AFCONS partners with IBM

IBM announced that it has
been awarded a business transformation-driven SAP engagement at
AFCONS Infrastructure (AFCONS), a part of the Shapoorji Pallonji
Group, the third largest construction company in India. The SAP
implementation is supported by business process improvement
initiatives and change management at AFCONS to incorporate best
practices in the construction industry. The IBM engagement with
AFCONS will cover process consulting, software licensing, hardware
implementation and roll-out over a period of two years. The
engagement will also see the implementation of IBM's power systems
and storage to build a robust IT infrastructure.

AFCONS is looking at
expanding its operations globally and needs systems and processes to
help the company manage the increasing complexities in its day-to-day
operations. Also, the company needs to have a single system, which
can collate data from multiple project sites and improve efficiency.
“We are witnessing a
significant growth across our business and have ambitious global
growth plans. IBM is an ideal choice due to their deep industry
knowledge and understanding of our business requirements. IBM's
strong value proposition will enable us to meet the complex business
challenges of growing our company,” said Sandeep Desai,
VP—Information and Process Management Group, AFCONS. The implementation
will
provide AFCONS the ability to grow the business through global access
using open standards for integration with third party tools. It will
also provide business process improvement by standardizing these
across business units and building robust and scalable processes in
the areas of project planning, execution and procurement. By adopting a
'single
version of truth' Management Information System (MIS), AFCON will
be able to streamline and integrate the project, logistics and
finance functions, to provide improved visibility of information for
improved decision making and control.

“IBM is excited with the
opportunity to enable AFCONS to compete more effectively in the
rapidly growing and globalized market. The transformation will help
AFCONS scale up its operations significantly and provide the required
agility and nimbleness for greater customer value,” said Vanitha
Narayanan, Managing Partner-Global Business Services, IBM
India/South Asia. AFCONS has a presence in
almost the entire spectrum of infrastructure activities in India and
globally in the Middle East and Africa. The company provides services
in marine works, highways, bridges, metro works, hydel power,
tunnels, oil and gas, LNG tanks and other general civil engineering
projects. With the company planning to expand further globally, IBM's
solutions will help AFCONS grow and expand their business while
maintaining a competitive edge.