Digital first: How PIH and SAP are Creating the Model Conglomerate

    DOHA, QATAR, August 30, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- "Our goal is to become an intelligent enterprise," says Mr. Jasim Abdul Rahman, Group Chief IT Officer of Power International Holding (PIH), "a digital-first, data-driven company that has the flexibility to evolve, diversify and grow." Since its beginnings in building contracting nearly four decades ago, Qatar-based PIH has expanded into a highly successful conglomerate with +40000 employees operating in several countries with extensive interests across five main sectors: general contracting (UCC Holding), real estate development (ASSETS), agriculture and food industries (Baladna), lifestyle (AURA Group) and general services.

Diversification and rapid growth created significant business and operational challenges. Although specific business challenges may be different in each industry, there are pressures that are common across all sectors. Every part of the business needs to be more efficient, responsive and agile – particularly in the post COVID-19 world.

In July 2019, PIH embarked on an ambitious three-year digital transformation programme across the entire group. PIH's IT landscape was becoming increasingly complex, with 16 different ERP systems that did not communicate, and data spread across different siloes. This resulted in a lack of visibility that was making businesses more difficult to manage because of delays to financial closing and slow decision making.

Despite some unavoidable delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the target date for the first milestone – creating the foundations for an intelligent enterprise by the end of 2020 – is now within sight. PIH selected SAP S/4HANA as the new digital core for the group, in consultation with LTI, a leading SAP partner with particular expertise in the construction sector. PIH wanted a future-proof system that provided a common framework across all its current businesses but with the flexibility to move into new industries as the company continues to expand. "SAP has the right capabilities and roadmap in place and shares our purpose of adding value to society for a better lifestyle," adds Mr. Jasim.

SAP S/4HANA heads an extensive array of SAP solutions across the group, ranging from a number of industry-specific variants to line-of-business applications like SAP SuccessFactors HR software and the SAP Ariba procurement solution. Using SAP S/4HANA means that PIH now has one ERP system across every business with harmonised processes and a single chart of accounts. PIH has become data-driven from top to bottom, with easy access to information. Data can now flow automatically from everywhere – such as Internet of Things assets and point-of-sale systems – straight into the SAP systems, and everything that happens across the company can be seen on dashboards.

Commenting on the company's migration to SAP, Mr. Ramez Al-Khayyat, Vice Chairman and Group CEO of PIH says, "We truly believe in embracing a comprehensive digital transformation that will gear the group to perform future big leaps. Becoming data-driven makes us future ready."

"PIH is a young and entrepreneurial company that is growing extremely fast, and there is no limit to our ambitions. One of our strategic goals is aiming is to be the model conglomerate, and with SAP we now have the flexibility to expand and diversify into more sectors, and the right infrastructure in place for our future acquisitions , divest, or spin off any of our businesses into separate listed companies in the future," adds Mr. Ramez Al-Khayyat.

Power International Holding (PIH) is a diversified business conglomerate, grouped into 5 main sectors: General Contracting, Agriculture and Food Industry, Real Estate Development, Lifestyle (Hospitality, Entertainment & Catering) and General Services.

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