The Department of Finance (DoF) in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) has shortlisted MeRLIN to digitalize its public procurement processes for improved performance, accountability, and openness across all operations.

The partnership is in line with the UAE government's ongoing efforts to increase productivity in both public and private sectors through digitalization. In the presence of senior officials from both institutions, Mohammed Hassan Alnoman, Chairman of RheinBrücke Middle East, and Yousuf Ali Mohammed, Director General of the Department of Finance, Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), signed the project charter agreement for POC.

During the pandemic, digitalization and a change in customer taste transformed the industry throughout the Middle East. The Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) area is estimated to spend $20 billion on digital transition strategies this year, rising to $40 billion by 2022, according to the International Data Corporation. The Department of Finance in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) will use MeRLIN, a strategic sourcing platform that provides properly integrated sourcing process automation, as part of the POC project charter.

MeRLIN's mission is to help the department's digital transformation path by assisting with supplier partnership management and preparation and providing advanced analytics support. MeRLIN will also help the department achieve its national growth goals of improving public service quality and delivery, building human resources, and increasing the private sector's contribution to national GDP.

“We are pleased to partner with the Department of Finance, Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) in its digital transformation efforts, which will improve procedure and system productivity, ultimately ensuring it exceeds customer requirements,” His Excellency Mohammed Hassan Alnoman said.

“MeRLIN from RheinBrücke is at the forefront of empowering organizations to enhance organizational processes and optimize human potential by rising employee efficiency and lowering operating costs. Our team specializes in developing creative products to address our partners' most difficult business problems.”

“Through the implementation of MeRLIN, the Department of Finance in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) would see its teams becoming more versatile and efficient, allowing them to stay two steps ahead in today's highly competitive marketplace,” he continued. The department's potential to reach out to smaller vendors and potential clients will be greatly improved by the digital roadmap for end-to-end sourcing and procurement automation.

The RheinBrücke team will work closely with Executives from the Department of Finance, and Executives from the Electronic Government Authority (EGA), to ensure the solution cooperates with EGA's rigorous security and integration criteria”.

“This project will allow us to implement the most innovative practices that align with the standards required in the country's government sector, as efforts to strengthen our digital infrastructure and facilities across all activities,” Yousuf Ali Mohammed said. To gain maximum financial control, accountability, and performance, we are dedicated to continually improving financial planning, budgeting, and procurement practices. Our goal is to create a competitive environment that can keep up with the rapid changes in our industry. We want to be a leader in increasing the efficiency of govt agencies' administrative, accounting, and public procurement activities. We hope to build a world-class digital public procurement ecosystem in Ras Al Khaimah as a product of our partnership with RheinBrücke.”

The strategic collaboration between the Department of Finance, Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), and RheinBrücke to digitally enhance the procurement process has begun with a proof of concept. The initial phase of the MeRLIN solution reflects on five processes relevant to the government procurement cycle: vendor management and registration, bidding, auction management, supplier invoice monitoring, and expenditure management.

MeRLIN is a scalable, versatile, configurable, and strongly recommended platform that will be available globally on Microsoft Azure. It has collaborated with Moro Hub (www.morohub.com) in the UAE and is positioned to be the go-to alternative for public sector and non-public sector business supply needs. The 2021 Arab Aviation Summit (AAS) will be hosted at the Al Hamra International Exhibition & Conference Centre in Ras Al Khaimah and will become the region's leading aviation and tourism industry gathering (RAK).

Under the concept, "Arab Aviation in the New Reality," the eighth version of the two-day forum draws together specialists to address the effect of the pandemic on the industry, the consequences, and the path to recovery for a stronger future.