication. This unit responsible for developing and launching new Managed Services propositions, taking them to market through direct and in-direct channels and is also responsible for the delivery of complex solutions with industry leading Service Level Agreements.

According to Abou Moustafa, Vice President for Managed Services in du, “The major trends emerging in the Managed Services space are centred on the need for organisations to have highest calibre security, storage and

TECHNOLOGY

analytics tools and their people to be more mobile and collaborative than ever.”

So du is playing a big part in transforming UAE businesses large and small into smart enterprises – and lean enterprises, which are happy to outsource business critical IT rather than invest in in-house capacity. Cloud is becoming a key enabler here, said Aly. “Cloud gives you flexibility like never before: business without borders,” he said. It gives global accessibility, unheard of speed and scale, and peace of mind, because disaster recovery is no longer an issue.

The company is developing integrated solutions as opposed to standalone products, Hany Fahmy Aly concludes. “We try to focus on holistic enterprise solutions to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace. We offer connectivity solutions and devices; we can host the information and the software that runs your applications; we can provide security against cyber-attacks or leakage of information; we can monitor and manage these systems. The key challenge for us and for any telco is having a constantly adaptable model which allows continuous innovation especially in customer service.”

It’s interesting that he ends on customer service, something that can be enabled by technology but can’t do without the human touch. So as well as investing heavily in its managed services and data centres it is also investing in HR. “At the end, you are only as good as your people – everything else is just a commodity!”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Telecom networks HEADQUARTERS

Abu Dhabi, Dubai FOUNDED

2006 EMPLOYEES

Approx. 2000 PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Offers mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to people, homes and businesses all over the UAE

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Reclaiming National Pride Implementing technological upgrades as well as an extensive rebrand, the airliner is working hard to win back its commanding market share Written by: Nye Longman Produced by: Dennis Morales

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K U WA I T A I R WAY S

I

n the face of a decline in its market share, Kuwait Airways is rolling out major changes in order to deliver a renaissance in its fortunes; it has been able to significantly reduce losses while undergoing a substantial rebrand as well as investing KWD16 million in IT infrastructure and the upgrade of its technological support.

Market Share CEO Abdullah Al-Sharhan admitted that his company’s market share was a concern for the management team but, ultimately, he remained confident, he said: “We used to have a share of about 55 percent in the Kuwaiti market but this declined to as low as 18 percent; we have now recovered to a little above 20 percent with the introduction of our new fleet with on-board

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services and new entertainment systems.

“The new personality of the airline is bringing the customers back; a lot of Kuwaitis are still very loyal to the airline; it’s just that we have to make sure we evolve steadily in order to win even more back. What we have recently completed is already having a really positive impact on our market share today.”

“We have also recently gone through a privatisation exercise and have increased our revenues by about KWD20 million during 2014: some of this has been market driven, while some has been achieved through better marketing tactics.”

In the case of this business, the numbers show that the time, money and effort invested in turning the airliner around have not been wasted, Al Sharhan said: “Financial performance has improved; we have cut our losses by 50 percent both in 2013 and 2014 and we hope to finish 2015 with a further cut. Simply, we have improved revenues while cutting costs.”

Kuwait Airways is poised to make gains once the new KAC terminal is constructed at the Kuwait International Airport in 2016, This new terminal has been allocated to the company by the Supreme Council of Aviation in Kuwait, and will be the KAC home until the ultimate T2 Terminal is built in five to six years.

Al-Sharhan said: “We have collaborated with the Civil Aviation Authority of Kuwait, and they have allocated us four gates which is

Abdullah Al-Sharhan, Kuwait Airways CEO

‘Kuwait Airways is poised to make gains once the new KAC terminal is constructed at the Kuwait International Airport in 2016’

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We Always Make You Fly High K U WA I T A I R WAY S

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the perfect opportunity to represent Kuwait Airways’ new personality to our customers.”

Operations Kuwait Airways has a fleet of 26 aircraft which provides a crucial link between the East and West; Al-Sharhan added that the airliner was looking to modestly expand into tourist and technology destinations to increase its international coverage, which included flights to Munich, Vienna, Istanbul, Sharm el Sheikh, Bangalore and Ahmedabad in 2015.

Using the latest modern aircraft is a simple but significant part of the company’s ongoing shakeup, Al-Sharhan said: “We are in the process of phasing in new aircraft and phasing out some old aircraft. We are phasing in A320ceo’s and

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Kuwait Airways has a fleet of 26 aircraft which provides a crucial link between East and West

ALITALIA MAINTENANCE SYSTEMS

Alitalia Maintenance Systems S.p.A. - AMS - is a leading Company in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Services for Engine, A.P.U., Aeronautical Components plants and Aero-derivate power plants, with over 40 years operational experience in the field. We are fully FAA, EASA , CAAC (Chinese Cert.), GCAA (U.A.E. Cert.), DGCAA (Kuwait Cert.) approved and also ISO 9001-2008 and 9110-2005 certified.

AMS is moving in the direction of tailored cost-effective solutions, that can range from leasing to sale, from maintenance to teardown.

We also can provide: Off-On-Wing Maintenance, Asset Management, One Stop Shop Philosophy, Engine Technical Management Training ,Partnership, Engine Web Tracking

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OUR EXPERIENCE DRIVES YOUR EXCELLENCE.

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Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. La Muñoza. Edificio END. 28042 Madrid.España. Phone: + 34 91 587 48 27 maintenance@iberia.es / www.iberiamaintenance.com British Airways Engineering: Technical Block C - Vanguard Way. Heathrow Airport. Hounslow. TW6 2JA bae@ba.com / web: www.ba-mro.com

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A330-200 aircraft. We are phasing out 8 aircraft by the end of the year, which are A310s and A300s and have signed with airbus for 10 A350-900s and 15 A320 neos to be delivered starting 2019.”

Although replacing old models with newer ones does play a role in the company’s rebranding efforts, it has a more practical application: “Through using new aircraft we have improved schedule integrity this year because the old aircraft were having sudden failures and caused delays and therefore decreased integrity; we have also seen an improvement in dispatch reliability.

“At the same time, we are revisiting our business plan during 2015, this review will concentrate on the route network requirements and potential new destinations for the next 5 years, based on feasible and viable expansion.”

SUPPLIER PROFILE

‘Developing strategic relationships has been key to moving the company forward in recent years’

IBERIA MAINTENANCE

Iberia Maintenance can conduct overhaul work on a variety of engine types including CFM56-5A/-B/-5C/-7B, RB211-535 E4/-C37, and V2500, but also power generation systems, associated accessories and thrust reversers.

Iberia Maintenance has been overhauling CFM56 engines since 1992, covering every version. We deliver the perfect unity of experience and expertise to ensure the utmost reliability of operations.

We are the largest European center for servicing RB211-535 engines and one of Europe’s maintenance providers still growing. Recently, we added V2500 to our portfolio.

All operators can benefit from our component repair and overhaul expertise covering a wide service spectrum of all kind of components.

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K U WA I T A I R WAY S T +962 6 4451440 F +962 6 4452620 Customer.support@jordanairmotive.com P.O.Box : 39180, Queen Alia Int. Airport, Amman 11104, Jordan

Your Power Partner Jordan Airmotive –JALCO- is an engine MRO facility that was established in 1985 by Royal Jordanian airline in collaboration with Rolls-Royce to provide engine services needed for RJ’s & regional operators.

Jordan Airmotive growth and success was the drive to have the company transfer from a government entity to a private independent one which was concluded in 2006. Currently the company fully services and overhauls

WITH A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, GEE IS A GLOBAL COMPANY COMMITTED TO TRANSFORMING AND SUPPORTING THE PASSENGER EXPERIENCE.

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CF6-80C2, CFM56-3 with an enhanced future capability for CFM56-5B in 2016.

Certified by FAA, EASA and many regional and International CAA’s makes the corporate an international player in MRO engine services.

K U WA I T A I R WAY S

S U P P LY C H A I N

Developing strategic relationships has been key to moving the company forward in recent years and, when the pressure began to mount as an important delivery deadline approached, has proven to be invaluable. Al-Sharhan said: “Airbus was cooperative throughout the whole process; we went from specification to construction to runway in 9 months. Our engineering, operations, entertainment and content teams were working virtually round the clock to meet the delivery targets of the fleet. Had it not been for the cooperation of all parties, the delivery would not have materialised on time.�

Kuwait Airways employees are some

Talent Management Al-Sharhan and his management team recognise that Kuwait Airways employees are some of the most talented and hardest

of the most talented and hardest working in their industry

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T +33 (0)1 74 37 75 69 F +33 (0)1 48 62 57 67 sales@alyzia.com www.alyzia.com

We Specialise in

Redefining Airport Service Experience AISATS (Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited) is a 50:50 joint venture between Air India Limited, and SATS Limited, providing world-class airport services in ground and cargo handling that exceed customers’ expectations. AISATS is ISO 9001:2008 and ISAGO certified.

PASSENGER SERVICES Welcome, check-in, boarding, sales, lost luggage, business lounges RAMP SERVICES Loading, unloading, baggage handling for arrivals and departures, push back and towing of planes, de-icing, snow clearing, cabin cleaning GROUND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Coordination, load sheet, weight and balance

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B/E Aerospace World Headquarters 1400 Corporate Center Way, Wellington, FL 33414 beaerospace.com

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working in their industry; their achievements are frequently recognised through various gifts, prizes and awards, ranging from small acts of excellence through to the loftiest efforts.

The company was also recently presented with the opportunity to take part in an exercise which saw many members of its staff engaged across all aspects of the delivery process. Al-Sharhan said: “Employees that took part in this exercise came back with a wealth of experience; they improved their understanding of documentation and technical acceptance, as well as negotiating different aspects of delivery agreements.

“It involved employees in both technical and legal aspects; they come back into the business and shared these new experiences with other employees. They became technical experts in the aircraft that we use; they even know how the aeroplanes were built.”

“We’ve had proposals from some outsourcing companies to provide similar services. We were approached by some of them but I would not miss out on the opportunity to train my own people and tap into this wealth of knowledge.”

Kuwait Airways also recognises that its future success lies in the youth of the nation and already the company is aiming to capture their interest by offering opportunities to those who wish to get a flavour for how the company operates.

Al-Sharhan said: “As well as supporting youths that do voluntary work for the community, we bring in high school students on an annual basis

‘Developing strategic relationships has been key to moving the company forward in recent years’

Kuwait Airways employees are some of the most talented and hardest working in their industry

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The company is laying down the framework for a truly international airline

and give them uniforms and let them behave like employees as much as possible. For many working for Kuwait Airways is a dream that could very well be achieved in the future.�

Technology Alongside rebranding is a commitment to invest in enhancing technology across the board in order to increase efficiency and deliver a truly world class service to an international customer base. Over the next five years the airline will be upgrading everything from switching, communications systems, wireless internet, various management systems and computers, to laptops, printers and scanners, as well as both local and international communications systems.

Al-Sharhan explained: “The business side

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is being revolutionised and so will the IT side; we are bringing in the latest technological developments, such as revenue management and network planning systems.”

He added: “The revenue management system will let us know exactly where we stand financially; we will know how our destinations and operations are performing through real time reporting. One of the factors that leads to being a leading airline is having automation across the board in most of the departments that we operate and the systems that we use.”

Kuwait Airways is a living example of how the timely implementation of technological solutions can make all the difference for a company looking to compete globally. It is telling that the company is actualising its desire to become more prudent financially with the relevant IT automation.

In the face of much adversity, the company has tackled its past challenges and is now actively laying down the framework for a truly international airline. Al-Sharhan was confident that his vision and the capabilities of his staff would bring Kuwait Airways into more prosperous territory. He concluded with his calculated strategy for the near future: “Over the next few years we will have the new fleet and the rebranding fully in place. I expect us to have about 30 percent of the Kuwait market share.

I will be increasing destinations, both east and west, and want Kuwait Airways to be the favoured airline for the entire Kuwaiti population.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Aviation HEADQUARTERS

Kuwait City FOUNDED

1954 EMPLOYEES

5800 REVENUE

$940 million PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Commercial and Tourist Travel

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POISED FOR GROWTH Written by: Nye Longman Produced by: Richard Durrant

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The Swedish homeware and leisure retailer is backing up major local and continental expansion with a series of timely investments

R

usta began modestly in the early 1980s and since then has grown exponentially to become a Swedish household name with annual revenues approaching $400 million. It has reached the point where it can now become a serious player in the European mixed retail market, and it is building on its solid foundations by investing millions in upgrading its facilities and IT infrastructure.

Rusta was founded on the idea that it is always possible to do something better. Its basic strategy is to continuously grow while building on its strengths. The company continues to focus on its

An aerial shot of Rusta’s warehouse

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motto of “giving people great value for money.” It is achieving this objective through opening new stores, improving and developing its existing offerings, as well as continuing to improve purchasing and product supply functions.

Operations While Supply Chain Director Anders Kind noted that Rusta still has some aspecte to improve on, he was proud to recognise that the company had thorough coverage in Sweden, with 78 stores fed by 11 warehouses and distribution centres, including one situated on its supplier side in China. Through various partnerships, the company handles distribution between the Far East and Sweden but also significant purchases in Europe. It also has seven stores in neighbouring Norway, where its reputation for delivering value for money in the form of quality homeware is steadily growing.

Kind noted that Rusta was keen to continue its strong growth and was more than ready to ensure that it had the right people directing its operations. He said: “About three years ago the founders realised Rusta needed to refresh the company with new experiences while still building on old values. That is why I was recruited, alongside a new CEO as well as a new Marketing, Assortment and Quality Manager.”

For Rusta, doing things in-house isn’t just simply down to circumstances; it is a mind-set that pervades the whole organisation and has

78 Number of Rusta stores currently in Sweden

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EFFICIENT AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS FOR WAREHOUSES & DISTRIBUTION CENTERS

PROUD INTEGRATOR OF RUSTA´S NEW INTRALOGISTICS AUTOMATION SOLUTION Swisslog designs, develops and delivers best-in-class automation solutions. We offer integrated systems and services from a single source – from consulting to design, implementation and lifetime customer service.

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We Take You Beyond The Ocean

Our clients have individual needs of logistics services and our task is to present services for each client need, tailor made solutions are not more expensive.

APC Logistics, Ocean, Air, Customs clearance and Logistic services, a company within Nippon Express Group since Nov 1st 2012 www.apclogistics.se/info@apclogistics.se Malmo, Gothenburg and Stockholm

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enabled it to be in command of its own destiny.

Kind said: “We don’t outsource anything; everything is done in house. We take control of the entire value chain so that we can know for sure we will be more successful than our competitors.

“We go to the manufacturer and see exactly how they produce our products, we do inspections on almost all of our Far East production lines to make sure the quality is always in line with our own standards and expectations.

Kind was also keen to explain how the company was able to deliver its guiding principle “value for money” across a massive range of high quality products, he said: “In the past we purchased products from China and imported them straight to our stores in Sweden. But we have added a lot of steps in order to drive the price down for customers and also increase the quality and value

“We go to the manufacturer and see exactly how they produce our products, we do inspections on almost all of our Far East production to make sure the quality is always in line with our own standards and expectations.”

– Ander Kind, Supply Chain Director

An example of homeware layout from Rusta

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R U S TA for money of our products. We have seen over the years that our customers are increasingly happy with what they buy. When it comes to supply chain we focus on efficient logistics that also contributes to give our customers more value for money.”

A current Rusta store

Accommodating growth Kind said that it was usual for Rusta to grow by almost 15 to 20 percent each year and also noted that for many years the company was opening a new store almost every month; it is a trend which he confidently expects to continue.

Ever conscious of the continuously increasing

The giant Kibali mine in the DRC has poured its first gold, marking Randgold’s next big step towards sustainably profitable growth.

Taking the next

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Whether a standard shipment or complex project, we offer you the right solution for your transport needs. Operating at 500 locations in over 80 countries, our air and oceanfreight specialists are ready to apply their experience, expertise, and creativity to find just the right solution for you.

We maintain local contacts and a global network, all in order to live up to your expectations – anytime and anywhere.

Find a list of all Panalpina offices on www.panalpina.com

S U P P LY C H A I N

demand for its product lines (not to mention preparing to connect its brand with new markets) the company has committed to supporting these efforts with a unique warehouse. Kind explained: “We are currently building the biggest warehouse in Sweden, in Norrkoping, which is about two hours’ drive from Stockholm. The investment of over SEK 500 Million will be 63,700 sqm, and able to house around 135,000 pallets and about 60,000 of those will be totally automated. DC will be functional from September 2015 and fully operational in March 2016. This will enable us to go from 11 warehouses to just one and will save us both money and time; it will be more efficient in the long run through centralising our operations.

“At the same time we are also upgrading our WMS, called EPIX, to be able to monitor our warehouse growth.

“We are also delivering a new ERP system and vendor management system. Because we are expanding territorially we had to change to a new system called IFS which can handle more than one country at a time. We needed to do it because we are growing outside of Sweden and the old one could only handle a single country and a single currency.”

Talent Management Rusta faces the unique challenge of managing a talent pool that not only covers its headquarters, distribution centres and retail outlets but also extending as far as its producers in the Far

Checkout at Rusta store

“We are currently building the biggest warehouse in Sweden, in Norrkoping, which is about two hours’ drive from Stockholm. The investment of over SEK 500 Million will be 63,700 sqm, and able to house around 135,000 pallets and about 60,000 will be totally automated” – Ander Kind, Supply Chain Director w w w. r u s t a . s e

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R U S TA An example of homeware layout from Rusta

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East. Kind said: “We always strive to have the best employees and to develop them. If you look at our history, HR was more ad hoc: we simply hired people and tried to do good by them. We now have a modern, professional HR department and have brought in a new HR director last year. He has structured the business to be more professional when it comes to hiring new staff and we now also focus more on helping to develop our employees.

“When people start working for Rusta, sure they learn our history but also our important core values, which comprise: courage, commitment, simplicity and togetherness.

“We do a lot of internal learning; we learn from ourselves and really try to make individuals grow within the company and with each other and that’s the most important thing for us.

“From my experience working with other retail companies, you simply cannot compare them to Rusta; everyone is so devoted to their work and everybody is committed to the success of the company, it is like a big family.”

Rusta has recognised where its strengths lie in its supply chain and has projected this successful model into a clear and tangible vision for the future, backing it up with a solid level of capital and a focused, forward thinking management team. The company has lived with strong growth for much of its lifetime but has never grown complacent and is set to propagate its successful model across the European continent.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Supply Chain HEADQUARTERS

Stockholm, Sweden FOUNDED

1986 EMPLOYEES

1,700 REVENUE

SEK3.5 billion PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Supply chain of homeware and leisure products

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AWARD WINNING UTL Taking Supply Chains To The Next Level Written by: Sam Jermy Produced by: Richard Durrant

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UTL

The leading provider of logistics, field services and repair solutions has created a virtuous circle that enables companies to operate world-class environmentally friendly operations

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TL has put recycling and energy efficiency at the forefront of its logistical services and as a result has solidified business relationships with various major firms such as Sky, Vodafone and Sainsbury’s.

Its innovative work to create a closed loop in operations has paid dividends in recent months; culminating in winning the Best Business Partnership at the National Recycling Awards 2015 alongside Sky for its work in providing fully integrated service solutions. Together they beat other finalists including Tesco, Waitrose and Biffa.

Gary Winter, Business Development Director at UTL, said: “Everything we do at UTL we really mean, and we have that passion to go the extra mile by creating value in what we do for people.

I met passionate people here when I first joined, and when everyone is motivated by the same goal we are better positioned to continuously improve.”

Much of this ethos comes from parent company Unipart and the ‘Unipart Way’ which is a guiding philosophy to reduce waste or activities which do not add value. Unipart was formed in 1987 to assure the spare parts supply with the demise of British Leyland. Therefore it has a very strong automotive heritage which is why Unipart Logistics division (UL) was formed. The UTL division was also created to apply this supply chain expertise to other sectors such as Mobile, Media and Consumer.

Winter added: “One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure. We try to extract maximum

S U P P LY C H A I N

UTL operations in full flow

Key Personnel

value while also achieving the right answer for the planet: we are also trying to achieve the right answer for the bottom line.”

“We are a significant part of an £800 million corporation which means we have the clout of a large international company but deliver the personal care and attention that our customers have come to value enormously.”

Virtuous circle UTL began its key business partnership with Sky as a pure forward logistics service in 2004, encompassing set top boxes, spare parts, warehousing, and a pick, pack and dispatch operation out to the then 650 Sky engineers.

Today, the company not only supplies all of

Gary Winter Business Development Director

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Local Pharmacy Local Pharmacy Pharmacy Local

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UTL the above, but every consumable item on the van; even the ladders and the engineer’s work uniform and boots. UTL also sources the entire fleet of vans and converts them for Sky’s needs.

Winter said: “Literally everything that is on the road, bar the engineer, is supplied

by UTL. These days the relationship is unrecognisable from 2004; the heart of it is still a forward logistics operation. Sky services the customer’s needs via the mobile engineers, so we were originally sending them out so they could just do installations and repairs in Sky customers’ homes.

“Nowadays when they finished working on site everything is returned to us; we do a 23-part sortation process. So if there is a broken set top box for example, we carry out inspection and

SUPPLIER PROFILE

S U P P LY C H A I N

350 staff are employed at the Tamworth facility

DPD UK

DPD is the nation’s favourite express parcel carrier, providing a range of delivery services, including home delivery. DPD’s award winning Predict service ensures more, right first time deliveries by advising customers in advance, by text or email, of the hour in which, their parcel will arrive.

If the hour is not convenient, the customer can then use the text or email to rearrange delivery to a neighbour’s property, a local DPD Pickup shop, safe place or to another date. Predict also includes Follow My Parcel, which provides customers with the ability to see their delivery driver’s progress on a map and also provides them with an eventual 15 minute delivery time slot. DPD also offers a Sunday Service providing a full collection and delivery service 7 days a week.

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Leading the way in Smart Logistics

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Tel: 0844 800 5219

Web: www.bybox.com

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diagnostics, full repair and refurbishment, so that box can go out to another customer for reuse.

“We receive these materials from a company called ByBox; they are one of our biggest suppliers and we’ve have had a long and successful relationship with them. Their network of delivery parcel lockers and boxes enables us to send our goods out on the driver’s routes. He or she will collect the shipment and then when they’re finished onsite, they will put what looks like rubbish back in the drop box and it gets sent back to our Baginton distribution centre in the Coventry area.”

Efficiency and growth The Baginton B facility, which has won five-star accreditation from British Safety Council, is

SUPPLIER PROFILE

UTL began its key business partnership with Sky as a pure forward logistics service in 2004

BYBOX FIELD SUPPORT LIMITED

ByBox was founded with a simple mission: to solve the problem of having to wait in for parcels. We understand how difficult it is to wait in for parcels, so we created an alternative that works. ByBox provides an end-to-end supply chain solution, including delivery and locker pick-up services, warehouse management technology and technical service solutions.

ByBox’ intelligent locker network is underpinned by its unique supply chain planning software, Thinventory™, allowing customers to see items at every stage of the supply chain.

By using the ByBox solution customers are able to make more intelligent decisions and run a more streamlined and efficient supply chain.

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The value of GAC Abu Dhabi adds up

Project Logistics Supply Chain Management Sea Freight Air Freight Land Transportation Warehousing & Distribution Ship Spares Logistics Ship Agency Hub Agency

Complete services + global network = your advantage

Bunker Fuels

For nearly half a century, GAC Abu Dhabi’s unique blend of integrated services, global reach and local expertise has helped diverse companies achieve growth and efficiency. Offering a wide range of services from ship agency to offshore support, our flexible and tailored formula focuses on delivering value and results you can measure. We can solve the most complex transportation needs, providing the answers that give your business the advantage.

Offshore Support Rig Moving Operations

See how it adds up for you at gac.com/abudhabi Find us on facebook.com/GACgroup

NSGAC Abu Dhabi P.O Box 277, Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates abudhabi@gac.com | Tel: +971 2 673 0500

EASY STICK SALES

Worldwide Shipbroking Services

Manufacturers & Suppliers Of All Types Of Self Adhesive Labels, Tags, Tapes Including...

Specialist Labelling Solutions Direct Thermal / Transfer Labels Thermal Transfer Ribbons Plain and Multi Colour Labels Price Marking Labels and Machines Direct Thermal / Transfer Printers & Software Short Print Run Bureau Service Artwork, Negative & Plate Service

Shipping Offshore Energy Finance

www.fearnleys.com

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Tel: 0121 377 6005 Fax: 0121 377 7402

Email: john.ralph@easystick.co.uk Suppliers to the Unipart Group for 25 years.

S U P P LY C H A I N

UTL’s capabilities extend far beyond a linear forward logistics service

where UTL separates every item from cardboard, polythene and cables to circuit boards and other electrical items. In the case of Sky, it approached UTL with the challenge of wishing to be a zero landfill company and asked how Winter’s firm could help it achieve this.

By working together to create an efficient process onsite in Coventry, assisted by facilities management company CHC Waste, the company was able to recycle over 99 percent of all materials and win the Best Business Partnership at the National Recycling Awards 2015. On the mobile side of the business, over 1.8 million devices pass through the workshop and repair process every year and this is managed

by Zafire Group’s SmartService system.

Winter said: “Every now and then there’s an

A 23-part sortation process helps in recycling efforts

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UTL

“We started off in quite a modest way where we were doing just one element of the supply chain for companies, then by process of evolution and expansion we ended up doing a far broader range of activities that people typically know us for.”

– Gary Winter, Business Development Director at UTL

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item we can’t find a new home for. Rope for example; once it’s used it cannot be resold as rope for Health and Safety reasons but we actually pass it on to a charity who makes dog leads out of it and who then sells it to raise funds for their charity. Anything we can’t find a reuse for and have to burn creates energy, and the ash is used to make breeze and cinder blocks in construction. So we’ve really worked hard to close that loop on everything. It is good CSR and a strong commitment to the public to cause as little environmental harm as possible.”

“We started off in quite a modest way where we were doing just one element of the supply chain for companies, then by process of evolution and expansion we ended up doing a far broader range of activities that people typically know us for.

S U P P LY C H A I N

Vodafone is certainly one of its substantial contracts and Winter stated UTL is extremely pleased to have successfully worked with the firm for so long and see that relationship expand.

A younger relationship, with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s, has seen a linear forward logistics retail operation from a 350,000 square feet facility in Tamworth, employing around 350 people.

“We just had our contract renewed for a further three years with Sainsbury’s. We’re very excited to hopefully be on a journey with them as well as continuing to do the classic value for money 3PL solutions.” said Winter.

He concluded: “In the past 15 years we have seen massive changes and growth throughout the business. The company went through a period of aggressive growth until two or three years ago, now we have a stable customer base and organisation and now we’re organised and ready for another period of growth.

“Discover at 9am, learn at 10am, fix at 11am is the mantra. We’ve probably got best staff retention in the sector because of this high level of engagement. With such a progressive nature on our side, in another two years’ time I’d like to be telling you about three new household names as clients, the retention of our current accounts, and the continuation of accreditation and recognition from third parties for our activities.”

With such a forward-thinking and green way of operating, it would only be appropriate to see UTL continue to flourish.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Supply Chain HEADQUARTERS

West Midlands, UK FOUNDED

2000 EMPLOYEES

3,000 REVENUE

£200 million PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Repair, Logistics, Technical call centres, Repair avoidance, Field expertise, End of life management, Repair diagnostics

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Al Ruqee Group The premier product service provider Written by:Sam Jermy Produced by: Mark Atkinson

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AL RUQEE GROUP

The Saudi Arabian based company has diversified and evolved to the point where it is now a key industrial market partner to numerous firms in the Kingdom and wider Arabian Gulf

A

l Ruqee Group has gained a prestigious reputation in the Middle East as the leading pre-sales and after sales support operations for industrial goods, and now enjoys multiple long-term contracts ranging from €300,000 to €5 million.

Founded in 1949 as a general trading business by late Chair Salamat Alikhan, he witnessed the rapid transformation of Saudi Arabia from desert kingdom to modern nation. Since then, technology specialisation has been the basis of the company’s success. This derives from its close cooperation with the world leaders in

Alruqee Technical Service Operations

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Alruqee Showrooms

designing and manufacturing of the state-of-theart industrial products, machinery and equipment reinforced by highly trained staff with specialised skills and industry experience, coupled with professional support facilities and capabilities.

The family run business is made up of seven different business units which contribute to income: Alruqee Industrial Marketing, Alruqee Machine Tools, Alruqee Oil and Gas (ROG), Alruqee Technical Services (Teknoserv), Alruqee Down Steam, Alruqee Tooling (UniTools) and Alruqee Projects. There is also the M-TEK Training Centre which provides Computer Numerical Control (CNC) programming and CAD/CAM software training.

Fouad Alikhan, Group Executive Manager at Al Ruqee, said: “We provide the necessary presales technical support to ensure the correct selection of technology and specifications of

“We provide the necessary pre-sales technical support to ensure the correct selection of technology and specifications of a machine so that the expected production design, quality, accuracy, and capacity can be achieved” – Fouad Alikhan, Executive Manager, Sales Marketing & Technical Services

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AL RUQEE GROUP

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Exclusive agent in Saudi Arabia and G.C.C Alruqee Machine Tools Co. - Head Office P.O Box 3657, Alkhobar 31952 Saudi Arabia M o n t h 2 Tel 0 1 :4+966 13 847 0449 Fax : +966 13 847 4992 Email: Mailbox2@alruqee.com, http://en.wiamachine.co.kr, www.alruqee.com

AL RUQEE GROUP

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

a machine so that the expected production design, quality, accuracy, and capacity can be achieved, and we also provide the after sales services for all the machines and equipment supplied in the whole Arabian Gulf Region.

“We offer solutions that transform factories, workshops, and laboratories into rapid automation centres. Harnessing technology and technical staff offers enormous opportunities to enhance efficiency and productivity. This is a quantum leap from providing the traditional ‘trading concept’ in the Kingdom and the Arabian Gulf to going beyond this and offering customised solutions and meeting the changing needs of our customers.”

Fouad Alikhan, Group Exec. Manager

Operations From its headquarters in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia

SUPPLIER PROFILE

Sales, Marketing and Technical Services

HYUNDAI WIA CORPORATION

HYUNDAI WIA has been accumulated the credit in precision machine industry. We concentrated to lead global machine industry.

HYUNDAI WIA’S Machine Tool lined with high productivity and high precision. It advances the factory automation through harmonizing human being and machines. All things of machinery technique, HYUNDAI WIA’s technical area are unlimited. World high-tech precision composite machinery maker- HYUNDAI WIA, we are describing the better future through renovation and challenge.

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AL RUQEE GROUP

LEADING MACHINE-TOOL SUPPLIER WORLDWIDE FOR AEROSPACE AND OIL&GAS

BLADE TIP GRINDING & MEASURING

LANDING GEAR GRINDING, TURNING & SUPERFINISHING

www.danobatgroup.com

Hypertherm® nearly 50 years of cutting excellence

Request your solution package It is our mission to provide customers with the best industrial cutting solutions in the industry. our systems consistently outperform the competition in quality, productivity and operating costs. we solely focus on cutting, that’s why our customers can cut with confidence!

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PIPE & COUPLING THREADING

AL RUQEE GROUP

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and several office branch offices throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Al Ruqee has fostered several successful business relationships with a number of international firms.

Perhaps the most prominent example of this is multi-trillion dollar group Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco); ROG has been successfully registered with Aramco for more than 35 years as an approved supplier of a wide range of their material and equipment requirements.

This includes drilling and workover equipment and services, chemicals and lubricants, pipes and tubes for oil and gas, instrumentation and lab equipment, electrical products, safety equipment, welding and cutting systems and welding consumables, machine tools, power tools, material handling and lifting equipment.

Al Ruqee has fostered several successful business relationships with a number of international firms

“We offer solutions that transform factories, workshops, and laboratories into rapid automation centres.

Harnessing technology and technical staff offers enormous opportunities to enhance efficiency and productivity” – Fouad Alikhan, Executive Manager, Sales Marketing & Technical Services

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AL RUQEE GROUP

Alruqee Warhouse Logistics

ROG supplies directly to Saudi Aramco and also indirectly to its megaprojects through Aramco’s approved contractors. In terms of downstream Oil and Gas, Al Ruqee also handles petrochemicals and fertiliser for Sabic and set up its workshop; Alruqee Downstream handles another key industry.

Moreover, the Alruqee Machine Tools represents Danobat Group from Spain by offering turnkey solutions for the Oil and Gas equipment manufacturer, which requires a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to produce carbon steel seamless pipes, both API and premium threads and forged valves.

Alikhan said: “After many years of experience

Down to the smallest detail

Hermle machining centers are masters of micro precision and endurance.

Workpieces weighing up to 2500 kg are machined in 5 axes – at accuracy within a few micrometres. For perfect results. www.hermle.de Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG, Germany · Phone: +49 7426 95-0 · info@hermle.de

Hermle_AZ_Impeller_96_137_EN.indd 1

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FastMig X Get ready for the best welds of your life

For more information on Kemppi’s Total Welding Management Solution Kemppi ARC System 3 visit www.kemppi.com

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

State-of-the-art manufacturing facility

working with worldwide leading manufacturers we can provide complete solutions to all our customers. We’re offering turnkey solutions from design to supply of complete production lines.

We also offer good aftersales, maintenance contracts and technical support. “The M-TEK Training Centre was established in 2008 to provide our local and regional customers the necessary technical training for the high-tech industrial machines we install. We are offering the CNC programming training and operator training for the most advanced machine tools manufacturers in the world such as Trumpf and Hermle, as well as Hyundai WIA. Today, we are offering the programming training for the most advanced CAD/CAM software worldwide in

1949 The year Al Ruqee was founded

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“Whether it is government or private industry, from workshop to manufacturing factory or facility to training centres and so on, due to our growth we can now assist with all of these and ensure a smooth operation” – Fouad Alikhan, Executive Manager, Sales Marketing & Technical Services

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both English and Arabic, with the same quality and value offered regardless of location.”

With regard to location, Alikhan believes Al Ruqee is perfectly situated to proliferate into other GCC markets. The company already serves the UAE and Oman and then from its Dammam facilities it serves Bahrain which is just thirty minutes away by road. It is a similar scenario slightly further afield, with Kuwait and Qatar only three and four hours’ drive away respectively.

World renowned logisticians such as DHL, FedEx and TNT handle the company’s day to day shipments to ensure it reaches all Al Ruqee customers across the GCC in time. For bigger cargo shipments (capital machinery,) the materials are imported by sea in large containers through freight forwarders who then deliver these goods to the central warehouse.

Operator Training

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

Training Session At MTEK

Progression Going forward the group wants to get closer to the end user by shortening the supply chain even more. Alikhan said: “We will further strengthen our position in the GCC; firstly in Saudi Arabia, as you need to have a stronger focus in your home country. We also cover Bahrain from here, but we’ve expanded as a business and hopefully in the next few years we will establish our international outpost offices in the different countries we already have interests in.

“In the past year we have taken on an extra 50 people to bring us up to 300 staff members.

This has given us the flexibility to go as far as Ethiopia for machine installation work, so it is really pleasing to see our network grow in this fashion.

“Whether it is government or private industry, from workshop to manufacturing factory,

300 Number of staff employed

by Al Ruqee Group

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or facility to training centres and so on, due to our growth we can now assist with all of these and ensure a smooth operation. We’re not planning to stop there though, and feel there is good reason to be optimistic about the group going into the next five years.�

In 2008, Al Ruqee Technical Services was established as a dedicated department to provide the necessary after sales service for all the machines and equipment sold by the group. This has been another fruitful

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

development for the group, where major organisations from a range of industries now rely on Al Ruqee to offer turnkey solutions.

For example, the German company Hermle specialises in high speed milling machines and high precision, complex parts for use in the mould and die industries, and Al Ruqee has been particularly successful in working with not only Hermle, but many other high calibre firms.

By supplying machinery to such a diverse range of service providers, Al Ruqee is safe in the knowledge that there will be regular income streams from a variety of sources. This is especially true when working with the likes of GE Oil & Gas, which is servicing the oil and gas industry, meaning pipelines will need constant maintenance and repair work. A dedicated team of 60 service engineers and technicians scattered around the Gulf region provide not only the supply, installation and commissioning of machines but there is also comprehensive after sales support and training for any customer who requires it, and this number is set to grow in the coming years.

Alikhan concluded: “The continuous improvement starts with management and under their leadership works down through the organisation. All employees must work together to identify the steps needed to improve working practices. The underlying theme is that everyone is responsible and has a part to play in making improvements to ensure Al Ruqee continues to thrive.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Industrial Machinery and Equipment HEADQUARTERS

Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia FOUNDED

1949 EMPLOYEES

300 REVENUE

€ 60,500,000 ($ 67,000,000) PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

The Group comprises of several specialized companies with branches, showrooms, service centers and warehouses.

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Driving Your Business Through The Mobility Era Written by: Neil Bramley Produced by: James Pepper

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TOSHIBA

Toshiba’s Neil Bramley looks at security, cost and reliability factors affecting SME decision making when considering mobile solutions for their business

The Author

Neil Bramley European SMB Director at Toshiba Europe

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August 2015

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he rise of mobility is the most prevalent and consuming change for businesses to manage today. A number of factors, from technological innovation such as cloud and security considerations to economic recovery, are contributing to this transformation across European companies.

A key consideration during this period is making sure that your business invests in the right hardware, services and software to enable staff to work efficiently, regardless of whether they’re office-based or on the move.

Move away from consumer-grade solutions According to SMB Group, over 60 per cent of SMBs believe mobile solutions are critical to the business1– however, it is employees wanting to use familiar devices that is the significant catalyst in driving consumer device uptake within BYOD strategies.

But SMBs face a variety of challenges that differ to those of consumers, and devices need to meet these security, connectivity, reliability and image stability requirements that aren’t always considered within the build of a typical consumer product.

Instead, devices designed specifically for the mobile era of business, such as Toshiba’s lightweight Portégé Z20t 2-in-1 laptop and tablet, have been created with these factors taken into account, providing tools truly designed to meet business needs.

Security and reliability are key Smaller businesses often do not have the inhouse IT support to provide advice or backup equipment, and any time offline will have a large impact on productivity and the ability to serve customers. With this in mind, SMBs should make sure they buy from a reliable brand that has a strong focus on customer support and creating products with reliability guarantees – for example Toshiba’s support includes money back and a free repair over the first year2, providing complete confidence to SMBs when it comes to IT investments.

As people become more dependent on their devices and spend the vast majority of their

Portégé Z20t-B is the ideal device for dayto-day business use whether you’re working at your desk, giving presentations, attending meetings, sharing ideas or taking notes.

1) ‘2014 Small and Medium Business Mobile Solutions Study (SMB Group), http://www.smb-gr.com/ 2) Available in selected countries and applicable on eligible models only. Subject to the Terms and Conditions, should your laptop break within one year of purchase you may be eligible to claim a free Standard Warranty repair and a refund of the purchase price. Claims can only be made if the laptop has been registered within 30 days of purchase. Please visit http://www.toshiba.eu/ innovation/generic/reliability/ for full details

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Toshiba recommends Windows.

DETACH FROM WORKING LIMITATIONS.

ATTACH TO 17 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE*.

PORTÉGÉ Z20t-B

THE LAPTOP YOU NEED. THE TABLET YOU DESERVE. Adapt to any business situation in one click, with the silent, fully-detachable, 31.75 cm (12.5") Toshiba Portégé Z20t-B featuring the new Intel® Core™ M processor. Work up to 17 hours*, breaking free from working limitations, and attaching to complete business freedom.

And with Toshiba’s Reliability Guarantee, you can be assured of uninterrupted productivity**.

Find out more: www.toshiba.eu/z20t

LAPTOP MODE

PRESENTATION MODE

TABLET MODE

Intel®-based 2 in 1s.

A tablet when you want it, a laptop when you need it. *Based on MobileMark 2012. **Terms and conditions apply. See the full details at www.toshiba.eu/reliability. Intel, the Intel Logo, Intel Inside, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. ©2015 TOSHIBA Corporation. Product specifications, configurations, prices and system, component/options availability are all subject to change without notice. Product design specifications and colours are subject to change without notice and may vary from those shown. Errors and omissions excepted.

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

working lives online, the amount of confidential material being stored on smartphones, laptops and tablets is also on the rise. Data is the most valuable asset for the majority of businesses today and strong security should not be ignored

by SMBs – if a device is stolen, it’s not just the hardware you are losing but potentially a large amount of valuable, business critical information.

Buyers should therefore be considering products that have advanced security measures built in like Trusted Platform Module or as additions such as Toshiba Cloud Client Manager – this level of protection is not required for traditional consumer laptop use, but can give business owners peace of mind that their data and devices are sufficiently safeguarded.

Affordable financing options – making business devices accessible without the upfront costs Despite the advantages of business-built devices, SMBs may not always have the capital to invest in new technology of this sort. At the same time, IT investment is on the rise so it is essential SMBs can embrace new technologies in order to remain competitive. Some vendors offer flexible financing options, removing up-front costs and keeping IT expenditure down. For example, Toshiba’s Buy and Try Satisfaction Guarantee scheme provides purchasing confidence to businesses, 3allowing them to ensure they are fully comfortable with the Portégé Z20t

With Ultrabook™ performance and tablet flexibility in one device, the fully detachable 31.75 cm (12.5”) Portégé Z20t-B for professionals enables you to create or consume content almost anywhere.

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Toshiba recommends Windows.

TRY IT FOR A MONTH ENJOY IT FOREVER. THE LAPTOP YOU NEED. THE TABLET YOU DESERVE. PORTÉGÉ Z20t-B The ultra-mobile Z20t-B with an Intel® Core™ M processor bring up to 17 hours* battery life and allows you to adapt to any business situation with one click.

It also comes with Buy & Try promotion – buy the Portégé Z20t-B with a money back guarantee if the purchased product is not to your complete satisfaction within 30 days**.

Buy now at www.toshiba.eu/Z20T

Supplies are limited

Intel®-based 2 in 1s.

A tablet when you want it, a laptop when you need it.

Intel, the Intel Logo, Intel Inside, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. *Based on Mobile Mark 2012. ** Should you not be satisfied with your laptop within 30 days of purchase you may be eligible to claim a refund of the purchase price. Offer applies to selected Toshiba Portégé Z20t-B models only. Online registration for promotion within 15 days of purchase date required to participate. Further terms & conditions apply. End date of promotion varies according to region, visit toshiba.eu/Z20t for full details.

and understand the productivity and security enhancements it brings to their employees.

If not, they are eligible for a refund within 30 days. When coupled with Toshiba’s Reliability Guarantee programme, it goes to show options are out there to give SMBs complete reassurance during the purchasing cycle and beyond.

The top 25 per cent of SMBs globally are experiencing double the revenue growth and up to eight times the number of jobs created based on their adoption of mobile technologies. 4But as business needs grow, it is equally important mobile working is embraced in the right way – with technology designed for business. IT spend continues to increase globally, so SMBs must ensure they are investing in the products suited to them, providing benefits to support growth – otherwise, they may find themselves on the back foot in an increasingly competitive market.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Manufacturing HEADQUARTERS

Surrey, UK PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Computer Manufacturing

3) One reimbursement per company, product must be returned in full working order. Terms and conditions apply. Please visit www. toshiba.eu/z20t for full terms and conditions 4) ‘The Mobile Revolution: How Mobile Technologies Drive A Trillion-Dollar Impact’ (Boston Consulting Group and Qualcomm), https://www.bcgperspectives.com/Images/The_Mobile_Revolution_Jan_2015_tcm80-180510.pdf

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OMIFCO:

A unique and mutually beneficial initiative Written by: Sam Jermy Produced by: Heykel Ouni

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OMIFCO

Collaboration between two governments laid the foundations for a exclusive fertiliser company

OMIFCO has direct access for shipping through facilities exclusively built at the start of the project

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he Oman India Fertiliser Company S.A.O.C (OMIFCO) as the name might suggest, has seen the transcontinental cooperation of bodies from two countries to create a unique initiative. Today, the company is celebrating more than 10 years of operations and a turnover in excess of $300 million.

Back in 1998, a long-standing relationship between the two countries historically led to a Memorum of Understanding (MOU) to construct, own and operate a modern world scale twotrain ammonia-urea fertiliser manufacturing plant at the Sur Industrial Estate in the Sultanate of Oman. OMIFCO is owned 50 percent by Oman Oil Company SAOC (OOC), 25 percent

by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and 25 percent by Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO).

Once funding in the region of $640 million was secured, OMIFCO was able to acquire land near to the Oman coast, next to OLNG plant which had

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

OMIFCO was established 20 years ago

the necessary gas capabilities. Now that original 10 year loan has been full repaid, the company has experienced strong financial results.

Sharanappa Gurappa Gedigeri, CEO of OMIFCO, said: “Oman had the availability of natural gas which is a key ingredient for manufacturing urea fertiliser, and India being an agricultural country had a huge market for the urea, so this initiative was essentially set up to accelerate industrial growth in the Sultanate of Oman. The urea produced is exported to India and the local market.

“We produce urea and ammonia; the latter is used as a raw material to produce urea. First the gas comes in, then ammonia is produced and from that we produce urea. It is stored and conditioned then dispatched though ships.

“We sell and export to the government, sending it on ships to the west and east coasts of India via the Arabian Sea. We also have our own jetty, exclusively for us at OMIFCO, which was built at the start of the project” –S haranappa Gurappa Gedigeri, CEO

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550 Number of staff employed

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“The product is supplied on ships to the west and east coasts of India via the Arabian Sea. We also have our own jetty, exclusively for us at OMIFCO, which was built at the start of the project.”

Operations and staff OMIFCO’s fertiliser complex process technology consists of two ammonia plants, designed and

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

licensed by Danish company Haldor Topsoe.

Urea plant process technology comes from Snamprogetti of Italy, so two leading technologists are involved in the plant operations.

Dy CEO Said said: “Here we produce international quality granular urea that can be exported long distances which is the preferred method for the crops and also a very good strength. There is potential to save energy on

OMIFCO has built its facility in a very strategic location on the coast, enabling a good supply route

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OMIFCO

Specialists in • Burners for Steam Methane Reformers & Fired Heaters • Thermal Oxidisers Providing Efficient Green Combustion and Energy Solutions Since 1845 Greens have been in the forefront of energy saving ever since Edward Green had the vision in 1845 to design and patent the world’s first economiser.

Since then Greens has continued to be leaders in providing green and efficient combustion solutions to a vast range of applications with an evolving and diversified product range.

Greens Combustion carries these values into the refinery and petrochemical industries by specialising in supplying a range of GreenBurn® burners for fired heaters and steam methane reformers as well as a range of thermal oxidisers and other combustion related products.

Whether it is revamping existing equipment for increased efficiency or supplying new products, for the last 170 years Greens remains a name synonymous with the combustion industry.

ESTABLISHED INTERNATIONALLY

T 00 44 (0)1202 607563 F 00 44 (0)1202 607565 middleeast@greenscombustion.com www.greenscombustion.com 168 Month 2014

OMIFCO

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

ammonia and urea, by making certain changes in the process, because we want to achieve energy saving targets in order for us to continue to grow but without excess energy being used.

Gedigeri added: “There is potential to make an additional investment of $300 million to increase production by 10 percent; this is something we are currently considering and we will be discussing further with the board soon.

“We have also invested significantly in people; we have grown to over 550 staff members from 450 since we began operations.

Slowly, as we consolidated, that number has grown and so has the localisation efforts, rising from around 25 percent when we started to close to 74 percent now.”

The technical skills originally came from

SUPPLIER PROFILE

OMIFCO has loyal and dedicated employees

GREENS COMBUSTION LIMITED

Greens Combustion Limited, part of the Greens Group which has been associated with the combustion industry since Greens was founded in the United Kingdom in 1826, has a wealth of experience in the refinery and petrochemical industries and specialises in Burners for Fired Heaters and Steam Methane Reformers as well as a Thermal Oxidisers and associated combustion services.

Drawing on almost 200 years of know-how Greens Combustion supply a range of new products as well as embarking on more challenging revamps of existing burners and thermal oxidisers for enhanced performance and improved plant efficiency.

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Helping Urea Manufactures Increase Their Capacity Rotex were the first choice for OMIFCO allowing them to make significant increases in capacity within the same footprint Rugged design with quick screen access Highest product recovery efficiency while meeting stringent SGN and UI specs High throughput tonnage in a compact footprint Total solutions, unmatched application expertise and aftermarket support

s Megatex XDTM

Call today on +44 (0)1928 706 110 or visit online www.rotex.com

H E I R L O O M S Luxury Linens for ship or ashore esT 1984

w w w. h e i r l o o m s - l i n e n s . c o m w w w. h e i r l o o m s - s u p e r y a c h t s . c o m sales@heirlooms-linens.co.uk T: + 4 4 ( 0 ) 1 2 4 3 8 2 0 2 5 2

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OMIFCO

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Twilight view of the Sur Industrial Estate

two Indian partners that had experience of building and operating plants with similar technology. Project managers and engineers in the construction phase and then in the building operation phase- area managers, operating staff, technicians and operators were all sourced from India. In parallel, fresh technical trainees were recruited from local colleges and have undergone extensive training development programs locally and in India.

A training department now identifies training gaps and specialises training programmes for individuals. Technical trainers supervise new recruits internally; there is orientation in classrooms as well as on the job training mixed with OEM external training. Soft skills such as leadership, team building and conflict management are also covered and have become part of the company’s training manuals.

“We have also invested significantly in people; we have grown to over 550 staff members from 450 since we began operations.

Slowly as we consolidated, that number has grown and so has the localisation efforts, rising from around 25 percent when we started to close to 74 percent now” –S haranappa Gurappa Gedigeri, CEO

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OMIFCO

OMIFCO CEO, Sharanappa Gurappa Gedigeri

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Continuous improvement Gedigeri stated there are numerous quality assurance standards in place to achieve operational excellence. He said: “We started with ISO 9001 and we have integrated a quality management system and we are audited regularly. So continuous improvement comes from having smart KPI’s and the balance scorecards.”

In terms of expansion plans and growth of company, together with technology suppliers, OMIFCO has plans to double production capacity from its current level.

Gedigeri concluded: “We identify certain weak links in our chain so we then modify or enhance things. Underground water cooling systems are one of the reasons for plant downtime so we improved operations to operate it safely and we modified certain systems in the hardware. Our gas turbines systems, control systems, gas systems hardware have all been upgraded to have a longer life, and there’s mandatory inspections all the time. From this we can now operate our plants safely, reliably and efficiently.”

“We get the gas and everything else including saleable products we produce ourselves; such as water, steam and electric energy. It is all done in the same complex and means we can be safe in the knowledge we are being as energy efficient as possible. Overall we are very confident of our future success.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Fertiliser HEADQUARTERS

Oman FOUNDED

1998 EMPLOYEES

550 REVENUE

$400 million PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

The plant has the capacity to produce 1,750 T/D of Anhydrous Ammonia from 2 Ammonia Plants and 2,530 T/D of granular urea from 2 Urea Plants.

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Achieving Global Success With Supply Chain Process Written by: Abigail Phillips Produced by: Richard Durrant

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HENKEL

How Henkel manages its supply chain for ultimate business outcomes

H

enkel is a global company that works with some of the world’s leading brands and technologies in three core business areas: Laundry and Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. With more than 140 years of expertise under its belt Henkel is well on its way to achieving its vision to become the world leader in brand management and technology solutions.

Today the company holds dominant market positions both in the consumer and industrial sector and is well known for brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite to name just a few. Henkel’s vision is to become a global player in each of its brands and technologies.

The Dax-30 company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany and is proud of its almost 50,000 employees from more than 120 nations worldwide. Henkel has as strong presence in emerging markets.

Putting quality first Since day one, the company has put a great deal of emphasis on quality, and this has truly driven and underpinned its success to date.

“We strive for the very best in everything that we do,” said Johann Seif, International Planning and Logistics. “This applies not only to the products and technologies that we develop for our customers but also to our internal processes.”

The goal to take leading positions in a highly competitive environment is shared by everyone at Henkel, irrespective of the business unit,

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S U P P LY C H A I N

Henkel is the firm behind famous brands such as Persil

function or country in which they work. In order to achieve the company’s ambitious plans it has focused on four strategic priorities: “We will outperform our competition as a globalised company with simplified operations and a highly inspired team.”

As a global player, Henkel has put a lot of time into building a strong foundation for future growth and development. “The basis for our strategy was a detailed analysis of major long-term market trends. We identified three megatrends which will affect our different businesses over the next years: consolidation, emerging markets and speed.

“Consolidation in our supplier, manufacturer and customer base as well as in our

50,000

Number of staff employed

by Henkel

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Complete solutions from the automation experts Siemens supports Henkel’s sustainability strategy: “Do more with fewer resources”

As a globally operating supplier of energyefficient, automated complete solutions for in-house logistics in industrial companies, we offer expert consulting for installation of new systems as well as for modernization of and upgrades to existing warehouses. We supply everything from a single source, and all based on our automation standards.

Henkel in Düsseldorf, Germany, relied on Siemens to provide the equipment for its channel warehouse. This new distribution center will play a crucial role in connecting production

directly to the warehouse (wall to wall), thereby shortening transport routes, reducing environmental pollution, and making retail supply more efficient.

For example, the automated stock removal – supported by coordinated IT processes and automated stacker cranes – will result in approximately 1.5 million fewer forklift movements annually.

As a result, Henkel will see a 20 percent reduction in its ton-kilometer figures.

siemens.com/industrylogistics

SUPPLIER PROFILE

SIEMENS

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization.

In the logistics area Siemens is a one-stop supplier for customized automated material handling solutions.

Siemens has a longstanding experience in the fields of planning and realisation of new facilities and the extension and modernization of existing installations. From the handling of incoming goods through production and warehousing to picking and material issue – as your automation specialist the Siemens logistics solutions team develops a solution that is ideally tailored to your particular requirements and that will enhance the flexibility and efficiency of your processes and optimize the implementation time and costs for your organization.

The range of custom service, from individual service over emergency service to a full service 24x7x365 completes our comprehensive portfolio.

Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com/industrylogistics

HENKEL

S U P P LY C H A I N

competitive environment will continue. Size will become a critical success factor in the future.

Consequently, we need to grow our businesses.

We expect the shift of growth from mature to emerging markets to continue. As a result, we need to expand our already strong footprint in these markets over the coming years.

“We anticipate highly dynamic market evolution, and faster decision-making by suppliers, customers and competitors. In addition, further digitalisation will lead to changes in our market environment. We therefore need to continue simplifying our processes and increasing our operational excellence,” explained Seif.

Supply chain management How does a company with such a broad clientele remain relevant and achieve ambitious business development aims? “In order to grow, we have to remain mobile as a business,” said Seif. “A huge part of our ongoing strategy is to analyse what to grow in terms of facilities and expertise, and a large part of our strategy in this area is focused on taking our services to the customer.

This is a constant work in progress, but being agile in key to our success. We have a flexible network and despite our size we need to be mobile so we can react to industry changes. At the company we believe that country borders shouldn’t hold us back, and aim to deliver a relevant and consistent service to all our customers, no matter where they are located.”

Henkel has outlined three megatrends going forward

Self believes in a borderless supply chain strategy

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HENKEL

S U P P LY C H A I N

With global and regional distribution centres inventory and planning is critical to business development. “We need to focus on demand,” said Seif. “However, we also need to be clever about how we run our supply chain operations, for example economies of scale, efficiency and agile processes and systems need to be well thought out and delivered.”

In order to create a more robust supply chain, Henkel has optimised its warehouse operations by using automation not only on the warehouse floor but also from an administrative point of view. It has also simplified workflows and tools and centralised its IT services allowing for greater visibility, less down time and thus greater efficiency.

“We have invested in the supply chain technology to give us complete visibility. We

“How we run our supply chain operations, for example economies of scale, efficiency and agile processes and systems need to be well thought out and delivered” – Johann Seif, International Planning & Logistics

Henkel’s main office w w w. h e n k e l . c o . u k

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HENKEL

Automation increasingly plays a part in Henkel processes

look into what we should stock and what we should not to ensure we don’t have too many slow moving products. We believe it’s possible to forecast demand and react to that as much as possible,” he said.

Relying on a team of experts All the technology in the world doesn’t make up for a poor team, so the company has spent a lot of time and effort recruiting a world-leading workforce. “We focus on internal promotions, training and personal development to ensure our people are the best in their field,” said Seif.

“Our ultimate objective is to want to grow from both a product and customer perspective and this would be impossible without people. We back this up where we can with data analysis and technology,” he said.

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Dedicated to sustainability Henkel’s commitment to leadership in sustainability is deeply embedded in its corporate values. Maintaining a balance between economic success, protection of the environment, and social responsibility has been fundamental to the company’s corporate culture for decades.

This approach applies to every business unit and function, and our almost 50,000 employees all over the world have firmly embraced the principles of sustainable development in their daily work and think and act accordingly.

“To maintain this lead in the future, we have developed a long-term sustainability strategy and set a straightforward yet ambitious goal for the year 2030: By this year, all Henkel products and processes should be three times as efficient as they are today,” said Seif.

“This aim addresses one of the central challenges we will face in the future: decoupling growth from resource consumption. Instead, we want to create more value for our customers and consumers, for the communities we operate in, and for our company, while reducing our environmental footprint at the same time.

Achieving more with less: this is the idea at the heart of our sustainability strategy which guides all of our business processes and activities.”

With robust processes, world leading clients, and a focus on sustainability, Henkel is set to deliver its ambitious targets and retain its global reputation for many more years to come.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Supply Chain HEADQUARTERS

Dusseldorf, Germany FOUNDED

1876 EMPLOYEES

50,000 REVENUE

£16.428 billion (2014) PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Brand Managemen, Technological Solutions

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Safety, Innovation And Qu

Shell Corrib Gas Terminal

uality: Building For The Future Written By: Abigail Phillips Produced By: Ben Walshe

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M E R C U RY E N G I N E E R I N G

Mercury Engineering was founded in 1972 by the late Frank O’Kane and Joe Morgan and over the past 42 years has grown into one of Europe’s largest independent engineering contractors.

T

he company has completed projects in 25 countries on four continents and has annual revenues that exceed €500 million. Since its inception, the company has focused on three core values (safety, innovation and quality) which guide the company today as it works with an ever expanding client base throughout the world.

The key to every successful business is its staff and Mercury has always appreciated and valued its employees. The majority of its highly experienced team are long term direct employees who manage projects on behalf of its clients to the strictest codes of integrity and professionalism.

Over the years, Mercury has grown organically to become a leading international multiservice contractor specialising in HVAC, Process, Electrical, I&C, Data & Telecoms and Fire Protection Installations. The

Bespoke interior fabrication for a Data Centre

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New Southern Glasgow Hospital & Royal Hospital for Sick Children

company also provides Project management, Design, Procurement, General contracting, Specialist Commissioning and Maintenance for specific clients and projects.

Innovation and creativity at its core As a company, Mercury quickly adapts the latest building systems and services both through experience and the use of educational seminars.

The company has extensive experience in modular construction, pods, prefabricated piping sections (design & build), IP controlled building management systems, energy management systems, as well as geothermal.

Mercury has invested heavily in the use of

‘A prime challenge faced by the company is to ensure that globalisation becomes a positive force for the business’

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MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL FIXINGS

t 0131 448 2525 f 0131 448 2526 e sales@mef.co.uk

Mechanical & Electrical Fixings Ltd. 10 Dryden Road Bilston Glen Industrial Estate Loanhead, Midlothian EH20 9LZ

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EXPERTS IN ELECTRICAL COMPLIANCE

INSPECTION | TESTING | DOCUMENTATION | COMMISSIONING | SAFETY

• Fixed Wire Testing On New Build Projects • Electrical Installation Condition Reports (Periodic) • Independent Electrical Surveys • Witness Testing • Fault Finding and Rectification • Medical Location Inspections and Solutions • Final Circuit Terminations • Hazardous Area Solutions • Thermal Imaging Surveys • Special Location Verification and Testing • Modular Wiring System Testing • O&M Manual Requirements • Asset Registers • Commissioning Management T +44 (0) 845 226 7484 F +44 (0) 845 226 7485 info@groupmanagement.com www.groupmanagement.com

X X X

9 Lenziemill Road West Lenziemill Industrial Estate Cumbernauld, Glasgow G67 2RL Tel: 01236 735010 info@brysonbrown.co.uk

Thermal Insulation Sheet Metal Fabrication Heat Tracing Acoustic Insulation Noise Control Fire Protection

MC AO NN US FA TR CU TU CR TIO NG N

Building Information Modelling (BIM) and now employs over 120 80 BIM modellers. Using this technology the company can reduce waste both in terms of time and materials which ultimately improves project delivery times and reduces project costs. Since day one Mercury has been committed to delivering state-of-the-art technology solutions to its clients and will always be one step ahead of the competition when it comes to innovation.

In the construction industry, change is no longer an event; change is business as usual. Mercury believes that adaptability and innovation are keys to positive change. Clients are demanding, “better, faster, cheaper” and competition is fierce. Globalisation, turbulent economies and fast evolving technologies further increase the pressures to “do more with less.”

Using this technology the company can reduce waste both in terms of time and materials which ultimately improves project delivery times and reduces project costs

Mercury has invested heavily in the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM)

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M E R C U RY E N G I N E E R I N G

S-equiP™ Turnkey Solution The Turnkey Solution for critical areas in hospitals to improve patient outcomes and workflow efficiencies.

By partnering with Starkstrom, you will be supported with a wide range of experts who

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We at OS LABS, have a mission to deliver excellent services by utilising highly skilled professionals in our area of operation. Our product portfolio includes High-end Computer Training, ICT related Consultancy, sales and services of both Hardware and software. We undertake projects on major platforms including UNIX (Solaris, SUSE, LINUX, SCO), Windows, VMware virtualization and Oracle and Informix databases. We have in our team trained system engineers and business management consultants with Data Centre experience spanning to over 15 year of active practice. With the expertise, we will be able to offer the best solutions to our customers whenever such challenges arise.

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P.O BOX 4924-00100 NAIROBI, 3rd Floor Showbe Plaza Muranga Road/Forest Road (Round About), P O Box 4924 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya

August 2015

Powering Healthcare

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CONSTRUCTION

Mercury works with a broad range of clients from various industries

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M E R C U RY E N G I N E E R I N G The company’s future success is dependent on keeping the work force educated and equipped with the best tools and business processes.

Off site fabrication

A culture of change “It’s a fact that rapidly evolving and pervasive technologies are impacting almost every aspect of the construction business and there’s no doubt that these technologies have turned the way we work and communicate on its head.

Information technology has opened up previously unimaginable possibilities has given us new tools to manage our business more efficiently and increase the level of service we offer to

Proud to design and deliver an intelligent building solution to the New South Glasgow Hospital Campus

At RKD we offer a variety of services and facilities: - Pre fabricated pipework - Module fabrication - Mechanical Modules - Electrical Modules - Riser Modules - Steel Work - Welding - Design - Installation

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our clients,” said Ed McIntyre, Director UK .

Mercury’s commitment to fostering a hightech working environment is demonstrated through the company’s use of the most up to date hardware and software coupled with ongoing training and support to all of their staff.

The use of evolving technologies is also woven through the company’s future business plans.

“Optimisation has always been a driving force in Mercury’s business. Every project the company undertakes is unique and has its own set of risks and challenges; however the company’s approach is the same; to optimise the engineering design, supply chain, installation techniques and management practices,” said McIntyre. In order to achieve this, the company puts a large emphasis on people and the culture of the business.

With a long and varied history, Mercury has experienced both good and bad economic climates yet has managed to keep its head above water thanks largely to its commitment to technology and innovation. As McIntyre explained: “Relentless pressure by clients

Eoin Vaughan, Group Managing Director at Mercury Engineering

Ed McIntyre, Director at Mercury Engineering

‘Information technology has opened up previously unimaginable possibilities has given us new tools to manage our business more efficiently and increase the level of service we offer to our clients’ – Ed McIntyre, Director w w w. m e r c u r y e n g . c o m

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Bespoke interior fabrication for a Data Centre in Ireland

for continual improvement led the company to invest in and adapt multidisciplinary management, increase use of IT, make use of the most modern materials and to develop more efficient Installation practices. Many of the company’s competitors who didn’t or couldn’t embrace change are no longer here today.”

Management mobility Mercury began as a local business and has become an International entity. So what made that transition so successful? “A prime challenge faced by the company is ensuring that globalisation becomes a positive force for 196

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the business. Mercury began its International expansion programme in 2000 and to date has completed projects in 25 countries on four continents. Undoubtedly, key to this successful expansion was the company’s management mobility, the businesses multinational client base and integrated IT systems,” said McIntyre.

In an increasingly competitive environment, attracting new talent into the company is crucial to the sustainability of the business. Mercury actively recruits new people from a large and diverse set of candidates from across all of areas of operations. The company actively promotes Graduate placement programmes and works with professional institutions endorsing the industry as a career opportunity for school leavers.

Increasing globalisation is another factor facing us all and is inevitable and irreversible. 2013 was the year that emerging economies accounted for half of the world’s GDP. The mobility of the world’s major manufacturers and the opportunities created around them presents business opportunities to those prepared to adapt quickly.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Manufacturing HEADQUARTERS

Glasgow FOUNDED

1972 EMPLOYEES

3,558 REVENUE

€550M PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Engineering

Looking to the future “Mercury aspires to be the most successful multidisciplinary engineering contractor in every sector and geographical area in which they operate. The management are committed to investing in the company’s future and to supporting their client’s projects across Europe,” concluded McIntyre. w w w. m e r c u r y e n g . c o m

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DRILLING FOR SAUDI OIL:

The Arabian Drilling Company Restructuring Plan Written by: John O’Hanlon Produced by: Heykel Ouni

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The Arabian Drilling Company (ADC) is the workhorse of Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas industry: it is poised for a new era of modernisation, expansion, diversification and transformation driven by Technology and IT

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he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a forward looking country, which is rapidly expanding its economy, for example, by investing in ‘economic cities’ around the country, notably King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) on its western, or Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia is still heavily dependent on oil whereby 90 percent of its gross national product comes from the country’s oil reserves. The factories and service industries being developed at KAEC and elsewhere will, the Saudis hope, give the country a diversified economy fit for the long term. Extensions to the harbour will place KAEC among the top ten of the world’s largest container ports. Hence the $100 billion the state plans to spend over the next 25 years in creating this brand new megacity will come from one source - oil.

The “hit” that the Saudi economy is taking from low hydrocarbon prices over the last year has been enormous. By the middle of 2014 the country had foreign exchange reserves of $800 billion. It is estimated that if the price of crude stays low these the reserves could fall to $500 billion by 2016. Fortunately oil prices are already trending upwards and Saudi Arabia currently remains third in the world after China and Japan in terms of forex but it clearly needs to look after its one asset.

Oil exploration and extraction in Saudi Arabia is developed and managed by one single company, Saudi Aramco, which operates no fewer than 215 oil and gas rigs. Of these 32 are

E X P L O R AT I O N W O R L D

Above photo, left to right: Eng. Ali Ibrahim Al Naimi, Saudi minister of petroleum and mineral resourses. Mr. Saad Abdulla Saad, ADC Managing Director – Administration.

Mr. Mohammad Yousif Rafie, Chairman of the board of directors of ADC

owned and managed by the Arabian Drilling Company (ADC). Established in 1964 ADC is a joint venture between the Industrialization & Energy Services Company (TAQA) of Saudi Arabia which owns 51 percent and Services Petroliers Schlumberger, the global leader in oilfield services, which owns the remaining 49 percent. The post of Managing Director (MD) is shared by the partners. Saad Abdullah Al Saab, the MD for Administration, has been at ADC for 43 years, while Ihab Hussein Gueneid, a Schlumberger veteran with more than 30 years of experience in the oil industry who came into ADC in March 2014, is Operations Managing Director.

While operations are clearly the province of the latter and governance that of the former, “we

Under the auspices of His Excellency Eng. Ali Ibrahim Al Naimi, Saudi minister of petroleum and mineral recourses, the Arabian Drilling Company celebrated its 50th anniversary on Wednesday 2nd April 2014 at Al-Khobar.

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WHERE YOU NEED US, WHEN YOU NEED US. When drillers invest in capital equipment, they require a dedicated service provider to support them for the life of their equipment. Cameron solves the unique service challenges of our drilling customers through an integrated, comprehensive, global approach. It’s what we call Full Life Cycle Support.

Integrated Approach to Engineering We provide thoughtful solutions to your challenges. Our technical experts collaborate with customers to design drilling equipment and packages tailored to specific customer applications.

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Global, Holistic Approach to Optimizing the Life of Equipment We support your drilling operation through the life of the field. Our competent, trained technicians throughout the world provide 24/7 support of your operation for greater efficiencies and cost savings.

Our global approach means a responsibility of excellent service not only to our customers, but also to the communities we operate in. We employ and invest in people from local regions throughout the world so that host countries build the skills needed to continue their oil and gas development.

One example of this commitment is our Cameron Al-Rushaid joint venture facility in Saudi Arabia. With 15 years of experience supporting drilling operations in the Middle East, this facility offers repair, field service, and recertification capabilities for Cameron’s pressure control equipment. Focused on local employment and development, we are proud that more than half of this facility’s workforce comes from the local area.

Where you need us, when you need us. Trust Cameron’s Full Life Cycle Support for drilling operations. For more information, email drillinginfo@c-a-m.com.

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SUPPLIER PROFILE

CAMERON

Cameron International Corporation (Cameron) provides flow equipment products, systems and services to global oil, gas, and process industries through three business segments: Drilling and Production Systems (DPS), Valves & Measurement (V&M), and Process Systems (PS). The DPS segment includes businesses that provide systems and equipment used to drill, control pressures, and direct flows of oil and gas wells. The V&M segment includes businesses that provide valves and measurement systems primarily used to control, direct, and measure the flow of oil and gas as they are moved from individual wellheads through flow lines, gathering lines, and transmission systems to refineries, petrochemical plants, and industrial centers for processing. The PS segment includes standard and custom-engineered process packages for the separation and treatment of impurities in produced oil and gas, so they can meet product marketing and pipeline transmission requirements. The company works with drilling contractors, oil & gas producers, pipeline operators, and refiners.

A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y are two sides of the same coin” says Gueneid.

Building over 50 years of experience, ADC provides its clients with safe and cost-effective drilling services through the combination of a well-motivated workforce led by a dedicated management team with the latest modern equipment and pioneering technology. ADC has adopted a very strict and serious policy in regard to quality, health, safety and the environment (QHSE), to the extent that this policy is considered the soul of the company’s operations; onshore, offshore and in its facilities, he emphasises.

Back in 2014 ADC owned 20 rigs and employed 2,000 people. In little over a year that has increased to 32 rigs and 3,500 people.

“Our plan is to reach 60 offshore and landbased rigs by 2017,” he says. These are all

“Our plan is to reach 60 offshore and land-based rigs by 2017” – Mr. Ihab Hussein Gueneid - Managing Director - Operations

Mr. Ihab Hussein Gueneid Managing Director - Operations.

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Proud Partners with Arabian Drilling Company At National Oilwell Varco we have the people, capabilities and vision to serve the needs of a challenging and evolving industry. With facilities strategically located in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, and all over the globe, we are here to help you succeed by providing local equipment and service requirements. We work side-by-side with Arabian Drilling Company as part of their strategic growth plan and look forward to continuing our partnership with them now and in the future.

Visit us at nov.com/land and contact us at rig@nov.com to maximize your success in this challenging industry.

Š 2015 National Oilwell Varco | All Rights Reserved

A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y new-build rigs and custom designed by top rig builders such as NOV, Drillmec, and Keppel.

This way they are guaranteed to meet the needs of ADC’s sole clients, Aramco and Al Khafji Joint Operations (KJO), Aramco’s joint venture with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in the shared territory between the two countries.

ADC has two offshore rigs and two multipurpose vessels, supported by a highly qualified and experienced staff with KJO in what is called the ‘divided’ region, the resources from which are shared equally between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. As drilling activity picks up the company hopes to expand its footprint in Kuwait, and is starting to tender for direct contracts with KOC. It might not provide a huge level of diversification, but Ihab Gueneid is very keen indeed to give his personnel the opportunity to work in different international environments. Working with different clients and under varying conditions, he says, gives them a more rounded approach to the customer and extends their training opportunities and skills.

An element of diversification would enhance, not dilute, the level of service ADC offers to Aramco. One of ADC’s greatest strengths is the diversity of its workforce, where they recruit and train a multi-national workforce from more than 30 countries worldwide working together and sharing common objectives. Continuing commitment to hire, train and retain a skilled base of local talent was reflected in a Saudisation rate of 70 percent

ADC opperates 32 rigs and manages 3,500 people

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A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y

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Choose the dual-motion MONGOOSE PRO† shaker which is engineered for operational flexibility, or the MD-2† dual-deck shaker for high-capacity, high-efficiency operations. In advanced applications such as wellbore strengthening material recovery, or for offshore operations, the compact high-capacity MD-3† triple-deck shaker is the ideal choice.

Together with our patented DURAFLO† composite screen, our portfolio improves your solids control performance while reducing costs.

miswaco.com/solidscontrol 208 August 2015 † Mark of M-I L.L.C.

MD-2

MD-3

A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y considering a total workforce of 3,500 employees.

So Saudi Aramco shall always be the principal focus of ADC. Saudi Aramco has grown its fleet at an accelerated rate. In 2012 Aramco had 142 oil and gas rigs, today it has 215, and if hydrocarbon prices continue to recover this could go up to 250 by next year. Regionally the same thing is happening, Gueneid points out.

Kuwait already has more than 90, but plans to grow to 180. All this naturally depends on global oil prices, but it illustrates an exciting and dynamic market for an oilfield services company like Schlumberger, and a drilling contractor like ADC. Schlumberger’s involvement with ADC makes sense – after all, the oil or gas rig is the platform for all the services that bring value to the operation. But growth at ADC is not merely

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The current number of operational oil and gas rigs that Arabian Drilling Company manages

ADC has set a financial target for 2017 to grow by more than $1.0 billion

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WireCo WorldGroup速 is the world leader in manufacturing, engineering and distributing wire rope, assemblies, high tensile synthetic rope products and high-quality engineered products for oil and gas drilling, exploration, and subsea applications. Our products meet the most exacting standards and our technical support is the best in the industry. We have manufacturing and distribution locations strategically located throughout the world.

Union, a WireCo WorldGroup brand, is the premier wire rope for drilling applications. We understand the oilfield market. Utilizing the latest metallurgical practices and unique design capabilities enables us to continue to innovate and provide the most cost effective line of oilfield ropes in the world.

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A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y

a matter of increasing the rig count. In financial terms, the target for 2017 is to be more than $1.0 billion. A strategy of this order calls for a radical transformation internally. There is nothing wrong with the systems and structures ADC has been operating with to date, he hastens to assert, on the contrary this is a strong business with excellent governance standards, which will only serve to make the modernisation programme he is leading more robust. “Right now we are creating what we are calling the ‘New ADC’. This involves overhauling the company’s structure, modernising our business systems, and getting our various functions from HR, training, supply chain, HSE, Technical and finance right through to the project and operations departments to work seamlessly together.”

A naming ceremony was organised on 8th June 2013 in Singapore at the time of delivery of ArabDrill-50 (AD50) from Keppel FELS shipyard Singapore.

The ceremony was attended by Mr Mohamed Yousuf Rafie, Chairman, ADC’s Board of Directors and ADC Board Members.

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OFSAT ARABIA (L.L.C.), is a company exclusively geared to serve the oil industry and has specialised over the past three decades, in providing onshore rig moving services and general off-road transportation services.

Email : Telephone : Facsimilie : P.O.Box 6878, P.O.Box 20074,

ofsatsa1@ofsatarabia.sa + 966 13 881 2111 + 966 13 881 1991 Dammam 31452, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Al-Khobar 31952, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y At the heart of this transformation is the creating of a new IT department, tasked with the implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Till now ADC has worked with a JD Edwards legacy ERP platform that acted as a repository for all the data the company needed to make strategic and day-today management systems. The problem was that obtaining the right information took time and involved a lot of manual input. Migrating to a new SAP system and replacing a number of different systems, some that were paper based, some that were automatically processed, with a single desktop system that will allow the company to streamline and speed up its operations.

For example, in the past, buying supplies and equipment was often a slow, complicated process

“Right now we are creating what wee call the new ADC ... overhauling the company’s structure” – Mr. Ihab Hussein Gueneid - Managing Director - Operations

ADC has set a financial target for 2017 to grow by more than $1.0 billion.

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Risk. Reinsurance.

Human Resources.

Empower Results速 Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global provider of risk management, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 69,000 colleagues worldwide, with 300 employees in 12 offices across the Middle East, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative risk and people solutions.

For further information on our capabilities and to learn how we empower results for clients, please visit: aon.mediaroom.com.

T +966 11 44 22 700 Follow Aon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aon_plc Sign up for News Alerts: http://aon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=58

A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y

that required a lot of people, a lot of paperwork, and many approvals. Under the new system employees can act as their own purchasing agents, placing orders directly through their PCs and receiving the goods they need much more quickly. At the same time, the use of a single system throughout the organisation enables it to consolidate purchases and gain greater volume discounts from its vendors.

The benefits of implementation of SAP will facilitate taking glitches out of the process and will be tangible, says Gueneid. “SAP will place as much integrated data, information and reporting at the fingertips of managers as they need to take decisions at the right time. In addition, SAP is becoming the industry standard throughout the oil and gas sector, which means that our business-

The benefits of implementation of SAP will facilitate taking glitches out of the process and will be tangible.

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Bin Quraya has been servicing major clients such as Saudi Aramco since 1975, and subsequently extended its crane and heavy equipment rental activities to include SABIC, SCECO, international ďŹ rms such as Shell and Weatherford, as well as major private sector industries and utility companies throughout Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

Heavy Equipment Rental | Pipeline Construction | Rig Move | Real Estate | & More

tel: +966 13 868 2044/55/66

A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y to-business communications will be a lot easier.”

The IT transformation has just been launched, having been approved by the board; over the next two years ADC will implement most of the SAP ERP modules and platforms, as it integrates and standardises all its legacy systems taking the company to the next level of technology leadership in the industry, he says. “What with training, and making sure the data is migrated without disrupting our day-to-day service and operations, we will be very busy – but it needs to be done if we are to grow as fast as we plan to.” It will, he concludes, change the entire application landscape of ADC. “SAP will enable us to make a lot of savings. The change will give us the ability to make decisions based on full data and sound information. It

‘SAP will enable us to make a lot of savings. The change will give us the ability to make decisions based on full data and sound information’ – Mr. Ihab Hussein Gueneid - Managing Director - Operations

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A R A B I A N D R I L L I N G C O M PA N Y

Key Personnel Ihab Hussein Gueneid Managing Director – Operations Born on December 5, 1956, in Cairo, Egypt, Managing Director Operation Ihab Hussein Gueneid with a dual nationality, Ihab joined Schlumberger on April 1985 as Wire Line field engineer in China, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar.

In 1991, TLC/CTL activity started in the Gulf Area and he was given the opportunity to be the TLC/CTL specialist for the Gulf region based in Qatar. Two years later, Ihab Gueneid continued to work for Wireline as Field Service Manager, Location Manager and then Account Manager based in Abu-Dhabi.

Since 1998, he held variety of positions for the Gulf region, he was Wire Line & Testing Technical Manager, became Drilling and Measurement Operation Manager in 2000.

At 2001 he is assigned as the Oil Field services Marketing Manager for East Africa& East Mediterranean region based in his home town, Cairo. In 2003 he moved back to the Gulf as region OFS Marketing Manager for the next four years.

In mid-2007, Ihab Gueneid moved to Gatwick where he worked as Global Business Development Manager for Integrated Project Management HQ(IPM).

In early 2010, Schlumberger made a huge acquisition of SMITH International and Ihab Gueneid was assigned a challenged position as Area Vice President-Integration for the Middle East. After completing the SMITH International integration mission, he became Yemen OFS General Manager for a period of 2 years until May 2014 and since then he became Area Vice president and Managing Director-Operation for the Arabian Drilling Company, ADC, based in Saudi Arabia where he brought a wealth of experience in new technology, integrated solution and project management.

Ihab Gueneid graduated from Ain Shams University / Egypt in 1980 as Computer& Automatic control engineer, got his Master in Strategic management from France in 2003, and he is nearly finished a Petroleum Engineering Master from Heriot Watt [only theses missing], he has a degree in Project management, PMP, from Heriot watt-London in 2007 and He earn Project Management Expert title form the American Society of Project Management in 2014.

Married with 2 girls, he likes walking, drawing, reading Islamic history and spending time cooking with his family in Egypt.

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will facilitate a programme of automation.�

The big difference he notices between running drilling company and oil services provider is that the drilling business is more capital intensive.

A land rig can cost $50 million, an offshore rig $300 million, and each rig needs between 80 and 110 people to run it. Down time is an anathema, and stacking, when rigs are idle for longer periods, waiting for a new contract is unthinkable. The good news is that firm contracts with Saudi Aramco and the expansion in the market keep ADC’s utilisation levels high.

ADC is headquartered at Khobar in conjunction, with the adjacent cities of Dammam and Dhahran form Saudi Arabia’s oil industry hub.

The client finds it advantageous to spread the rig contracts across a dozen drilling contractors.

A land rig can cost $50 million, an offshore rig $300 million, and each rig needs between 80 and 110 people to run it

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Key Personnel Tawfeeq Al-Halal General Manager – Administration Born on June 12, 1976, in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, General Manager Administration Tawfeeq Al-Halal joined Arabian Drilling Company (ADC) on March 1999 as Accountant.

With more than 15 years of experience in the Drilling industry, Tawfeeq Al-Halal was involved in various change initiatives and functions in ADC such as Finance, Auditing, Supply Chain, HR and Training. In 2001, Tawfeeq Al-Halal was given the opportunity to work with Schlumberger as Management Accountant in Saudi Arabia. Two years later, he began another challenge when he moved to ADC as Internal Auditor. In Early 2008, Tawfeeq Al-Halal was assigned a challenged position as Supply Chain Manager for a period of 3 years then Humane Resource Manager until January 2015 and since then he became General Manager Administration for ADC leading the structure changes of the company and introducing the latest business system to cope with the growth ADC plan.

Tawfeeq Al-Halal graduated from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia in December 1998 and got Certified as accountant public accountant from Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) in 2002.

Abdullah Radhwan Deputy General Manager – Operations It all began when Abdulla Radwan joined Arabian Drilling Company in July 1992. His carrier started as a Trainee Engineer enrolled in the Technical Development Program and then promoted as an Operations Staff Engineer.

In 2000, through the special exposure program, Abdullah Radwan seconded to Schlumberger and started the challenged journey from Algeria, Dubai and finally Pakistan. Through the 4 and half years with Schlumberger, his skills in different managerial positions serving different clients such as BP, BHP, Anadarko, Shell and Sonatrach, made him look at the business from a different prospective.

A second journey started when Abdulla Radwan came back to Saudi Arabia with Khafji Joint Operations and then with Saudi Aramco. The challenges never stopped handling both Onshore and Offshore operations, HSE and Training Development.

Being exposed to Operations, HSE and Training Development he has shaped up his management skills dealing with challenging situations taking on spot decisions wisely serving company vision and mission.

Being currently the Deputy General Manager - Operations had changed his view on how drilling business should be run by working with a highly devoted strong team building Arabian Drilling Company future.

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ADC’s market share is currently 14 percent, putting it at the top of the field. However most of the competition relies heavily on management and labour brought in from other countries whereas 70 percent of the employees of ADC, as the only truly Saudi drilling company, are Saudi nationals. Perhaps surprisingly Saudi representation is even stronger at management level than in operations. Apart from Gueneid’s co-MD Saad Saab, the operations, HR, supply chain and training managers are all Saudis. This gives ADC an edge when dealing with Aramco.

It is not just the language (most meetings in the sector are conducted in English) but more the understanding of the culture, and the fact that ADC staff are living locally and not always looking forward to their next ‘home’ leave!

This success is largely down to a determined recruitment and training programme over many years. The company’s training centre at Dhahran was one of the first in the sector and now is one of biggest drilling training centre in the country.

As well as drilling students learn the important disciplines of well control, the core business of

‘The company’s training centre at Dhahran was one of the first in the sector and is one of the biggest drilling training centre in the country’

Key Personnel Saad Saab Manager Director – Administration The Journey started on May 1972 when Saad Saab joined Arabian Drilling Company. He started his career from the rig floor level on Rig AD-01 as a Roustabout through the auspices of a special accelerated management development program. Hence throughout his career he worked his way up to various Managerial Positions in Operations, HSE, Supply Chain and Human Resources in conjunction with Training. During this time frame due to his exposure to various challenges and trials within the various organizational disciplines his management skills were broadened and honed. Because of his understanding and thorough knowledge of the core business from the ground up he was promoted to a Managing Director Administration for ADC in 1996. His team building and management skills contributed to ADC’s phenomenal growth from one drilling rig to operating 32 drilling and workover rigs, on land and offshore throughout the economic cycles of the oil industry

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Global Best Practice

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ThyssenKrupp Materials Oil & Gas is a global network of specialists dedicated to securing supply for customers and sub-suppliers from the Oil and Gas industry. The range of products includes semi-finished products from corrosion resistant alloys, such as nickel alloys and stainless steel, and drilling tools.

Strong local presence in the core markets of the oil and gas production, and additional usage of the global network and infrastructure of the ThyssenKrupp Business Area Materials Services, as enabler to offer customers global supply chain solutions. Furthermore in house metallurgical resources collaborate closely with customers, to find individual technical solutions for future challenges.

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ADC. Today, ADC‘s Dhahran Training Centre (DTC) is conducting more than 100 training courses. DTC has received accreditation for more than 30 training courses from IWCF, IADC and other international institutions such as OPITO. At the IADC and SPE-accredited facility, entry level students can learn the field skills they will need to do the job. A number of graduate students are recruited direct from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, also in Dhahran where in three years they complete an accelerated training programme which would take ten years for a candidate starting from scratch. Some of the more specialised training is delivered abroad, however basic skills, including ‘soft’ skills in administration, HR and the like, are all available in Dhahran.

A naming ceremony was organised on 8th June 2013 in Singapore at the time of delivery of ArabDrill-50 (AD50) from Keppel FELS shipyard Singapore.

The ceremony was attended by Mr Mohamed Yousuf Rafie, Chairman, ADC’s Board of Directors and ADC Board Members.

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DTC has received accreditation for more than 30 training courses from IWCF, IADC and other international institutions such as OPITO

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Saudisation is one thing, but employing women is less of a national priority. Nevertheless Ihab Gueneid’s last job was in the conservative Yemen, where 60 percent of his office staff was females whose commitment and competence he particularly appreciated. “When I came here despite the high education level of Saudi women there were no women in the company: now we have 16 ladies working for us.” The first one is the MDs executive assistant, he says; the others all work very successfully in finance, supply chain and HR roles and the number is increasing.

Ihab will be retiring in few years from now, having laid the foundations for the next phase of one of Saudi Arabia’s most successful

E X P L O R AT I O N W O R L D

businesses. He concludes by acknowledging the debt he owes to the acuity of ADC’s chairman Mohammad Yousuf Rafie and his the wisdom and the intuition of his colleague Saad Saab, who has been the backbone of ADC since he joined it as a roustabout. Saab will also be retiring soon, leaving an organisation in good hands and ready to take on the challenges presented by its second half century, and a new era in the Middle East oil phenomenon. Ali Hamid Al-Ghamdi will replace Saad Saab as MD for administration .He is a deeply experienced man. He brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the Oil & Gas drilling industry from Schlumberger and Saudi Aramco.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Oil and Gas HEADQUARTERS

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia FOUNDED

1964 EMPLOYEES

3,500 PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Drilling services

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