CASE STUDY
Aurum Institute at a glance
Aurum Institute is a proudly African organisation whose mission is to generate evidence for policy and translate policy into practice to positively impact the health of communities globally .
The institute partners with governments , the private sector and civil society to design and deliver high-quality care and treatment to people in developing communities .
Headquartered in Johannesburg , South Africa , with a staff presence in the USA and Europe , as well as operations in Mozambique , Ghana , Lesotho and eSwatini , Aurum ’ s projects and programmes cover a wide range of activities from programmatic implementation and technical assistance for HIV / AIDS and TB prevention , care and treatment services throughout the health system in South Africa , HIV prevention clinical research studies , TB and HIV vaccine studies , voluntary medical male circumcision to large scale TB prevention programmes . Aurum ’ s experience in TB case finding , and TB contact tracing is extensive , from implementation research to practical approaches embedded in public health programmes .
The organisation ’ s vision is to create a healthier world for future generations with a mission to generate evidence for policy and translates policy into practice to positively impact the health of communities globally . Today , the Aurum Institute prides itself in excellence , innovation , integrity , respect , and teamwork .
As part of the Aurum strategic directive and vision , and to achieve the most efficient outcomes , Aurum elected to standardise on the Microsoft ecosystem and it , therefore , made sense after completing due diligence on a fit-for-purpose ERP solution Microsoft D365 came out on top . To undertake the implementation , Aurum decided to partner with Altron Karabina because of the company ’ s longstanding partnership and understanding of the Aurum business .
Altron Karabina exists to deliver innovation that matters to its partners . Through partnering with customers , it has developed an understanding of the challenges inherent in Digital Transformation journeys . The company offers solutions including application infrastructure , data and analytics , Artificial Intelligence , and modern workplace and business applications .
In the case of Aurum , Altron Karabina embarked on a project to move from legacy systems to Microsoft cloud platforms .
Arshad Hassim , Group Chief Financial Officer , Aurum Institute , said that the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP has enables Aurum to transform and automate its business processes and consolidate its technologies , thereby streamlining the entire organisation . Hassim said : “ The process – while involving many moving parts – has resulted in the ability to have a comprehensive and real-time view of all processes , which has a direct impact on efficiency and execution of key deliverables across the organisation . The first phase of the implementation was to build a solid foundation , with all the necessary reinforcements , so that the institute could continue to enhance its systems going forward in future phases .”
Pravesh Parbhoo , Head of Business Applications , Altron Karabina said : “ The project entailed a phased approach towards striving for a holistic Microsoft solution , not just for their customer relationship management ( CRM ) but also their enterprise resource planning ( ERP ) and data warehouse .”
Parbhoo said the immediate benefit gained through the migration has been increased visibility on how the institute ’ s operations function .
“ In addition to this , the system which was deployed , improves traceability and auditability . Aurum ’ s business had evolved , and they required a modern platform where bringing together the front office and back office was required .”
Hassim added that this phase is one leg in a long journey . “ We plan to roll out HR and build on a platform that will enable us to deliver on our Digital Transformation journey , which in turn will support our Aurum sub-partners , as well as the expansion of our African and foreign entities .”
He said : “ Beyond this , we have been able to reflect on gaps in our business processes and how to improve knowledge management . It is important to us that we always ensure seamless business knowledgesharing and transfer . I look forward to seeing how more live data in the system is going to positively affect our reports for both feedback and decision-making purposes . We ’ ve well and truly entered the digital age which will make us more effective in our core activities .”
Collin Govender , MD , Altron Karabina concurred with Hassim on the positive impact the project has made especially on decision-making and added that the impact must be felt in any Digital Transformation project
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