Strategy Manual by Mohamed Shahid Firoz

Strategy Manual

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Company Overview

Values

Mission

Innovation Funnel Standards

Vision

Strategic Direction Target Market

Intellectual Property Attitude to Innovation

18 22

Attitude to Design Design-led Innovation

28 3

Executive Summary

H.H Sheikh Mohammed said ”In 1999, Many people questioned about Dubai’s idea of establishing Dubai internet City in the desert. Two years ago Amazon acquires the multi-billion dirham souq.com and today, Uber acquired Careem for Dh11 billion. These giant companies from the “desert” of Dubai”. Aramex is one such company that is based in Dubai which is successful in the industry it is operating. The brand still has room for development and growth. The purpose of the Guide is to introduce three innovative ideas within the organization that can lead to a viable new business plan, markets products, services, technologies, and experiences. Innovation could be competitive differentiation and compelling reasons that people will pay a higher price for the new offer. This will benefit Aramex as they will be able to get new customers through design-led innovation and design-driven strategies. One idea is to do a brand extension with fast brands like Bugatti to determine the brand’s value of how speed is important to them. And second is the have brand diversity to increase service line and provide more services within the delivery industry like food, online store and medicines/pharmaceutical industries to cater medicines within a short time. This guide will consist of detailed research and analysis of the company and the two proposed ideas. The main components of the manual are the overview, attitudes, and a description of ideas along business model canvas.

Company Overview

Aramex has successfully introduced market-leading express delivery and logistics services to the Middle East and other emerging economies. As a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, their breadth of services includes express courier delivery, freight forwarding, logistics, supply chain management, e-commerce and record management services. The business model of Aramex is a unique asset-light business model that underlies all of the strategic decisions we make. It has proved highly successful, allowing Aramexus to swiftly adapt to challenging market conditions, execute last-mile delivery solutions and quickly respond to changing customer preferences. The focus of last mile logistics is to deliver items to the end user as fast as possible.

Board Of Directors

Aramexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nine-member board of directors oversees the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate governance practices, implementing and ensuring adherence to its Charter and Corporate Governance Guidelines. Six of the board members including its Chairman, are independent non-executive directors, while three members are non-independent non-executive directors. Our board works closely with the executive management to monitor and discuss strategic direction, corporate-wide issues, business performance, compliance with Aramex policies and procedures and applicable laws.

Competitors DHL is seen as one of Aramexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top competitors. DHL was founded in 1969, and is headquartered in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. Like Aramex, DHL also competes in the Courier and Logistics Services industry. DHL generates $153.8M more revenue vs. Aramex. TNT is a top competitor of Aramex. TNT was founded in 1946, and its headquarters is in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland. Like Aramex, TNT also competes in the Courier and Logistics Services field. TNT has 39,004 more employees than Aramex.

United Parcel Service is Aramexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s #3 rival. United Parcel Service was founded in Atlanta, Georgia} in 1907. Like Aramex, United Parcel Service also works within the Courier and Logistics Services industry. Compared to Aramex, United Parcel Service generates $70.5B more revenue.

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Vision Aramexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-term sustainable and profitable growth strategy is founded on our corporate values. It drives the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful progress towards achieving its vision: To be recognized as the leading global B2C & B2B logistics solution provider in growth markets within the next three to five years. The vision is to provide Skills and capacity of strategic insight and direction by encouraging innovation, conceptualizing key trends, evaluating strategic decisions and challenging the company to sharpen its vision. It is the companies vision to be the fastest delivering logistic and services

Values Behind the success and continuity of Aramex is the sustainability and wellbeing of the communities that they operate. For supporting Aramex’s ongoing sustainability efforts over the years, they have officially unveiled the sustainability platform ‘Delivering Good,’ which further enables them in creating partnerships with communities, social entrepreneurs, governments, NGOs and corporations worldwide. The strategy also lines with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on increasing economic growth, access to quality education and fair employment, and taking steps to mitigate climate change and its impacts globally. Currently, 95% of our locations are actively engaged in sustainability initiatives and projects and identify with at least one of the three focus areas of our Delivering Good platform: Education and Youth Empowerment, Entrepreneurship and Environment.

Mission The company has an apparent mission which is â&#x20AC;&#x153;to be recognized as one of the top five global logistics and express transportation service providersâ&#x20AC;? (2014 Aramex Annual Report, p.18) It has a clear strategy in four aspects Growth in which Aramex focuses on entering new markets and developing acquisitions and franchising across the globe. Performance where Aramex hard to sustain good financial performance through investment in new infrastructure and new business partners Innovation That includes strategies creating e-commerce solutions Sustainability in which Aramex invest in people, environment and social programs to be engaged with local communities. They remain committed to building franchise and operations in growth markets - deliberating a major strategic acquisition to strengthen further their presence in the Asia-Pacific region is one example.

Strategic Direction To achieve this, they continue to invest in their people, technology and infrastructure; and continue to implement innovative solutions to meet the customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; evolving needs, whilst to deliver maximum value to our shareholders, and maintaining our partnerships with local communities.

Target Market According to the websites and reports of Aramex, here are the following entities working under the Aramex umbrella. E-commerce: Designing online storefront, updating online catalogs, and managing orders and payments. Once the online platform is complete and customers begin to make purchases, Aramex will deliver the online orders both domestically and internationally. To get the packages out seamlessly and uniformly, using the latest technology, we provide everything from storage of products to order fulfillment through effective supply chain management Logistics: Aramex store and manage your inventory in their strategically located state-of-the-art logistics centers offering bonded or duty-paid options to cater to the different needs of customers in all industries. Small Business Solutions: Access to logistical services is vital to the development and growth of the private sector in general, and for SMEs in specific. Especially since they often face challenges accessing competitive financing rates, finding customized solutions and connecting with local capacity and expertise related to this industry. Therefore, it is vital to have an efficient and accessible logistics industry in order for these SMEs to be able to compete in the global economy.

Developers Solution Center: The Aramex Developers Solutions Center is made for any business model, offering automated shipping without human interaction and many tools to upgrade the way we manage shipments. Whether we are a start-up with low volume shipments or a well- established business operating at high shipment volumes, Aramex has an interface that will help streamline the delivery process. Drop and Ship: Cut your import delivery costs with Drop and Ship. Aramex benefits from suppliersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; local delivery rates or free delivery if we are importing or buying online from a supplier from many of the countries. Shop and Ship: As for Shop & Ship, Aramex delivers shopping from around the world to our doorstep. Information Management. Established in 1997, InfoFort is the Leading Digital Transformation Solutions Provider in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia offering secure information management solutions and services in the United Arab Emirates Facility Management :If we have a warehouse or storage facility but feel that it is not operating to optimum levels of efficiency, then Aramex Facility Management can help. Our supply chain experts can adequately manage the facility, minimize waste, create better

Innovation Funnel It is a tool often used by businesses to understand the process of developing a product within the company. It is also to understand in developing a product within the company. It is used to understand their place in the industry and the process of developing innovative products that would take them further with their ideas (Innovation Funnel, 2016). In terms of Aramex, they found opportunities and generating ideas and executing it with the help of technology to create a service/ product. They diversified and innovated the logistics and delivery industry and integrated into small business solutions to supporting SMEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and adding on to warehousing facilities, drop and ship which benefit the end users from suppliers local delivery rates or free delivery if importing from other countries. Information management systems certainly added their line of service that is not just a brick and mortar conventional techniques data and documents but online documents and data as well.

Standards of delivery Aramex follows its standards that are necessary for the express services they offer. The Aramex Shipping API (Application Programing Interface) allows your system to communicate directly with shipping and tracking systems over the internet. Aramex Shipping API provides with a wide range of functionalities which enables your system and applications to integrate directly with Aramexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s systems in a secure and automated way. They have designed the process and channel of distribution to be the fastest with no inconvenience. They have a highly trained team that looks at every process before it reaches out to the customer. The Process will start from creating a shipment, printing labels, creating pickups, canceling pickups and schedule delivery, reserving shipment number to ease the process.

International Standards for Quality ISO 9001 quality certification is a Total Quality Management System. Aramex being a global company has to follow the international standards in delivery and logistics as quality is the most critical element of their overall services and it guides each of its product development and services. The certification embodies the constant quality improvement that we endeavor towards all their operations and highlights the value of services to the customer. Improving processes, eliminating bottlenecks and increasing efficiency of daily operations is an ongoing cycle in Aramex. We place a high value on sustaining and enhancing quality in every facet of the organization. Therefore, they have designed and implemented a quality management system to ensure a consistent level of high standards at all times, so they can evaluate these standards periodically and work on technological and process innovations to improve upon them. The Aramex DQMS (Documented Quality Management System) complies with the requirements of the international standard of ISO 9001:2000 and includes a set of active systems that measure customer satisfaction in order to ensure continuous service enhancement (Aramex corporate profile, p.10).

Intellectual property Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce. All intellectual property rights in the contents of the Website are owned by Aramex, its affiliates, or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws (Terms of Use Aramex, 2018). â&#x20AC;&#x153;All content included on the Website, including without limitations text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, software, films, audio clips, downloads, interfaces, code, software, and the compilation of all content on the Website is the exclusive property of Aramex or its licensors and is protected by international copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws. All trademarks, logos, service marks and trade names displayed on this Website are the registered and unregistered trademarks of Aramex or its affiliates, or third-party trademark or trade name holdersâ&#x20AC;? (Intellectual Properties Aramex, 2018).

Attitude to Innovation Aramex is continually innovating as a business and identifying bespoke solutions tailored to customer needs. The company is at the forefront of innovation in the global logistics market and will continue to introduce new technologies to enhance its last mile delivery solution further. The implementation of technologies enhances the tracking system which reaches more off the grid consumer, deliver package faster and reduces uncertainty (Aramex Annual Report, 2015). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Open innovation is the idea that companies should make greater use of external ideas and technologies in their own business and allow unused internal ideas to flow out to others for use in their business. It is the opposite of a closed innovation process which relies on internal R&D and deep vertical integrationâ&#x20AC;? (Chesbrough, 2006). The organization believes in the power of people and strive to empower and connect people in order to provide the best delivery solutions. Aramex drives global connectivity and strengthen trade links through the support and provide to the clients in moving their goods and products to markets (Aramex Annual Report, 2014). Also, e-Commerce development remains a key strategic goal, and continue to view their partnerships with online retailers as a vital element in future growth. Aramex has been investing heavily on the e-Commerce platform supporting the growing online trading across the and core emerging markets, taking advantage of the significant opportunities in growth markets such as Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Aramex provides a wide range of solutions to help both start-ups and well-established businesses to launch or expand their e-Commerce operations, including warehousing and integrated logistics, payment collection services, order processing, and outsourcing of customer service through various contact centers. As a global logistics and transportation services provider, Aramex possesses world-class infrastructure and technology in order to deliver the best possible services to its customers around the world. Through our close engagement and responsiveness to clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; continuous service improvement and innovation through specifically tailored solutions, we aim to grow in tandem with our customers and benefit from each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success.

EXPLORE THE TEN TYPES OF INNOVATION

PROFIT MODEL Great ones reflect a deep understanding of what customers and users actually cherish and where new revenue or pricing opportunities might lie. Innovative profit models often challenge an industry’s tired old assumptions about what to offer, what to charge, or how to collect revenues. This is a big part of their power: in most industries the dominant profit model often goes unquestioned for decades.

NETWORK Network innovations provide a way for firms to take advantage of other companies’ processes, technologies, offerings, channels, and brands—pretty much any and every component of a business. These innovations mean a firm can capitalize on its own strengths while harnessing the capabilities and assets of others. Network innovations also help executives to share risk in developing new offers and ventures. These collaborations can be brief or enduring, and they can be formed between close allies or even staunch competitors.

STRUCTURE Structure innovations are focused on organizing company assets—hard, human, or intangible—in unique ways that create value. They can include everything from superior talent management systems to ingenious configurations of heavy capital equipment. An enterprise’s fixed costs and corporate functions can also be improved through Structure innovations, including departments such as Human Resources, R&D, and IT.

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PROCESS Process innovations involve the activities and operations that produce an enterprise’s primary offerings. Innovating here requires a dramatic change from “business as usual” that enables the company to use unique capabilities, function efficiently, adapt quickly, and build market–leading margins. Process innovations often form the core competency of an enterprise, and may include patented or proprietary approaches that yield advantage for years or even decades. Ideally, they are the “special sauce” you use that competitors simply can’t replicate.

PRODUCT PERFORMANCE Innovations address the value, features, and quality of a company’s offering. This type of innovation involves both entirely new products as well as updates and line extensions that add substantial value. Too often, people mistake Product Performance for the sum of innovation. It’s certainly important, but it’s always worth remembering that it is only one of the Ten Types of Innovation, and it’s often the easiest for competitors to copy. Think about any product or feature war you’ve witnessed—whether torque and toughness in trucks, toothbrushes that are easier to hold and use, even with baby strollers. Too quickly, it all devolves into an expensive mad dash to parity.

SERVICE Innovations ensure and enhance the utility, performance, and apparent value of an offering. They make a product easier to try, use, and enjoy; they reveal features and functionality customers might otherwise overlook; and they fix problems and smooth rough patches in the customer journey. Done well, they elevate even bland and average products into compelling experiences that customers come back for again and again.

PRODUCT SYSTEM INNOVATION Are rooted in how individual products and services connect or bundle together to create a robust and scalable system. This is fostered through interoperability, modularity, integration, and other ways of creating valuable connections between otherwise distinct and disparate offerings. Product System innovations help you build ecosystems that captivate and delight customers and defend against competitors.

CHANNEL INNOVATORS Encompass all the ways that you connect your company’s offerings with your customers and users. While e-commerce has emerged as a dominant force in recent years, traditional channels such as physical stores are still important — particularly when it comes to creating immersive experiences. Skilled innovators in this type often find multiple but complementary ways to bring their products and services to customers. Their goal is to ensure that users can buy what they want, when and how they want it, with minimal friction and cost and maximum delight.

BRAND Innovations help to ensure that customers and users recognize, remember, and prefer your offerings to those of competitors or substitutes. Great ones distill a “promise” that attracts buyers and conveys a distinct identity. They are typically the result of carefully crafted strategies that are implemented across many touchpoints between your company and your customers, including communications, advertising, service interactions, channel environments, and employee and business partner conduct.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT Innovations are all about understanding the deep-seated aspirations of customers and users, and using those insights to develop meaningful connections between them and your company. Great Customer Engagement innovations provide broad avenues for exploration, and help people find ways to make parts of their lives more memorable, fulfilling, delightful — even magical.

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Attitude to design Aramex unique selling point is its services. Therefore, there is less attention to design in the whole organization. The innovations in the company are less design driven. The company does not manage its design nor does it have a Chief Design officer who can propose ideas to implement and update within the industry. Lack of design innovation and creative ideas in their brand is noticed throughout their website and physical store. For them, the design is not the most critical aspects of their business. However, their website and applications are, and UX design and they have much-untapped potential into a very design-led focus to the asset-light business type. In general, the logistics and the express delivery industry lacks design elements and design-led innovation throughout. The Design management ladder is a tool that functions on the ideas that there is a positive link between great profitability by placing greater emphasis on integrating design during the early stages of product development. Giving design strategic position in companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall business strategy. To understand how Aramex introduce design into their company, we used Design Management Ladder to analyse and review the importance of design in the organization

Opportunity for Design-led Innovation IDEA 1- Aramex has its vision statement which states the express services that is the fastest in the industry. To represent the fast services, Aramex could make a campaign and take a vote the fastest thing people prefer to see or experience or even a sports celebrity like Usain Bolt. The highest voted person or a car like Bugatti could be a design lead to an increase in the interaction of the brands with people. Cars such as Bugatti is known for the speed as well; the company can invest on the car of marketing purposes to deliver the products to signify the speed of the services they offer and bring peoples attention that speed and service is their motto. Brand ambassador for Aramex is another opportunity to increase the marketing strategies placed in the organization. Brand extensions with Emaar in Dubai would be another opportunity to highlight the strength of the company.

IDEA 2- A brand extension to food delivery company such as talabat and zomato. Uber being a transport company adapted to start the same under the name Uber eats, hence Aramex has a good chance of becoming successful in becoming a food delivery company. It will become an additional service to their distribution, logistics and delivery companies. The evolution of the industries helps to retain and increase the sales generated by the company as food delivery has become. An excellent opportunity as people are busy in their lives from home to school to work. There is less cooking, and people prefer to eat outside. The unique selling proposition of Aramex is speedy delivery. Hence people would quickly adapt to Aramex for delivering their favorite dishes from their favorite restaurants.

REFERENCES Empowering People - Aramex Annual Report 2014. https://reports.aramex.org/2014/report/?page_id=13 Figure 2f from Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic revision of Rochefortia Sw. aceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: E7720. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720. (n.d.).

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History and Development Timeline - Aramex. https://www.aramex.com/content/uploads/109/200/37077/A%20comprehensive%20Aramex%20profile%20for%20the%20media. pdf Terms of Use - Aramex.com. https://www.aramex.com/terms-of-use Ten Types. (2019, March 05). Retrieved from https://doblin.com/ten-types What is Intellectual Property. http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/intproperty/450/wipo_ pub_450.pdf

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