Al Dahra uses OpenText to improve HR processes through implementation partner TechnoVal
Explore how TechnoVal, in partnership with Al Dahra, streamlined HR operations using SAP SuccessFactors and OpenText. Al Dahra, a global agribusiness leader, aimed to enhance data protection, automate processes, and ensure 24/7 document access. Discover how TechnoVal’s expertise and seamless collaboration transformed HR processes, delivering time savings and added value.
About Al Dahra
Al Dahra is a prominent multinational leader in agribusiness, specializing in the cultivation, production, and trading of animal feed and essential food commodities & end-to-end supply chain management.
Serving a large customer base spanning the Government and Commercial sectors, Al Dahra has a widespread geographic footprint, with a workforce of 5,000 employees, operating in over 20 countries and catering to more than 45 markets, with a leading position in Asia and the Middle East.
The group manages and operates a land bank in excess of 400 thousand acres of land with 1,200 pivots and a fleet comprising more than 2,000 farming assets. In addition, the company owns and manages 15 state-of-the-art forage processing and baling facilities and has the capacity to produce and supply 3 million metric tons of alfalfa and grasses annually, catering for the needs of the dairy and cattle industries.
It is also a leading player in the production, packaging, marketing, and distribution of grains, operating 3 rice mills and 2 flour mills with the capacity to produce 500,000 tons of flour and 500,000 tons of rice, annually. It further owns and operates a grains hub strategically located at the Fujairah port in UAE with 20 silos and more than 300,000 metric tons storage capacity.
Al Dahra has also made considerable investments within the logistics and supply chain sector. It moves about 2 million metric tons, annually and ships 175 thousand TEUs.
Challenges in HR Operations Faced by Al Dahra
Al Dahra group was posed with some business challenges and aimed at enhancing data protection and using automation where possible to ensure applying a more user-friendly approach from different department perspectives.
Through an integrated tool, the group intended to stop physical filing wherever possible, generate documents with less effort and time, and ensure all documents were readily available, secured safely, audited and accessible 24/7.
“Our objectives of the integration were to make sure employees have continuous access to their documents and are able to request letters and forms. This makes it more seamless for the HR Team to process them while sharing access between different functions,” said Mohamad Saker, Chief Corporate Services Officer at Al Dahra Holding whose expertise lie in the rising sectors of Digital Transformation and business automation. Contributing as the Project Owner of the integration between SAP Successfactors and OpenText along with other important digitization projects at Al Dahra, Mohamad stated that the group was previously using windows file server and physical files for their operations, which no longer was sufficient to be handled in the same methods previously used.
To overcome this impediment, Al Dahra chose ECM document filing, which was not highly used until Al Dahra decided to integrate it with SAP SuccessFactors to create an easily accessible platform with multiple options used by multiple functions.
“The decision-making process was quite a long one, but it came with good results at the end,” added Mohamad, after which he elaborated upon the process that led to the final implementation of the integration. The process started with showcasing a demo that developed into an event in SAP Ariba using multiple RFQ and Auction events, supplier analysis, and eventually the selection of TechnoVal as the implementation partner successfully.
“In addition, there were multiple solutions in place and to be able to use OpenText and integrate it with SAP SuccessFactors was the highlight of the decision-making process. It came off as an enhancement within a considerable time frame after the go-live of the self-services of SAP SuccessFactors made both the products attractive.”
Choosing OpenText Implementation with TechnoVal’s Support
The decision to collaborate with TechnoVal, as reiterated by Mohamad, was “due to the professionalism, time management, technical knowledge, and high communication skills which checked all the right boxes and later showed positive results as the implementation team offered solutions that were out-of the-box. Needless to say, the members of the team were always supportive.”
Partnering with TechnoVal, Al Dahra integrated its systems with SAP SuccessFactors and DocuSign to cater to all of its end-to-end business avenues from supply chain to corporate areas. OpenText and SAP SuccessFactors are tools that Al Dahra chose to incorporate in order to enhance the flexibility of its needs across multiple functions, enabling efficient customization of processes. Both software has brought a significant change in the organization and have added substantial value for Al Dahra’s employees as well as the HR department.
Positive Results and Added Value
The SAP, OpenText, DocuSign, Citrix, and Sage solutions adopted by the group enabled Al Dahra to move faster making sure that every action is recorded in the right way and used by the right departments. According to Mohamad, SAP SuccessFactors and OpenText were the two most crucial tools for employees and Human Resources as they work together for similar purposes when it comes to creating workflows and necessary processes that enable seamless collaboration.
The speedy implementation of the tools and the decision to incorporate them into their daily business workings led to Al Dahra’s stakeholders reacting positively to the integration of ECM and SAP SuccessFactors as it did save their time and allowed them to explore the option of using xECM in their departments.
“We had employees from supply chain and legal departments come back to our internal implementation team, seeking to proactively add templates that they could further automate in the platform,” mentioned Mohamad, that the implementation has greatly helped the group achieve its ROI.
OpenText being a portfolio of software solutions and services enabling medium and large-sized enterprises to manage information from multiple sources via a central location, TechnoVal’s implementation of the software provided Al Dahra a 360-degree overview of big data insights, enterprise information, and workflows.
TechnoVal’s Professionalism and Implementation Success
Commending the implementation and stating that TechnoVal met Al Dahra’s strategic objectives, Mohamad said that the group “lauds the TechnoVal implementation team and appreciated that they delivered more options and business solutions than were expected. they truly surpassed our requirements. They were available throughout different timings of the day and provided great hyper care support after the Go-Live.”
Through these applied solutions, TechnoVal was able to help Al Dahra implement xECM successfully and within the given time.
Considering the constraints of the pandemic and the problems that it posed, Al Dahra found it crucial to ensure that sensitive information had been shared in line with legal terms with TechnoVal prior to starting the implementation, and although TechnoVal’s entire implementation happened remotely, timely meetings and status reports were scheduled. The team was also well-connected to Al Dahra’s corporate network, aiding them in delivering the project successfully.
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About TechnoVal
Established with the mandate to provide market-leading IT solutions to streamline and optimize enterprise-wide processes for MENA-based businesses, TechnoVal delivers bespoke industry solutions and services designed to match your individual business needs. We empower companies with advanced IT solutions that give your business a competitive, winning edge, optimize customer engagement and promote future opportunities for growth.