Saudi Paper Manufacturing Company (SPMC), a leading tissue paper manufacturer in the Arab world, has initiated the largest cloud computing project in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s paper industry.

The project will also mark the company out as one of the region’s most innovative businesses full stop, establishing vital operational processes in the cloud as it seeks to fuel business expansion through greater efficiency and innovation, said a statement.

The phase one of the project will see SPMC adopt the SAP enterprise resource planning solution. The subsequent phases will introduce SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer, Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence, Business Intelligence, Business Planning and Consolidation into the mix.

All the solutions will be hosted on the SAP Hana Cloud Platform, which will drive optimal performance through the power of real-time, in-memory computing. SPMC is the first SAP client in the Mena region to invest in the SAP Hana Cloud Platform.

The project, which will be implemented by SAP partner and under supervision of Data Links, comes as SPMC seeks to significantly expand its operations and influence across both the kingdom and wider GCC region.

Abdullah Al-Enazi, chief executive officer, SPMC, said: “SPMC has an aggressive expansion programme, and we need to have systems in place that can scale and support our ambitious.

“To truly deliver on our growth targets, we need a platform that can serve as a scalable enabler of innovation in real-time, and that brings with it the flexibility and simplicity that only the cloud can offer. The SAP Hana Cloud Platform is a one of a kind solution, and we are proud to be the first company in Mena to fully embrace what is undoubtedly cutting-edge and increasingly necessary technology.”


Ahmed Al Faifi, managing director, SAP Saudi Arabia, said: “SPMC is showing great leadership by adopting Cloud computing on this scale.

“This is technology that will enable them to create entirely new experiences for their customers, empower employees at scale, optimize the use of resources, and unlock unprecedented value for their business.” - TradeArabia News Service