ASIFAHMED A. ALURKAR
Dubai
Summary
Project Manager with over 20 years of experience in the Vendor Management, Sales, After sales & Business development experience in varied industry practices.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Project Manager
RK Gulf Contracting & Trading
Dubai
04.2005 - Current
- Company Overview: Product: Home appliances, Computers, Consumer Electronics, Mobile phones, IT & Security Systems
- Drove initiatives across cross-functional teams to improve vendor and customer experience while meeting tight deadlines.
- Developed and executed negotiation strategy to achieve financial goals.
- Partnered with vendors to resolve chronic issues including data quality and transportation.
- Trading of home appliances, Computers, Consumer Electronics, Mobile phones and IT products all across the MENA region.
- Liaise with Vendors, Procurement, Sourcing and Project Management.
- Responsible to improve the top lines sustaining the Operating margin by negotiating and interacting with Legal and Procurement teams.
- Sales and marketing related to Concept security products including installation and certification.
- Involved in Order booking to Order fulfilment process by pragmatically managing the vendor assessment process.
- Performance management of vendors.
- Increased effectiveness by mentoring, guiding and inspiring the engagement of team members.
- Developed a Vendor Portfolio Catalog, providing a foundation for metrics reporting.
- Facilitated successful new product launches across multiple international marketplaces.
- Product: Home appliances, Computers, Consumer Electronics, Mobile phones, IT & Security Systems
Project Manager
SHARP Middle East FZE
Dubai
12.2013 - 03.2015
- Company Overview: Product: Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Small appliances, Medical equipments, Air Conditioner.
- Managing service support and business development for nearly 80 countries in the Middle East and African region covering 850 service centers in the MENA region.
- Project management and Business development for Mega project in Qatar which included service support, Extended warranty and value added services related to AC, Consumer Electronics & Home Appliances.
- Ensure compliance to technical standards and regulations, testing, reports and certification for all product category.
- Liason with ESMA, Intertek, Bureau Veritas and Sharp factories for regulatory compliance.
- Developed a standardized reporting process for deals reporting and worked with cross-functional partners to develop updated standards for nominations.
- Devise training programmes, business proposals, call center management and to ensure customer satisfaction in the region.
- Conducted service conference for Middle east service centers at Sharp Office in London, UK.
- Product management and liaison with ESMA, GSO, JSMO & other related organizations for testing and regulatory compliance in various countries.
- Product: Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances, Small appliances, Medical equipments, Air Conditioner.
- I was the one to be selected in the entire middle east for this position.
- Business development related to avenues for service revenue for Ezdan project in terms of Extended warranty, maintenance and installation of AC, TV, refrigerator, washer etc for over half a million units.
- Introduction of commercial value added services.
- Regulatory compliance for Sharp consumer electronics, home appliances, small appliances, medical equipments etc.
Head- Service Operations
Al Sayegh Group
Dubai
08.2009 - 11.2013
- Company Overview: Product: Telecommunication products (smart phones, PDA and accessories, Imaging & Cameras, Home Appliances. Small appliances Consumer Electronics (FPD, AV, Hybrid TV, Home theatres), IT (notebooks, laptops, desktops, servers), AC and projectors.
- Managing after-sales operations and projects for the entire group with four service centers in UAE as profit center head.
- Delivery and installation operations for LG consumer electronics across UAE related to corporate and retail sales.
- Ensure workflow efficiencies, customer service excellence, profitability and quality assurance.
- Streamlining existing operations and setting up new after-sales support network.
- Call center management. Business development.
- Accountable for the profit of the service center and avenues for new revenues.
- Analysis & preparation of MIS reports. Service excellence and delivery.
- Compilation and negotiation of service agreements with the principals, defining service strategies and implementation of the same.
- After-sales support for all the leading retailers and dealers in UAE.
- Rework and refurbishment of display stocks.
- Reporting structure, SOPs, workflow procedures and management of installation service team.
- Training, recruitment, spare parts management, audits, inspection, refurbishment, regulatory compliance, warranty and claims management, resource and budget planning handling a team of more than 100 service personnel in the UAE.
- Sale of spare parts related to various products.
- Product: Telecommunication products (smart phones, PDA and accessories, Imaging & Cameras, Home Appliances. Small appliances Consumer Electronics (FPD, AV, Hybrid TV, Home theatres), IT (notebooks, laptops, desktops, servers), AC and projectors.
- Visited LG factory, R&D center, service centers at Seoul, South Korea and Olympus at Prague, Czech Republic.
- Successfully obtained ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 for all service centers in the UAE in the first attempt.
- Designed and built new LG authorized service center at Abu Dhabi.
- Set up authorized service centers and after sales operations for LG, Acer, Huawei, Gateway, Hitachi & Optoma projectors, Iview, Palson, Haier etc.
- Achieved targets for selling accessories of mobiles in service centers and generation of revenue from installation, spare parts and out of warranty repairs.
- Achieved three best performance service center Awards from LG during my tenure.
Country Manager (Middle-East)
MWG (Mobile & Wireless Group) formerly O2 asia pacific and middle east
Dubai Airport Free Zone
04.2007 - 12.2009
- Company Overview: Product: PDA phones and related accessories.
- Successfully negotiated a multi-year contract that resulted in a savings of $3m over the term of the agreement.
- Establishment of new operations in UAE related to Sales distribution, Marketing, compliance testing and after-sales network supporting the MENA region.
- Market research, launching of new models, telecom testing, Type Approval, Customization, rework, review & signing of distribution and service support agreements.
- Call center management and PR support.
- Allocation and optimization of Marketing and service support budget.
- Setting up of call center operations in the middle-east.
- Market assessment and competitor research, Appointing new distributors and service partners.
- Monitor KPI’s, sales and service reports analysis.
- Quality control and performance assessment.
- Customer service and satisfaction & business development for accessories.
- Product: PDA phones and related accessories.
- Pioneer member of this group to start middle-east operations.
- Successfully launched, designed & implemented the middle-east SKU for all the PDA products.
- Achieved Service & Sales targets consistently.
Customer Service Manager (KSA, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia)
HYUNDAI MOBILE FZ LLC
Dubai Internet City
01.2005 - 03.2007
- Company Overview: Product: Mobile phones, DECT phones and related accessories (HYUNDAI).
- Drove contract Changes and Amendments by clearing defining scope, responsibilities, schedules, and assumptions.
- Ensured vendor compliance with Key contract deliverables by reviewing evidence based on agreed schedule with IT management and vendors.
- After sales-support, draft SLA’s, liaison with the manufacturing units for completion of the projects related to the final customization of mobile phones ready to be released in the market.
- Interaction with Regional testing laboratories for compliance with related standards and regulations.
- Interaction with the Telecom Regulatory Authorities in different countries for obtaining type approvals for different mobile and DECT phones.
- Inspection of consignment and subsequent dispatch to the destination.
- Product Management, inventory management & call center management.
- Evaluation of new products to be introduced according to the set road map, feedback and performance of newly launched products.
- Software testing in-house and to carry Field tests along with the OEM engineers.
- Preparation of marketing materials and products for international exhibitions like Gitex, CeBIT etc.in different countries.
- Analyze the monthly reports and monitor the performance of service partners.
- Initiate new methods for obtaining customer service feedback from customers, monitoring customer satisfaction.
- Product: Mobile phones, DECT phones and related accessories (HYUNDAI).
- Compiled the “After-Sales Service Agreement “for Hyundai mobile authorized service partners.
- Compiled the Reporting System, warranty card & service manuals.
- Testing of mobile phones at Intertek and Bureau VERITAS for meeting the standards set by their respective governing bodies in different countries.
- Obtained type approval, compliance testing certificates & test reports.
- Setting up of new Hyundai mobile authorized service centers for business partners in Iraq, Iran, KSA, Pakistan, Tunisia, Jordan, Kuwait & Syria.
- Sale of mobile accessories.
Area Manager Service Support (UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, Oman & Iran)
JUMA-AL-MAJID, Global Support Services- Sony Ericsson GSP
Dubai Airport Free Zone
07.2002 - 01.2005
- Company Overview: Global service partner of SONYERICSSON for the gulf region and Iran.
- Monitored performance of Tier 1 vendors through established governance structure that included monthly service level, contract change, issue management and financial reviews as well as quarterly executive meetings to ensure customer expectations were met or exceeded.
- Work with Key Stakeholders and vendors to establish annual goal objectives and monitored progress throughout the year including providing course correction guidance as warranted to guarantee agreed service.
- Service support for nearly thirty SEMC authorized service centers in gulf region and Iran (repair management, scrap disposal and call center management.
- Service agreement discussions, negotiations and subsequent signing of the same.
- Audit & Inspection of all these service centers as per the SEMC audit service center protocol.
- Monitor reporting system and performance metrics of all the SEMC authorized service centers and provide monthly feedback to SEMC regarding the performance of each service partners giving suggestions for the improvement of the same.
- Preparation of annual budget plan for the year, audit plans and business trips and submit to the management.
- Management of SEMC scrap center in Dubai Airport free zone.
- Liaison with Dubai municipality and other related scrap agencies for scrap disposal in an environmental friendly way as per ISO 14000.
- Liaison with Dubai customs for custom clearance.
- Call center set up, management and training.
- WCMS management: Responsible for the monthly payment of claims for all the service partners in the region.
- Conducted ‘Annual Service Conference’ for SEMC authorized partners at Cyprus.
- DINS Project for Dubai Municipality: Responsible for managing the entire project right from the beginning including testing of the hardware equipment installed in the automobiles and software and collection of relevant data (Navigation Systems for different brands like BMW, Mercedes Benz, geographical, topographical information etc).
- Global service partner of SONYERICSSON for the gulf region and Iran.
- Setting up of new SEMC service centers and service points in gulf region and Iran, namely for Axiom & Jumbo Electronics in UAE, Al Rams & Avanegar in Iran & Itasalat in KSA.
- Market assessment & visit to potential countries to set up new service centers.
- Conducted over 150 audit & inspection for SEMC authorized service centers.
- Project Management: DINS (Dynamic Integrated Navigation System for Dubai Municipality)
Specialist Customer Service (Customer Service Manager)
GLOBAL TELESYSTEMS LTD
Mumbai
01.1999 - 04.2002
- Implemented and maintained vendor scorecard program to measure nationwide performance of over 90 vendors with an emphasis on Time, Quality, Support and Compliance improving overall performance by over 30%.
- Managing, planning and implementation of Business strategies for quality service as profit center head.
- Corrective Action Request program to effectively manage end to end all incidents, improve performance and identify trends and best practices.
- Supervise Customer Service and support for the region, handling a team of twenty Engineers.
- Inventory management.
- Provide technical training for Technical Specialist and MCT (Member Consumer Telecom).
- Oversee total customer satisfaction for the region.
- Selling of mobile phone batteries and service contracts, identified and developed corporate and government clients along with service and sales team to promote new products.
- Monitor call logging, co-ordination and assignment, documentation and preparing the service team for ISO audits.
- Appointing new dealers (service franchisee) as Business partners and providing technical and commercial training.
- Contribute service revenue to make the branch as a ‘Profit Center’.
- Only branch to cross the $.16Mn‘mark in service contract target nationally.
- Trained on ISO certification and succeeded in obtaining the 'ÏSO 9002' certification for the service center in the first attempt.
- Succeeded in being the number one branch all over India.
Customer Engineer/ Helpline Engineer
MODI XEROX LTD
Nariman point
08.1995 - 12.1998
- Vendor Partnerships, Risk, Compliance and Performance reporting.
- Improved supply chain by maintaining a vendor management information repository.
- Installation, Servicing, Repair, Dis-installation and Maintenance of Photocopiers, Printers and Facsimile machines.
- Devise various strategies for maintaining 100% customer satisfaction in the region delivering customer service excellence.
- Later on promoted as Help Line Engineer in MODI-XEROX LTD.
- Supervise Franchisee team and their network to ensure optimum performance and achieve targets set for Contract Penetration.
- Generate leads and convince the customers for Buy-back offers, interacting directly with the customers.
- Provide technical assistance to the Engineers in the field and provide necessary training on the newly launched products.
- Evaluate the engineer performance and efficiency.
- Provide feedback on the performance of newly launched products in the market.
- Devise competitions, contests etc to enhance the motivations levels of all the franchisee teams to achieve the targets.
- Consistently achieved the sales target set for maintenance contracts.
- Pioneer LEP strategy engineer for Modi Xerox in India.
- Succeeded in achieving the best LEP center reward all over India.
- Achieved the ‘TEAM EXCELLENCE AWARD ‘in the National SMWG Convention.
Partner
Fouroads Management Consultancies LLC
Dubai
- Setting up of manpower consultancy business for supply of manpower in middle-east and Europe.
- Liason with various sourcing agencies in Asian and African countries.
- Identifying potential clients and generating demands for supply of manpower and managing payroll system.
- Establishment of sales and marketing division.
- Setting up new office, Budgeting, legal formalities, documentation and hiring of staff.
- Successfully conducted various drives in India, Nepal and Africa so far to recruit man power.
AVP International Sales
Buzzworks Pvt Ltd
Mumbai
- Supply of Manpower to Middle East and Europe.
- Business Development and setting up of new sales and marketing division.
- Strategic planning for achievement of set targets. Budget planning.
- Talent search, Selection and deployment of candidates in gulf region and Europe based on demands of clients.
- Identifying sales opportunities in new markets aligning with the laws of the respective countries.
- Successfully established network of clients to generate demand and achieve the set targets.
- Collaboration with manpower supply companies in KSA, Qatar and Poland for recruitment of man power and legal aid for joint venture.
Education
MBA - Sales & Marketing
All India Institute of Management and Engineering
IndiaBachelors in Engineering - Electronics & Communication
BLDEA’s College of Engineering & Technology
IndiaSkills
- Project Management
- Cross Functional Skills
- Management
- Business
- IT
- Supply Chain Management
- Business Development
- Networking Skills
- Problem Solving Orientation
- Time Management
Professional Training And Conferences Attended
- ESMA- Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology.
- SMWG (Self Managed Work Group) – Modi Xerox Team Development Programme.
- LTQ/ TQM (Leadership through Quality/ Total Quality Management).
- CIS (Customer Interface Skills).
- Willtek high end GSM testers 4305/07 training from Acterna.
- ISO 9000 Quality Assurance Review & Audit Techniques & Practice.
- Product training in Photocopiers, Printers, cordless phones, Facsimile machines, audio & video devices and mobile phones.
- Rhode and Schwarz product training on CMU 200, related mobile phone testing instruments & Martin BGAs.
- Microsoft Win6 Mobile Training.
- Sony Ericsson product training, WCMS, CSPN, SERP, Learning Community etc.
- Achieved the 'TEAM EXCELLENCE AWARD' in the National SMWG Convention.
- Attended after-sales service conference at LG headquarters, factory and R&D center in South Korea.
- Attended service conference at Olympus service facility at Prague.
- Organized service conference for Sony Ericsson service centers in Cyprus and Sharp service centers in London.
- Visited LG headquarters, R&D centers and factories twice during my tenure with Al Sayegh brothers as the profit center head.
Other Relevant Information
- Experience in setting up and managing distribution network & after-sales support in India, Gulf & Iran.
- Establishment of manpower supply and recruitment companies in India and UAE.
- Identification and collaboration of sourcing partners in Asian and African countries.
- Experience in working with cross-functional teams of R&D engineering, Test & Inspection Engineering, Product sales & marketing, documentation, Public Relations & telecom regulatory authorities.
- Have excellent communication and presentation capabilities coupled with analytical skills.
- To manage service center as a 'profit center' business ensuring excellent customer satisfaction.
- Devise marketing strategies, liaison with various testing laboratories and government organizations for carrying out specific projects.
- Pioneer service center in the world to resume Pink Service Operation for LG consumer products.
Timeline
Project Manager
SHARP Middle East FZE
12.2013 - 03.2015
Head- Service Operations
Al Sayegh Group
08.2009 - 11.2013
Country Manager (Middle-East)
MWG (Mobile & Wireless Group) formerly O2 asia pacific and middle east
04.2007 - 12.2009
Senior Project Manager
RK Gulf Contracting & Trading
04.2005 - Current
Customer Service Manager (KSA, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia)
HYUNDAI MOBILE FZ LLC
01.2005 - 03.2007
Area Manager Service Support (UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, Oman & Iran)
JUMA-AL-MAJID, Global Support Services- Sony Ericsson GSP
07.2002 - 01.2005
Specialist Customer Service (Customer Service Manager)
GLOBAL TELESYSTEMS LTD
01.1999 - 04.2002
Customer Engineer/ Helpline Engineer
MODI XEROX LTD
08.1995 - 12.1998
Partner
Fouroads Management Consultancies LLC
AVP International Sales
Buzzworks Pvt Ltd
MBA - Sales & Marketing
All India Institute of Management and Engineering
Bachelors in Engineering - Electronics & Communication
BLDEA’s College of Engineering & Technology
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