Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 29 | Page 32

FUTURE TECHNOLOGY BASF partners with SAP consulting leader Seidor MENA on business transformation project Global chemicals company BASF has turned to Seidor MENA, a leading systems integrator and SAP consulting partner, to support the ambitious spin-off of its construction chemicals business unit that requires a broad technology overhaul. Leading regional systems integrator and Digital Transformation champion, Seidor, has announced that it has joined forces with BASF to support the global chemicals producer in a sweeping corporate-restructuring project in their construction chemicals business unit. Having decided to operate the division as a standalone entity, BASF needed to separate the unit’s technology systems to prepare it to run independently. For the past 12 years, BASF has been running SAP R3 COBALT but since SAP announced that support for R3 will not extend beyond 2025, BASF decided that its restructuring project should also involve migration to a futureproof system. The project will extend to 22 countries – across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and South America – and affect some 280 users. Given the tight timeline to complete the implementation, and the need for optimal efficiency, BASF’s stakeholders identified Seidor – and specifically its Dubai-based entity, Seidor MENA – as an ideal partner, given its technology credentials and global reach. Seidor MENA began by helping BASF to classify countries by the size of operations. As an SAP partner, Seidor MENA was then able to advise BASF’s IT team on the best business application fit for the company’s transformation needs, as well as the best implementation approach to ensure a smooth transition from the legacy R3 system. BASF opted to deploy a mixture of SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business One ERP running on Amazon Web Services. “It was vital for us to move our small and medium sized operations within the construction chemicals division to a robust system that offers high flexibility,” said Jose Vizoso Capiali, Regional IT Manager Middle East, West Asia, CIS, Africa, BASF. “The fact that Seidor MENA was also able to offer us technology advice and fast deployment, with the added benefit of having a global presence, were key deciding factors. We were very keen to adopt a solution that was easy to maintain. In the digital age, IT decision makers are, I think, always looking for ways to reduce in-house workload, so the AWS cloud model suggested by Seidor MENA was a great match. And Seidor MENA’s own expertise in the domain of ERP in general, and SAP in particular, will also be invaluable to us throughout the business transformation project.” While Seidor is a global company with local presence in many of the 22 countries 32