SAP helps McDonald’s UAE to transform and streamline operations using analytics

One of UAE’s largest quick service restaurants, McDonald’s UAE, has digitally transformed with global technology company SAP to serve the country’s food services market. According to a recent report from Al Masah Capital, UAE’s booming food services market will grow by 45% to $9.7 billion by 2020. This growth, especially in the quick service industry, will be further bolstered by the country’s tourism sector, which is expected to draw over 20 million visitors in 2020.

McDonald’s UAE, owned and operated by Emirates Fast Food, manages over 170 restaurants and employs more than 4,000 employees. As its business expands, McDonald’s UAE needed to modernise operations with mobile and scalable cloud solutions and turned to channel partner Seidor MENA to adopt SAP S4 HANA Cloud ERP, SAP Analytics Cloud, and SAP SuccessFactors for talent management through a unique offering which was built specifically for their needs.

Being a big proponent of standardisation, McDonald’s UAE keeps strict control over quality and continues improvement in new areas. In this respect, SAP S4 HANA Public Cloud, serves as cost-effective solution to standardise services across the UAE. The implementation of SAP S4 HANA Public Cloud, an intelligent, integrated ERP system, has virtualised McDonald’s infrastructure, reducing ownership and maintenance costs.

  • By automating finance and sales processes, McDonald’s UAE is using real-time data to organise suppliers, monitor supply sources, and manage inventory.
  • SAP Analytics Cloud enabled McDonald’s UAE to communicate operational data to all restaurants, including kitchen serving times and relationships with third party operators.
  • SAP SuccessFactors introduces several new human resources functionalities including accommodation management, automated payroll, and faster onboarding.
Rafic Fakih, Managing Director, McDonald’s UAE (center left); Marwan Zeineddine, Executive Director, Strategic Industries, SAP UAE (center right); Prakash Rao, Information System Director, Head of SAP Practice, McDonald’s UAE (second from left).
Rafic Fakih, Managing Director, McDonald’s UAE (front row, center right); Juan Carlos Carracedi, Head of SAP Practice, Seidor MENA (front row, center left); Tariq Laham, Solutions Director, Seidor MENA (second row, far right).

“In the UAE’s highly-competitive and rapidly-growing quick service restaurant sector, customers want orders that are fast, consistent, and tailored to their needs,” said Walid Fakih, General Manager, McDonald’s UAE. “McDonald UAE’s digital transformation with SAP is giving all of our staff real-time access to lines of business to transform customer experiences – from optimised layouts, to personalised menus, and fast deliveries

“McDonald’s UAE digital transformation shows how uniting the back-office and front-office can deliver major business benefits and can enhance customer experiences,” said Zakaria Haltout, Managing Director, SAP UAE. “We are exchanging global best practices in the retail and restaurant sectors so that McDonald’s UAE can leverage our cloud infrastructure to optimise operations and experiences, and to foster economic growth and job creation.”

“In their digital transformation journey, McDonald’s UAE is using SAP S4HANA Public Cloud to shift time from managing IT to focus on higher-level business strategy across finance, sales, procurement, and recruitment. In this respect, apart from streamlining their day to day HR operations with SAP SuccessFactors, we have provided out of the box accommodation management solution specifically designed for their business needs, fully integrated with SAP Cloud EC Payroll,” said Ignacio Ruiz de Eguilaz, Managing Director, SEIDOR MENA.

“McDonald’s UAE is ideally-positioned to become a future-ready Intelligent Enterprise that can meet the demands of the quick service industry of tomorrow.”


Key takeaways

  • Being a proponent of standardisation, McDonald’s UAE keeps control over quality and continues improvement in new areas.
  • By automating finance and sales processes, McDonald’s UAE is using real-time data to organise suppliers, monitor sources, manage inventory.
  • SAP Analytics Cloud enabled McDonald’s UAE to communicate operational data to restaurants, kitchen serving times, relationships with third party operators.
  • SAP SuccessFactors introduces human resources functionalities including accommodation management, automated payroll, and faster on boarding.