News Update Times

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Telenor Pakistan, country’s foremost telecom and digital services provider, has launched the pilot for a new retailer assisted online shopping service for the masses which fully integrates with its existing sales & distribution channel and lets customers in the far-flung areas of Pakistan shop from online stores.Reinforcing Telenor’s vision of empowering the people of Pakistan and moving towards a more connected society, Easy Bazaar gives consumers the opportunity to place orders on online stores directly through the BVS (Biometric Verification System)devices placed at Telenor’s local physical points of sales.Customers can then have their product delivered directly to the retailer’s store to be picked up later on.Telenor Pakistan’s retailers give complete assistance and information about online shopping which includes various omni-channel features such as online catalogues, digital payment through Easypaisa, cash on delivery, special discounts and many more.

Karachi  (Muhammad Yasir)  In line with its commitment of facilitating passengers, the second national carrier of Pakistan Shaheen Air International (SAI) has joined hands with UBL Omni by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to provide its customers with cashless and easy mode of payments.

The MOU signing ceremony was held at Shaheen Air head office in Karachi. The MOU was signed between Shaheen Air Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Mr. Zohaib Hassan and United Bank Limited (UBL) Group Executive Digital Banking Mr. Sharjeel Shahid.

Shaheen Air, with this collaboration, have enhanced their customer service, as this will enable customers to pay their ticket fare on UBL Omni smart phone application and UBL Omni shops. The airline has set a benchmark in the aviation industry to collaborate with financial institution of the county and facilitate passengers by giving them exclusive discounts.

The CMO SAI, Mr. Zohaib Hassan addressing at the MOU said, “At Shaheen Air, we are constantly putting our efforts to introduce new dimension of customer centric products. This facility is one of our effort to facilitate our passengers all over Pakistan. We are the first airline to make an alliance with a financial institution to provide exclusive discounts to our customers. This alliance with UBL Omni will give an ease of payment option to our valued customers, setting our service apart from others.”

Earlier, the airline on its 25^th anniversary also announced the launch of “Shine Miles”, SAI’s loyalty card, along with its revamped website and web application to enable its flyers with a smoother experience. Shaheen Air also introduced the mobile app where in the valued Shaheen Air passengers can check flight schedules, book online and view their booking on their mobile device.

Airline recognised as the Middle East’s 2018 Leading Airline, Airline Brand, Business Class irport Lounge and Cabin Crew

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has been ecognised at the World Travel Awards Middle East 2018 with four awards – Middle East’s Leading Airline, Middle East’s Leading Airline Brand, Middle East’s Leading Business Class Airport Lounge and Middle East’s Leading Cabin Crew.

The red carpet ceremony was attended by more than 500 industry leading figures and professionals from across the Middle East. Khalid Al Serkal, Emirates’ District Manager Sharjah received the awards on behalf of the airline.

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President Commercial Operations Centre said: “It is an honour to be recognised by the World Travel Awards Middle East 2018 for our ongoing efforts to continually enhance the customer experience both onboard and on the ground. Taking the top spot in multiple categories is a reflection of the airline’s commitment to operational excellence, outstanding customer service and a focused approach on building the brand.”

Last year, the airline launched product enhancements on its Boeing 777 and A380 aircraft – unveiling its enhanced A380 Onboard Lounge, game-changing Boeing 777-300ER First Class private suites and new Business Class cabin and configuration on its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. Passengers on Emirates across all cabins can enjoy its award winning in-flight entertainment system ice, with up to 3,500 channels and 20MB complimentary on-board Wi-Fi, as well as regionally inspired meals prepared by award-winning chefs.

Emirates’ state-of-the-art, seven Business Class Lounges at Dubai International Airport Concourses A, B and C – boast a total seat capacity of over 4,500. Concourse B lounges recently completed a US$ 11 million makeover, offering Business Class customers, as well as Platinum and Gold Skywards members  the highest standards of comfort before their flight. The airline also expanded its global network of lounges to 41 dedicated Emirates Lounges in 2017.

The airline’s international team of over 23,000 cabin crew come from over 135 countries, and speak more than 60 languages. Crew members are trained to provide the very best inflight service and Emirates on-board experience.

Emirates operates a modern fleet of 269 all wide-body aircraft, and is the first and only airline in the world to operate a fleet of all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft for its passenger flights. The airline’s extensive network offers customers travel choices to over 159 destinations, in 85 countries, across six continents.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) LMKT, an award-winning full-service technology company based out of Islamabad, along with its partners is pleased to announce that National Incubation Center Karachi is ready to start its operations in May.

LMKT is setting up the NIC Karachi in partnership with the NED University, HBL, PTCL, PPAF, Founder Institute and i2i, with funding from Ignite (formerly National ICT R&D Fund). The Incubator will provide talented entrepreneurs and promising startups from the Sindh region quality incubation programs; access to mentor and investor networks; and technical resources.

NIC Karachi will focus its resources on identifying and nurturing promising startups by running various programs that will range from two-day boot camps to year-long acceleration programs. This includes the center’s SPARK Accelerator program, which will look to digital transformation in thirteen areas of focus including Fintech, real estate, commerce, cyber security and robotics.

NIC Karachi, which aims to incubate over 200 next-gen businesses in the first 5 years, intends to empower aspiring Sindh-based entrepreneurs to create high growth and sustainable businesses. 

“As a major port city and one of the largest metropolises in the world, Karachi is a magnet for the country’s innovative young minds,” said President LMKT Shabana Khan. “Programs that support youth-led innovation are essential because they not only benefits our future generation but they moves us forward as a nation.”

“NIC Karachi aims to tap into the innovative spirit of the region by helping young minds create newer, disruptive solutions that can positively impact businesses by addressing their future challenges, today,” said Shahjahan Chaudhary, Project Director, NIC Karachi.  “Our in-house innovation platforms such as Makers Labs, Innovation Labs, Design Lab and Fintech Lab will foster a unique partnership between world class enterprises and promising start-ups.”

After NIC Peshawar, NIC Karachi is LMKT’s second outing into the national incubation arena, where the company has proven its metal due to its long history of investing in promising startups and mentoring talented entrepreneurs. Along with other facilities, incubatees at NIC Karachi will have access to a design studio, NED University’s Makers’ Lab and a Fintech center, a result of HBL’s collaboration on the project.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The British Deputy High Commission hosted the signing ceremony between leading UK Company Marley Plumbing and Drainage Solutions with Dadex Eternit Ltd., the pioneer in thermoplastic piping in Pakistan that will provide quality plumsbing and drainage solutions in Pakistan. The event was attended by leading architects, consultants and distinguished guests from the construction industry.

Through Dadex’s nationwide network and leading customer support, this partnership will allow Pakistan’s construction market to access not only products that meet the international quality standards, but also allow access to the latest and leading technical, installation and value engineering support that UK has to offer.

Chief Executive Officer, Dadex Eternit Ltd. Qazi Sajid Ali said, “Innovation and collaboration are key levers of the Dadex strategy to grow smartly and offer quality products & solutions to the piping industry. Launching Pakistan’s first and only authentic Antimicrobial Pipes, Dadex is now achieving yet another milestone by joining hands with Marley Plumbing & Drainage Solutions – UK.”

CEO-International Division, Dadex, Danish Dada said, “Since 1959, Dadex has evolved into a company that upholds authenticity as a crucial factor in its business practices. Be it in serving customers, product quality or relationship with clients – the underlying aim is the collective convergence of all values under the principle rule of truthfulness. Dadex vision conveys the ethics of the Dadex Founder Chairman, Mr. Kassim Dada and serve as a legacy of fundamental righteousness in all business practices.”

Export Director, Marley Plumbing, Doug Rose, said, “For 60 years the Marley brand has been recognized globally for offering innovative solutions, unrivalled technical support and a wealth of product and installation knowledge to the construction industry and our partners. We are excited about this collaboration and foresee a great future.”

British Deputy High Commissioner and Director for Trade in Pakistan – Elin Burns said, “The UK and Pakistan Governments are working closely together to increase bilateral trade between the two countries. Collaborations between innovative and dynamic companies like Marley and Dadex are crucial in providing the support needed in enhancing trade. I wish both companies all the success in this partnership and in their future ventures.”

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Agha Steel Industries is all set to implement “Pakistan’s 1^st End-to-End Fiori-Enabled SAP on Cloud” in collaboration with SAP, Ernest & Young, TallyMarks and IBL Unisys. This end-to- end driven technology elevates the quality precision to the highest level by producing large production volumes without any human error. The project is aimed to upgrade the technological capabilities as well as operational harness of Agha Steel Industries. The kick-off ceremony of the event held today.

This up-gradation would transfer the supply chain of Agha Steel Industries (ASI) on the paradigms of lean manufacturing by elevating its operational and strategic agility, adaptability and alignment. SAP ERP has proven track record of reducing inventory holding cost and presently 10% to 15% reduction in cost is projected from this technological up gradation. It is also expected that system will reduce the data storage space requiring less amount of space to store high data volumes. Furthermore, compact storage would result into better throughput by reducing the manufacturing cycle time.

Speaking at the occasion CEO of Agha Steel Industries, Mr. Hussain Agha emphasized that global steel industry was moving at disruptive speed and to keep pace with it, Pakistani steel producers had to be highly competitive. This latest, state of the art, solution makes it possible for an organization to be ambidextrous by allowing organization to maintain a fit between its cost effectiveness, product quality and innovativeness.

He further clarified that phrase “zero man intervention” coined for this new system did not mean elimination of human resource from the production processes. Instead, this represents the capability of the new system to help the human resource quarters in dramatically improving their efficiency and effectiveness. Doing so, the new system not only delivers better customer experience, but also bridges the demand and supply gap. In addition, the adoption of SAP Fiori tool will simplify the user interface; help to display data in a clearer and more intuitive way and make data entry easier.

SAP-Pakistan Country Head Mr. Saqib told that the system would transfer the supply chain of Agha steel on the paradigms of lean manufacturing by elevating its operational and strategic agility, adaptability and alignment. From the strategic management perspective, system will provide the real time information to the stakeholders for precise decision making. Putting together, the new system is expected to provide resilient supply chain and operational efficiencies to Agha Steel Industries (ASI) enabling the company to be a global competitor. 

Unveiling the details related to execution of project, the spokesperson of EY (collaborator for SAP delivery) Mr. Inayat Qureshi, Country Head told EY had been selected as strategic partner by ASI due to their high global credentials. Finally the system consulting company, TallyMarks Consulting, shed the light on the cloud-based-storage capabilities of the newly inducted technology. TallyMarks assisting Agha Steel for effective implementation of SAP S/4 HANA and end-to-end Fiori enabled SAP. Providing the details, TallyMarks spokesman Mr. Abdul Haseeb informed that cloud infrastructure is built on the basis of S/4 HANA certified hardware, having secure environment, unfailing and uninterrupted connection, coupled with TallyMarks Consulting’s superior 24/7 client support.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) A German company, thyssenkrupp  has installed 32 elevators and 28 escalators in the country’s second largest shopping center, the Emporium Mall complex. The complex covers 250,000 square meters and expects around 44,000 visitors a day.

Every hour, the elevators and escalators have to transport over 3,500 people – reliably and trouble-free. Maintenance of the systems is carried out by the partner Global Business Bridge.

  Pakistan has enormous growth potential, with new malls, office complexes, hotels and public infrastructure projects such as ports, and airports being built, the result is a demand for around 1,000 new elevators per year, which ensure modern mobility within the new buildings.

German Ambassador Martin Kobler and Mian Mohammad Mansha, one of the Pakistan’s most successful entrepreneurs, were present at the inaugural ceremony.