GEC NEWS WIREGeneral International Group, a provider of specialised engineering services to the UAE & Africa market, has selected Epicor ERP in the Cloud and will deploy the system on the Azure platform to help optimise operations and introduce new operational efficiencies.
The move to Epicor ERP will serve General International’s current business growth cycle by consolidating data collection and eliminating replication. The company will be able to automate several processes that were labour-intensive under its legacy platform, and improve the speed, accuracy, and flexibility of reporting. The cloud-based ERP solution from Epicor will open the door to newfound efficiencies in business continuity, cybersecurity and risk management, as well as carry the benefit of 24/7 support and disaster recovery. The cloud model is also expected to deliver up-to-the-minute upgrades, faster time to value, and significantly lower capital and human resource investments.
“The Epicor ERP cloud solution stood out clearly for us as having strikingly granular flexibility and impressive scalability,” said Sameh Awad, Director at General International Group. “Often with these platforms you have to make compromises on functionality, however, Epicor ERP was a great fit because it caters to such a wide range of use cases. Additionally, ease of implementation and ease of use were critical factors, so our day-to-day operations did not suffer a hit from delays and learning curves. It was also important for us to find a vendor who could be a trusted partner in our growth journey, and work with us long term. The flexible licensing model was a further welcome bonus.”
General International chose trusted local Epicor partner, Cork Information Technology, to implement its digital transformation vision. Sameh cited Cork’s “good name in the market” and its reputation for “delivering on commitments” as key differentiators. “We are not a big company, so we wanted to work with someone like us,” he said.
General International will roll out Epicor ERP to around 15 users initially, increasing to 20 by the end of 2019. Financials, procurement, logistics, project management, and quotations will all be deployed, in the cloud, to the company’s UAE operations.
“The public cloud model made the most sense to us, given our current growth level, and allowing for possible future growth. For example, the current rollout does not include international markets that we are presently getting more active in. However, should our growth there warrant an ERP infrastructure, we can easily accommodate that,” said Sameh. “We have been investigating how we can leverage technology to improve our services and grow regionally and internationally. The cloud is a powerful tool for quick replication of infrastructure, should we suddenly find ourselves in new territories. The cloud also allows our technology partners to focus on the technology, while we focus on bringing market-leading engineering solutions to the region and the world.”
“Opting for Epicor ERP in the cloud will also allow us to save on costs. Epicor ERP provides us with the business intelligence we need for just-in-time procurement of source materials, leading to estimated savings of one to two percent. We further calculate that the savings we get from an otherwise necessary expansion of our workforce will essentially pay for the ERP solution.”
“Middle East organisations like General International are increasingly turning to cloud as the starting point for their digital transformation programmes,” said Hesham El Komy, regional vice president, Middle East, Africa & India (MEAI) at Epicor Software. “This is because the benefits of the architecture are compelling―reduced costs, flexibility, agility, and security. Epicor ERP can grow with your business, morphing to your ambition and circumstances, and becoming a spur and facilitator of growth.”
