Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Khaled Hanafi announced the implementation of a project to link wholesale companies, consumer complex companies, Food Industries Holding Company (FHIC), and supply stores in a unified electronic network developed by the Microsoft Global Foundation at an initial cost of EGP 450m.
The network will connect 500 wholesale ports with 40,000 retail outlets that serve all the suppliers. The system will be operational by June 2016. The goal of this electronic system is to decrease the cost of goods traded in stores and consumer complexes by 30%, Hanafi said.
This electronic organisation provides time-saving mechanisms in transportation and handling processes, as well as helping consumers receive goods quickly, Hanafi explained. Additionally, electronic reports on works in progress can be sent instantaneously rather than drafting reports manually.
These solutions also provide information about consumer feedback and their requests or suggestions for the available commodities. This information will be made available to all parties involved in the system by Microsoft, so as to take the most appropriate decisions in a timely fashion, Hanafi said.
Citing a practical example of how this information will be used, Hanafi stated that these solutions allow suppliers to know the size of demand for their commodities and the size of production targeted in future plans.
Regarding the increase in FHIC’s capital, Hanafi said a legislative amendment will be sent to the parliament for its approval to list the company on the Egyptian Exchange.
He also added that Beltone Financial Investment Bank and the consulting office, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), will conduct a study assessing the feasibility of offering FHIC on the stock market to increase its capital holdings over a six-month period.
