Client: Nabilco for Office Furniture and Office Supplies
Date: 27/09/2020
Mr. Mohamed Nabil, CFO and one of the company’s partners
To listen to the full interview, please play the video below:
- Editor: Peace be upon you.
– Editor: Peace be upon you.
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: And upon you be peace.
– Editor: We would like to conduct an interview with you to learn your opinion of Nama ERP and how satisfied you are with the way the company deals with you.
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Please go ahead.
– Editor: What exactly does your company do?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: We are Nabilco. We have been in business for 29 years, working in the manufacture of office furniture across the board, along with office equipment, office supplies, steel cabinets and metal products, and we have four showrooms in Greater Cairo.
– Editor: We would like to know about the largest clients your company has worked with.
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Not by name, but we deal with sovereign bodies such as the army and the police, as we hold permits to work with these entities. We are also multi-sector, supplying our products to educational institutions (schools and universities), as well as to organisations in the food sector, some other government bodies and factories. You could say we deal with every segment.
– Editor: So in the first place you deal with official bodies.
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Yes, that is most of our work.
– Editor: How did you first hear about Nama ERP?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Through Mr. Yasser Gad, the company’s general manager, with whom I have a personal relationship.
– Editor: Why did you choose Nama ERP to manage the company’s business?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: First, because of my personal relationship with Mr. Yasser Gad. Second, because I found a big difference between Nama ERP and the old system I had been using, and I expected it to give me momentum and to help me with planning and doing the work well. One of the strong features is the instant updating of data, like a banking system. I now monitor branches and stores in a better way, and I have full control thanks to the approvals system, which is a very successful system, so I now see all the work as it happens. One of the very strongest features is that there is no need for posting, and we can discuss this point at length later.
– Editor: How satisfied were you with the way staff were trained and the schedule planned for it? Was it suitable, and did you have any comments?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: The period for launching the system and getting it running was somewhat long, because we are a somewhat old company and carry a lot of weight, and also because we work in more than one line of business, which required a lot of time to use the system in the way that is optimal for us.
– Editor: Add to that the fact that you were among the first clients Namasoft worked with, when the development company was just starting out.
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Exactly, that is correct.
– Editor: Were your users able to learn the system as quickly as needed, or did they have some difficulties?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: We were already working with a previous system, and that made it easy for the users to work on Nama ERP. But some of the ideas in Nama ERP that were new to them took a little time, and once they had grasped them it became very easy.
– Editor: Mr. Mohamed, as CFO you are fully responsible for purchasing the system and paying the annual maintenance. Do you have any negative comments, either on the price of the system or on the value of the annual maintenance contract?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Without bias, the prices are entirely reasonable, and I see this as the developer’s right, so that they commit to providing the maintenance we need throughout the year. All year round I receive support and new releases, and everything I request during the year is delivered, so I am entirely satisfied.
– Editor: How satisfied are you with the level of technical support Namasoft provides?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: I do not deal with this directly, but I see that the problems we face are resolved within two days at most.
– Editor: Have you previously faced anything exceptional with technical support, such as a delayed response or a delay in resolving a problem?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: That has not happened, but I know the matter is resolved within 48 hours.
– Editor: Are there any technical shortcomings you see in Nama ERP?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: None at all, and this is not flattery. Nama ERP has been built in a very sound way, so everything my business requires I find a solution for in Nama ERP. Add to that the fact that Nama ERP does not require a posting procedure, which is a very strong point. With the previous system this used to cost me a great deal of time and effort to reach the information I needed, such as balances and so on, in order to have a sound report for the balance sheet. With Namasoft this costs us no time at all. Can you imagine how important it is to obtain information in real time without waiting, and how much that affects the decision maker? The purpose of buying the system is not addition and subtraction; that can be handled easily by any simple tool such as Excel. If the system cannot give me immediate reports at any time and show how far I have achieved my objectives, then there is no need for it.
– Editor: You know that Namasoft allows its clients to send technical support requests when they encounter a bug or when they want a software improvement developed. This has certainly happened with you. How quickly does the company respond to your request?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: As I explained earlier, the request is carried out within 48 hours.
– Editor: Has any employee at your company ever complained about a Namasoft employee, and how did Namasoft respond to that complaint?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Never; nothing like that has reached me. There has been no complaint with you before. Your staff are cooperative and we have good relations with them. We have no problems in this respect.
– Editor: As CFO, are there any substantial improvements you would like added to Nama ERP?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Honestly, no. To be frank, at the beginning of working with the system we had many modifications we needed, and they were all carried out and delivered, so I am entirely satisfied on this point.
– Editor: Have you ever watched Namasoft’s videos, and what do you think of them?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: No, I have not watched them.
– Editor: And what do you think of Namasoft’s website?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: I have not looked at it, but I remember that one of my employees went onto the website and downloaded some information about the system and how it works. But we do not need that, since everything we need is explained to us immediately.
– Editor: On that note, you mentioned that you had a previous system. What advantages did you find in Nama ERP that were not present in the previous system?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Many. The most important I can recall are the absence of posting, the security and protection system, and the ability to access the system from anywhere as if you were visiting a website. It is a web-based application, entirely different from the previous system. Add to that the strength of Nama ERP in terms of how it is built; those who know about such things understand perfectly the importance of building a system correctly from the start. That makes it easy to fulfil client requests, and the reports are better than in the old system, along with account tracking and a great many options, as well as the ability to view the information you need immediately, such as a statement of account. The difference is very large, and if the difference and the advantages had not been substantial I would not have taken the decision to move from one system to another, which cost me a great deal of time given the legacy and the enormous volume of data I have. Had there been no fundamental differences, I would not have moved to another system.
– Editor: Whether with the previous system or with any of the systems you have worked with, have you seen a feature in those other systems that you did not find in Nama ERP?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Genuinely, and without flattery, no. I find every feature I need.
– Editor: Mr. Mohamed, in light of Nama ERP’s technical level and the way the company deals with its clients, what do you expect for Namasoft’s future, God willing?
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: Honestly, I think Namasoft must put more effort into marketing and publicity so that clients get to know Nama ERP, and so that Nama ERP takes a suitable share of the market, since the price level of Nama ERP is very, very reasonable for the services provided and the scale of the system delivered. So my advice to you is to publicise this system.
– Editor: Mr. Mohamed, thank you very much for this interview.
Mr. Mohamed Nabil: You are welcome.