Gulftainer, a privately-owned, independent terminals operator and logistics company, has named SAP as its strategic technology partner.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gulftainer will deploy a range of SAP solutions running on the SAP Hana platform across fields such as enterprise resource planning, finance and payroll, and business planning and consolidation.

Ramesh Shivakumaran, group director business services, Gulftainer, said: “A flexible and efficient IT platform is critical to supply chain and logistics. At Gulftainer, we are committed to providing the highest standards of operational efficiency and partnership with SAP that will enable a more efficient, cost-effective movement of international business through our terminals, providing actionable data necessary to increase productivity and reduce costs.

“Through continuous improvement of our business processes, we believe we can deliver better services and, as a result, gain competitive advantage.”

The Middle East’s transportation and logistics market is expected to grow to $27 billion by 2015 with automation, ordering management and real-time tracking supporting rapid growth.

The UAE’s Vision 2021, aims for the country to rise from No 27 to the top 10 in the world in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index.

Tay fun Topkoc, managing director, SAP UAE, said: “Port operators worldwide face increased congestion and regulations, along with an increased drive towards sustainability. Our technology solutions will enable Gulftainer and the UAE to become leaders in using technology to innovate operations, support a mobile workforce and operate more safely.”