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Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions signs MoU with Barikat Cyber Security

 

In line with Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Holding’s vision to defeat the cyber adversary and the aim to support Qatar National Vision 2030 to protect national sovereignty and security, Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions (ABATS) has joined forces with one of the world’s leading cyber security firms, Barikat Cyber Security, to provide the Qatari market with various cyber security products, services, consultation and training.

ABATS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Barikat Cyber Security during the 5th QCB Information Security Conference for the Financial Sector (ISFS 2018), held on November 18 and 19.

This MoU paves the way for creating a new company domiciled in Qatar that will serve the local market in the field of cyber security. The memorandum was signed by Ali Bin Ali Chief Operating Officer for ICT, Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik, on behalf of ABATS, and by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Murat Huseyin Candan, on behalf of Barikat Cyber Security.

Under the MoU, Barikat and ABATS will be providing both the private and public sectors in Qatar with cyber security-related services, solutions, hardware, software, support and training. 

These services will include providing and selling vendor-based technology solutions (both hardware and software), technical support services, managed security services,

cyber security consulting services, ‘pentesting’ services, training services, compliance and auditing services and security operations center (7/24) services.

With this MoU, Barikat Academy services, including cyber security training and capability development, will be available to customers in the State of Qatar. This will help in alleviating the cyber security resource shortfall in Qatar and around the world.

Mr. Candan commented on the future need for cyber security resources, stating: “Many international surveys report that the cyber security resource shortfall will reach between 2.5m and 3.5m unfilled positions worldwide by the year 2021.”

He also pointed to the special relationship between Qatar and Turkey and said “due to the very good relations between the two countries, such partnerships and knowledge transfer make perfect sense and will be a good platform to ensure that the State of Qatar has the capacity and qualifications needed to support Qatar National Vision 2030”. 

Mr. Ebrik stressed the continuously increasing significance of this sector and said, “Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions aim to expand cyber security solutions and a Cyber Security Center of Excellence in the State of Qatar. We found in Barikat Cyber Security the ideal partner for this challenge and together, we hope to elevate the level cyber security in the country.”

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Another milestone achieved, PCP goes live with FORWARD application

Automating the operations of Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Holding’s Prime Consumer Products (PCP) Division, the FORWARD application went live on October 7, 2018. Like the other FMCG divisions of the Group, PCP went live with the following modules – Finance, Supply Chain, Sales and later, Trade-Marketing.

 

After a short period of stabilization, it was time to celebrate the successful implementation. On November 13, the PCP family and members of the FORWARD team gathered on the PCP premises to savor the success and recognize hard work that each member had put in for the smooth transition.

 

Apart from the PCP team led by General Manager Mr. Ghassan Aibef, also present at the event were General Manager Finance – FMCG Mr. Sampath Balaji, Division Manager, Supply Chain – FMCG Mr. Vincent Emmanuel, ABA Group PMO Manager Mr. Youssef Farajallah Mahmoud, Project Manager – IT Mr. Assad Hussein and Group Corporate Communications Manager Mr. Imad Hashim.

 

Inaugurating the event, Mr. Aibef said: “Our life does not get better by chance, it does only by change and there comes a time when change becomes inevitable. The change to the FORWARD system has been a beautiful journey. We had challenges and issues and are still working on some of them, but it was way better than what we expected. This wouldn’t have happened without the efforts of all our teams. With all these collaborative efforts, we ended up today with a Live system that is working perfectly. The highlight is that we did not stop our business for even one day. It was all planned and agreed upon with enough time to kick it off in an effective manner”.

Mr. Youssef thanked all the team members for their efforts and said: “Today, we are celebrating another big milestone for the FORWARD Project. It was not an easy one. It was the second FMCG division to implement the solution and we had a lot of challenges and many lessons to learn. However, with commendable teamwork, we managed to Go Live without any major issues. I would like to thank the PCP team for their involvement and cooperation. The FORWARD team gave their best and worked day and night with total commitment to the implementation. As Mr. Ghassan mentioned, we managed very well in terms of plan and time.”

 

Like in other divisions, a major element at the FORWARD Go Live celebration at PCP was the recognition of the heroes in the division who went the extra mile to make the transition successful. 

 

Mr. Ghassan handed over certificates to Chief Accountant Mr. Ashraf O.V, Asst. Manager – Inventory & Stock Control (Logistics) Mr. Ivan Jose, Trade Marketing Manager Ms. Janet Alviz, Demand & Supply Manager Mr. Reiner Crisologo, MS&P Manager Mr. Shadman Khan and last but not the least, Senior Sales Manager Ms. Yvanne Saliba.

The award ceremony was followed by a fun activity that engaged each and every one present at the event. Colors were given out to the team members and they had to color an outlined image of a growing plant that symbolized the PCP Go Live slogan – ‘Nurture the change that grows’.

 

 

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ABA Beverages holds special FORWARD workshop to initiate UAT 

Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Holding’s FORWARD application has already gone live in 12 different divisions and is stabilizing at an impressive pace. Now, Beverages – one of the most important business divisions of the Group – is gearing up for the rollout early next year, and the team is taking all possible steps to make it foolproof.

 

As the first step towards the implementation of the solution in ABA Beverages, the FORWARD team and consultation partner Intrasoft organized a one-day workshop on November 11, 2018. This will be followed by around three weeks of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) on the ABA Beverages premises. 

 

The workshop was led by the senior management of ABA Beverages along with support from the ABA PMO team and Intrasoft. The main purpose of this workshop was to explain the methodology and the approach to UAT itself. 

 

The occasion was also used for communicating some directives to the Beverages staff, from Executive Project Sponsor Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik, General Manager Mr. Marc Karam and the PMO in general. The UAT will be an overall orientation explaining the whole ERP process before they Go Live in February 2019. 

 

Welcoming everyone to the FORWARD journey, Mr. Ebrik said: “You should be proud of being part of the team/ project that will, for the very first time in Ali Bin Ali Holding, transform the manufacturing process.”

 

Mr. Marc, who has been very enthusiastic about the project, said: “Embracing change is one of the critical components of success and the foundation of progress. The change and progress project FORWARD is bringing will fuel the success of ABA Beverages for years to come. It will also transform you as professionals. FORWARD will provide you with critical experience and contribute to your personal development. Don’t miss that opportunity to reinvent yourselves.”

 

During this testing phase, the ABA Beverages employees will be assigned different functions of the solution process. They will be covering the functions that are more vital to their business and also have not been implemented earlier in the previous ABA divisions that have gone live.

 

The ERP solution at ABA Beverages is a little different from the one used in other divisions of ABA. In Beverages, FORWARD will be focused on four processes – Supply Chain Planning, Manufacturing & Maintenance, Distribution and Finance.

 

In the first process of Supply Chain Planning for the division, proper planning will be carried out for providing the resources that are needed to produce the beverages products. For example, determining the number of bottles needed according to the demand in the market during a specific time-frame. 

The second process of Manufacturing and Maintenance involves the bottling of the beverages products as well as the maintenance of the overall fleet machinery. 

The Distribution process will help in planning and handling the delivery cycle of manufactured products. During the whole production phase, Finance comes into the picture with transactions to and fro during most of the other processes. 

 

Implementation of these four processes will make their lives easier as it is automating all major daily operations. Around 150 test cases will be tested by 35 users who are expected to generate 500-1,000 transactions across these four processes. An equivalent of 2,600+ man hours are expected to put in during this three weeks of UAT. 

 

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Ali Bin Ali Holding’s Monoprix awarded at Doha Festival City Retailer Excellence Awards 2018

Adding yet another award to the Ali Bin Ali (ABA) portfolio, Monoprix won the coveted Retailer of the Year Award at the Doha Festival City (DFC) Retailer Excellence Awards 2018. The supermarket was also bestowed with the Best Consumer Service Initiative Award. Doha Festival City is home to the largest Monoprix in the world. 

 

On November 8, 2018 Doha Festival City celebrated its grand opening with a VIP Gala Dinner at Mondrian Doha for the region’s first Retailer Excellence Awards. The awards were designed to recognize the Mall’s valued partners, retailers, shoppers and visitors for their continuous loyalty and commitment.

 

The awards night was made even more special with a one-of-a-kind appearance by global superstar Jennifer Lopez.

 

Present at the event were Regional General Manager for Monoprix Mr. Sébastien Farhat, Commercial Manager for Monoprix Qatar Mr. Zardine Benzaid, Monoprix DFC Store Manager Mr. Bruno Pedretti and Ali Bin Ali Group General Manager – Marketing Ms. Suha Shatila. The event was also attended by VIP guests and members of the local and international media. 

 

It was indeed a moment of pride for the entire Ali Bin Ali family when Mr. Farhat received the awards on behalf of the Monoprix DFC team. 

 

Speaking about the accolades, Mr. Farhat said: “We at Monoprix believe in excellence. From getting the best products from around the world to Qatar to the services we offer for our clients, we want to ace it all. Our determination is backed by complete support from the Ali Bin Ali management and complemented by our passionate staff. I want to thank DFC for recognizing our efforts and also our customers who make us what we are.” 

 

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Ali Bin Ali & Partners wins popular basketball league

Standing true to Ali Bin Ali (ABA) Holding’s reputation as an all-rounder, Ali Bin Ali & Partners (ABAP) – CAG and Baladna division emerged victorious in the popular Japa Sports League Inter-Company Basketball Tournament 2018.

Held at Aspire Dome, the tournament took place from August to November 2018. There was participation from 32 companies from all over Qatar, including Al Asmakh, Aerotech, Nestle, Arab Center for Engineering Studies (ACES), Carrefour Qatar, Daewoo, Hamad Medical Corporation, Al Mannai Group and Nakheel Landscapes.

The 16-member team of Ali Bin Ali Holding, led by Coach Ronnie Padios, trained and practiced hard to elevate the level of their game. They challenged all odds to balance work pressure with the tournament.

This dedication and hard work guided them to the final of the tournament against Nakheel Landscapes on November 2, 2018. After a spectacular performance, the ABA Holding team emerged victorious by 15 points.

Freddie Gilboy from ABAP was named the man of the match.

Delighted with the victory, Market Manager – Baladna Division Mr. Joseph Samaha said: “I had full confidence in the boys and knew they would bring the trophy home. The team put in a lot of hard work and sacrificed a lot, they totally deserve this win. The entire ABAP division are super proud of our boys and we are glad that we could contribute to Ali Bin Ali Holding’s sporting tradition.”