Al-Futtaim Group implements SAP Real Estate module

The implementation of the modules at Dubai Festival City - the waterfront 'city-within-a-city' on the banks of Dubai Creek - spanned over six months and was done using SAP's Solution Mananger methodology. SAP Real Estate has been used to manage its current portfolio of residential units, retail units and commercial units and will also be used for the Office Tower as well as the balance residential units and retail units coming up within Dubai Festival City.

The SAP Real Estate module offers an integrated Real Estate Management Solution supporting the entire life cycle of real estate assets and is closely integrated with the financials and logistics functions of SAP ERP.

In his comments on the implementation of SAP Real Estate solutions, Mr. Craig Ryall, General Manager for Systems Technologies and Services, Al-Futtaim Group, said:

"The first phase of the implementation covered the usage of SAP RE-FX for management of all the business transactions related to Real Estate Management of the current residential units, the Ikea showroom and the Toyota showroom. One of the main strengths of the new system is its transparent reporting on revenue and costs."

He added: "The adoption of best practices and full integration with the ERP solution will boost business efficiencies and allow Al-Futtaim Group to further leverage on its existing investments. In the future, we will implement the solutions across other properties within Dubai Festival city as well as properties managed by Al-Futtaim Real Estate."

The SAP Real Estate manages contracts for both leasing out and leasing in, as well as other real estate specific contracts; provides transparency in Real Estate Management; and improves processes for all types of real estate leasing.

In his comments, Mr. Essam Enany, President of SAP Arabia, said: "We are excited to add the Al-Futtaim Group to our list of global companies which have successfully implemented the SAP Real Estate solution. Companies are recognizing the strong functionality and integration capabilities the SAP solutions provide. Its value can be realized quickly and that is what our customers demand."

He added: "Some key benefits arising out of this implementation include streamlining Al-Futtaim's business processes at the Dubai Festival City project, increasing customer responsiveness and reduction of cycle times for request processing."

In the near future, Al Futtaim plans to implement a Facilities Management Solution with interfaces to building management and other associated applications, which will build up on the Real Estate Management solution.

A true all-in-one destination, Dubai Festival City seamlessly blends hospitality, entertainment, business and residential in one superb setting and is the Middle East's largest, privately funded mixed-use real estate development.