Ashghal Implements Automated Warehouse Management System

Doha, May 01 (QNA) - The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the implementation of Order Management System (OMS), which will enable employees to electronically view, request and track applications related to all items in Ashghal's warehouse inventory. Being one of the first government institutions to adopt the system, Ashghal aims to facilitate work processes and expedite its inventory orders, thus reducing delivery time of items. The new system instantly provides the number, description, location and availability of more than 50,000 items estimated to be available in Ashghal's warehouses, it said in a press release issued on Wednesday. "The implementation of OMS has allowed us to improve our operational efficiency and streamline our procurement process. The system has dramatically minimized the time required for delivering orders from our warehouses," said Yousuf Ahmad Al-Obaidly, Ashghal's General Services Department manager, adding: "Our engineers are now able to receive the required items within 24 hours of the electronic application approval, which would usually need at least two weeks using the traditional manual search and approval methods." In addition to expediting order applications, the new system is entirely paperless, hence saving thousands of printed papers, reducing the carbon emissions and enhancing sustainability. Rashid Saeed Al-Fouhaid, head of warehousing section at Ashghal said Ashgal has been working on the new system for over a year through a partnership with Gulf Warehousing Company, a specialized company in the field, in order to customize the system to meet the current and future requirements of Ashghal. "As part of the process, a unified electronic inventory for all warehouse items has been prepared and can now be easily accessed by Ashghal staff." To familiarize staff with the new system, Gulf Warehousing Company has provided training courses to engineers, technicians and employees. As a transitional phase, Ashghal is now using both automated as well the traditional system, with the latter to be completely eliminated by the third quarter of 2013. (QNA)