CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

2 February 2011

Implementation Investments

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) Agrees to Deploy the OpenText ECM Suite

OpenText has entered into a global agreement with SABIC, one of the world's top six petrochemical companies, in which SABIC will be deploying the OpenText ECM Suite to its 37,000 users. The agreement will provide users around the world with a single integrated environment that allows them to manage documents in an efficient and transparent manner. The OpenText ECM Suite offers comprehensive features for document management, records management and integration with SAP and Microsoft SharePoint.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is a leading producer of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilisers. The organisation has offices in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Ultimately, SABIC aims to be the world's leading manufacturer of chemical raw materials. In this context, the company requires an ECM solution that is able to manage the diverse range of information across different systems in an efficient and professional manner.

Jos Linden, Global Program Manager at SABIC, said, "At SABIC we currently use a number of different document management solutions, but from a strategic point of view it is advisable to migrate to a single, centralised ECM solution. This will make sharing information easier, and ensure that we retain important know-how. Furthermore, use of a single, central solution will improve collaboration between offices around the world, which is increasingly important at an international company like SABIC.

"This is why SABIC decided to look for a supplier offering a central ECM solution," Linden said. "During our search we used a number of clearly defined selection criteria, including functionality, user-friendliness, flexibility, easy integration with existing SABIC IT systems and processes, possibilities for future development, a single-supplier relationship, a good relationship with the company, and the total cost of ownership. The OpenText ECM Suite met all the requirements and, in particular, because of their strategic alliances with SAP and Microsoft, we decided to enter into an agreement with OpenText. We consider the implementation of OpenText at SABIC one of the cornerstones of our global collaboration."

Ingrid Bosman, Country Manager for OpenText in Benelux, where the agreement was signed, said, "We are very excited about this agreement with SABIC. The global agreement demonstrates that the solutions provided by OpenText can be used in a broad context, but also deployed for global use in an international organisation. This furthermore stresses the relevance of our strategy of collaboration with other IT suppliers. SABIC's worldwide strategic choice for the OpenText ECM Suite enables us to further extend our partnership from European to worldwide implementation."

Neil Kinson, Vice President, Europe South and the Middle East at OpenText, considers this a significant addition to the company's existing customer base in the Middle East, serviced from OpenText's Dubai office. This provides a foundation both for SABIC's global deployment and for further growth of the OpenText ecosystem within the region.

About SABIC

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top six petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 9 billion (US$ 2.4 billion) in 2009. Sales revenues for 2009 totaled SR 103 billion (US$ 27 billion). Total assets stood at SR 297 billion (US$ 79.2 billion) at the end of 2009. SABIC's businesses are grouped into: Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with six dedicated Technology and Innovation centers in Saudi Arabia, Europe, the USA and India. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with over 33,000 employees worldwide.

The company has 19 world-scale complexes in Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, SABIC manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. SABIC's overall production has increased from 35 million metric tons in 2001 to 56 million metric tons in 2008.

Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

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