A clear vision and decisive decision-making clinched Massmart the coveted SAAMA Project Achievement Award 2020 for the successful implementation of Pragma’s enterprise asset management system, On Key. Successfully implementing and managing over 300 stores currently, is a significant achievement.

“The goal was to implement an enterprise asset management system that would provide Massmart with a visual picture of assets and maintenance management in the region of 400 stores nationwide. This has helped us to efficiently manage the maintenance of the assets and also be able to provide the maintenance history from the system which is a compliance requirement,” explains Colin Garton, Massmart’s Facilities Management General Manager.

Supported by a comprehensive set of asset management business processes, Massmart has seen cost savings by optimising maintenance tactics and controlling via the formal EAM system. Some of the additional spinoffs from having a centralised asset management system in place are improved maintenance processes, centralised facilities management for all Massmart stores and improved report management. Another benefit is the centralised invoice approval structure, which reduces admin and allows operational teams to focus on the customer experience.

“One of the project objectives were to make meaningful information granularly available to enable informed decision making towards optimising cost, risk and customer experience. Facilities operations have also been completely centralised and are managed from one system, by one team, which is great for business and makes it much easier to identify continuous improvement opportunities,” says Thabelo Mbambale, a Project Engineer at Pragma.

The complete project consisted of various elements to ensure that the On Key EAM system is appropriately used and in support of Massmart’s original vision. Hence, in addition to the EAMS implementation and streamlined interface with SAP for invoicing purposes. Some main advantages achieved are:

• The roll-out of a centralised supplier portal that integrates with the EAM system. The portal allows each supplier to manage and work orders assigned to them and invoice per service provided.
• Setting up Massmart own facilities call centre. The call centre is responsible for creating work orders requested by the stores for maintenance, managing supplier queries and so forth. Currently, the call centre manages an average of 250 work orders per day.
• Defining and developing meaningful dynamic reports (On Key Insights Business Intelligence tool). The available information enables Massmart to monitor costing on critical assets and drive cost-saving initiatives.

“One of the success key factors for Massmart is that they defined clear, measurable asset management key performance indicators (KPIs) with stretching targets, which are monitored and driven by everyone involved in asset management within the team,” concludes Kribban Coopoosamy, one of Pragma’s Sector Executives.

A software system is a critical component of a sound enterprise asset management system. In support of this belief, Pragma developed On Key, a connected asset management suite. The suite redefines traditional lines of enterprise software in the asset management segment. It empowers clients with an integrated fit-for-purpose solution, as opposed to a generic set of functionalities. The On Key Connected Asset Management Suite is a purposefully crafted set of platforms with an enterprise asset management system (EAMS) at its core. The EAMS functions as a system of record for all the primary asset management processes and is extended through supporting platforms. This strong information system backbone makes Pragma unique in its ability to offer a complete integrated asset management solution that stretches across software, training, consulting, services and focused expertise.

Founded in 1997, SAAMA is registered as a non-profit organisation focused on highlighting the role of physical asset management as a key contributor to long-term business success. SAAMA does this by building synergistic rapport between companies and industries, encouraging the interchange of information, ideas and knowledge, contributing to the development of standards and practices, establishing, maintaining and improving common standards, stimulating and promoting education, training and original research by its liaisons with similar associations locally and internationally.

For more information about SAAMA and their activities, visit, www.saama.org.za

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