Savoye

Sustainability Practices and Corporate Social Goals are a priority

While the Middle East is on track with implementing digital transformation and technological tools across levels and sectors for the logistics and supply chain industry, leveraging the right technology is imperative, affirms Alain Kaddoum, Managing Director, Savoye Middle East.

Global warehouse automation integrator and software publisher Savoye recently announced the appointment of Alain Kaddoum as its Middle East Managing Director.

With Kaddoum on board, Savoye will enhance its long-term strategy to become one of the leading providers of supply chain solutions in the region, combining hardware and software according to customer needs such as manual, mechanised, automated, or robotised installations, a press communiqué stated.

The changing landscape entails organizations like Savoye to focus on innovative solutions, meet customer demands, improve service, drive cost reductions, and lessen environmental hazards, asserted Alain Kaddoum,

Managing Director, Savoye Middle

East, in a recent exclusive interview with Global Supply Chain.

Global Supply Chain (GSC): What immediate implications does the emergence of Savoye in the Middle East have for the regional logistics and supply chain industry?

Alain Kaddoum (AK): We are seeing an upbeat outlook on the future of the logistics and supply chain sector in the Middle East, one of the regions with the highest growth potential. The region’s ongoing digital transformation is expected to further drive the growth of the industry.

With its 35 years of experience, Savoye has begun playing a significant role in the regional sector’s steady development and brings along a range of solutions. Our full range of material handling equipment (MHE), intralogistics, and other solutions helps bring about better management of supply chain systems.

Furthermore, our bespoke supply chain solutions, which combine hardware and software tools, are inclusive of manual, semi-mechanized, mechanized, highly automated, or robotic installations.

GSC: As the newly appointed Managing Director for Savoye in the Middle East, what are your top priorities for the company for the short term?

AK: One of my top priorities is to boost the team’s capabilities because I strongly believe that growth starts within the workforce. Empowering employees through trainings, upskilling, and creating a work environment that recognizes and value their hard work will have direct impact on their productivity, and the overall growth of Savoye.

Further, it is also imperative to encourage them to continue to be innovative, trust their decisions, and recognize their contributions. When the team feel valued and trusted, their performance will speak for themselves.

Savoye’s success is a product of people sharing the same vision, and working together to provide sustainable and innovative solutions to our clients. True growth can be achieved by prioritizing the organization’s strength and capabilities.

GSC: How have your priorities been rearranged and what kind of new demands and pressures are being put on your business now in view of the pandemic?

AK: From a global standpoint, we are seeing the need for clients to restructure their logistics operations in order to keep pace with the increasing demands particularly from the e-commerce sector. The supply chain and logistics industry is no stranger to challenges, given how big and significant the role it plays in the global market. However, the disruptions caused by the pandemic magnified some of the vulnerabilities of this industry and present new challenges. Coupled with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, other factors currently driving pressure to organizations are the increasing demand for integration of sustainability across operations, the growing e-commerce industry, and changing trends.

The pandemic highlighted the urgency to embrace digital innovations and automation in order to sustain business operation, driving organizations to ramp up their investments on smart technologies.

In addition, the increasing sustainability awareness of customers entails businesses to be environmentally conscious in their operations. Automation is now becoming one of the solutions to reduce carbon emission and achieve a sustainable business model.

On Savoye’s end, we are also prioritizing further development in innovative and sustainable supply chain solutions to address the challenges and the complexities of logistics operations. As a logistics

Alain Kaddoum has dedicated over six years of his professional career in the intralogistics industry in the Middle East, providing him with technical background on automation and warehouse management, which will be benefcial to Savoye’s daily operations.

Kaddoum holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Master’s degree in Automatics, Informatics, and Decisional Systems from INP Toulouse, France.

solution provider, we need to keep up with the challenges faced by our clients; hence we continue to ensure the right balance of investments in organization, processes and technology.

GSC: What opportunities and challenges confront Savoye going forward in the current landscape?

AK: The region offers a lot of expansion opportunities for us, especially as logistics and supply chain businesses in the region continue to adopt advanced solutions for more efficient operations.

These advanced solutions are key to addressing pressing industry challenges such as the complicated global logistics system that leads to higher charges for product storage, transfer, and management.

Take for instance, at Savoye, we help tackle the complexity of the logistics system through one of our ground-breaking solutions, the ODATIO software. This multipurpose solution includes warehouse and transport management systems designed to enhance communication and productivity.

Through ODATIO, we enable companies to manage their storage space, ensure the accurate tracking of product arrival and departure, and even calculate the amount of fuel required to ship the goods. Likewise, our order management systems, robotic assistance, and packing machines are helping address the industry’s technology requirements today.

GSC: What are your expansion plans for the company for the foreseeable future?

AK: On a global expansion point of view, the next challenge for Savoye will be to penetrate the ASEAN region. Besides, Savoye still pursues developing its portfolio of solutions for intralogistics. Savoye recently signed a partnership with company HAI Robotics to integrate their HAIPICK robots.

The partnership with HAI Robotics will allow Savoye to ideally complement its own range of solutions for goods-to-person order preparation.

Indeed, our X-PTS technology being more particularly relevant to meet high-performance needs and large volumes of orders to be processed, the HAIPICK solution, based on HAI Robotics robots, will be perfectly suited to smaller flow contexts.”

GSC: How signifcant is the principle of sustainability for Savoye?

AK: Sustainability is critical to Savoye’s overall success. This is why, as a logistics solutions provider, we aim to provide eco-friendly and reliable technologies to our clients such as smart packing machines that adapts the height of the cartons to the height of the content. That concretely means fewer trucks on the road!

Why is it necessary for supply chain groups to adopt sustainability

JIVARO packing machines.

as the new corporate mantra? Worldwide, sustainability is taking the center stage. It is here to stay, as such, industry players have to respond accordingly so as not to be left behind. They need to engage in collaborative efforts to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. Moreover, it has been proven that sustainable practices can help reduce cost, increase operational efficiency and, therefore, yield higher net profit.

Integrating more efficient and eco-friendly solutions are helping industry players to cut down on their GHG emission. Many are also upgrading their systems to incorporate modern solutions such as those provided by Savoye. During the first half of 2021, we witnessed an increase in the number of customers looking for eco-friendly technology products and software.

The rollout of our JIVARO packing machine, which adjusts the carton size based on its contents, has led to a fewer number of shipments for companies, thus reducing their transportation costs.

GSC: As a logistics solutions provider, how is Savoye responding to corporate social management?

AK: Savoye’s technological solutions for supply chain groups are helping businesses to reduce their carbon footprint, especially in terms of transport and management. Savoye’s Order Management Systems and ODATIO, both of which are transforming the rigid system of management in supply chain groups, as well as its packaging technology, the JIVARO machines, have been enabling companies to attain their sustainability goals.

GSC: How has the supply chain industry evolved over the years on the sustainability front?

AK: In the face of many environmental challenges such as climate change, the logistics and supply chain industry has stepped up its efforts to reduce its environmental impact and integrate sustainable practices into its processes.

From manual tasks and usage of different systems, businesses have embarked on the rapid adoption of technological software solutions to improve their processes and enhance organizational transparency.

Savoye introduces autonomous robotics in Middle East supply chain

HAIPICK solutions is a leading player in Autonomous Casehandling Robotics

Savoye, a leading global player in the design, manufacture, and integration of automated and robotics system in logistics and supply chains, has become a partner and integrator of HAI Robotics, world leader in Autonomous Casehandling Robotics (ACR) system.

The partnership is poised to bring HAIPICK solution in the Middle East, where there is a notable demand for autonomous technology solutions in the supply chain and logistics sectors.The HAIPICK system features autonomous and intelligent functions such as robots that pick and place boxes or bins on storage shelves up to five to seven meters high and able to carry up to eight loads to continuously feed goods-toperson picking stations. Further, the solution is flexible and works well even in extreme weather environment.

Invesment in Artifcial Intelligence

According to industry experts, majority of supply chain organizations will invest in Artificial Intelligence and digital software by 2024. Robotics solutions such as HAIPICK will help companies in the digital transformation across their supply chains, increasing productivity, automating processes, and improving their total operation.

Another prominent feature of the HAIPICK solution is that it can be customized to suit different application scenarios, allowing Savoye to integrate it ideally in their own range of solutions for goods-to-person order preparation.

In addition, the HAIPICK solution will further support Savoye’s X-PTS technology, a high- speed shuttle system for stocking and de-stocking lightweight load to enhance the processing of meet repetitive, timeconsuming, and large volumes of orders.

Innovative cutting edge solutions

“This partnership with HAI Robotics is another opportunity for us to offer an innovative and cutting-edge solution for supply chain organizations particularly in the Middle East,” affirmed Alain Kaddoum, Middle East Managing Director, Savoye.

“The HAIPICK solution complements our in-house solutions like goods-to-person X-PTS Pick Station, LED strip-based put-to-light shelves, INTELIS conveyors, and WMS and WES control software with HAI Robotics mobile robots, allowing us to deliver a distinct solution to our clients in the region,” he continued.

AI and smart software solutions are taking over the supply chain sector and is also increasing competition. Logistics solutions providers like Savoye are establishing their mark in addressing the demand for such unique solutions and opportunities in the market, a press communiqué concluded.

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