GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN DECEMBER 2020

December 2020 Issue 75

ENHANCING THE BUSINESS OF LOGISTICS

Swisslog Driving Logistics Automation SOHAR

Oman’s Premier Gateway

Tristar Group

Stellar Performance

Vaccine Logistics Bracing for the Big Break

RAISING THE BAR WELCOME TO SMARTIST, OUR NEW HIGH-TECH FACILITY IN ISTANBUL - THE LOGISTICS CENTRE OF THE WORLD. WE'RE ALSO RAISING THE BAR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND CUSTOMER-FOCUS, MOVING TOWARDS OUR GOAL OF BECOMING THE WORLD'S LEADING AIR CARGO BRAND.

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     

Rapid strides in Logistics Automation SIGNATURE MEDIA FZ LLE P. O. Box 49784, Dubai, UAE Tel: 04 3795678 Email: info@signaturemediame.com Exclusive Sales Agent Signature Media LLC P.O. Box 49784, Dubai, UAE Publisher: Jason Verhoven jason@signaturemediame.com Editor: Malcolm Dias malcolm@signaturemediame.com Art Director: Johnson Machado johnson@signaturemediame.com Production Manager: Roy Varghese roy@signaturemediame.com

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It is abundantly clear that automation in warehouses and in distribution and fulfillment centres is now in high gear and there is no stopping this!

Covid-19 has accelerated the process and the push to automate warehouses and distribution centres is expected to grow exponentially as more companies look for ways to cope with social distancing rules, improve efficiencies, manage remote workforces and wrestle with emerging pandemicrelated challenges and protocols.

Swisslog has a track record for delivering data-driven and robotic solutions for logistics automation alongside reliable, modular service concepts. To get the inside track, Global Supply Chain conducted an exclusive, expansive interview with Dubai-based Alain Kaddoum, General Manager, Swisslog AG, for the low down on the company’s accomplishments, milestones and his vision for the future.

Elsewhere, we also engaged with Eugene Mayne, CEO, Tristar Group, for an overview of the company’s performance to date. The Group has demonstrated remarkable alacrity and resilience bucking the downward trend as is widely prevalent in the current Covid-19 context. We report on his insights and a first-person narrative of the Group’s feats in a highly challenging environment.

The pandemic is well and truly upon us and it now appears we are on the throes of a major vaccine breakthrough.

Multiple pharmaceutical companies and vaccine candidates in several countries have announced the emergence of the much longed for and sought-after ‘medical silver bullet.’

Following post-clinical trials, vaccine developers are now headed for vetting and examination by the regulators and then subject to approval, the roll out will begin.

As an immediate fallout, it is now imperative to deliver the vaccine to the healthcare institutions and hospitals across the globe—a task of gargantuan magnitude no doubt.

This has spawned a new strain of ‘vaccine logistics’ with several prominent stakeholders in the fray bracing for the distribution and supply of the remedy to communities across the world.

Also included in this edition, as always, is our regular news roundup; focus reports; industry articles and a series of appropriately sourced and well-curated thought leadership articles of interest for logistics and supply chain professionals.

Happy reading!

Malcolm Dias

Editor malcolm@signaturemediame.com

DECEMBER 2020 3

December 2020 Issue 75

20 Swisslog Middle East

A feature on the premier provider of automated logistics solutions.

06 NEWS 30 SOHAR Port & Freezone 32 Aviation Review 34 Etihad Airways 36 Tristar Group 41 dnata 42 Infor WMS

Up to date news of the Global Suppy Chain industry A Report Card on the Sultanate’s 50th Golden Anniversary National Day commemorations.

Frost & Sullivan reviews the state of the regional civil aviation industry.

There has been a major shakeup at the highest echelons of the airline.

Eugene Mayne, Group CEO, holds forth on the company’s attainments despite the odds.

New technologies are spurring new efficiencies at dnata.

Cloud WMS is changing the face of warehouse operations.

4 DECEMBER 2020

46 Vaccine Logistics 52 Workplace Changes-Post Covid 54 Supply Chain Resilience 56 ADNOC 58 Dubai CommerCity Partnership 59 SNC Lavalin 60 Leveraging AI

New distribution and delivery ecosystem is buzzing thanks to the discovery of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Six digital trends that will change the future of the region’s workplaces.

Seven key trends reinforcing the resilience of the Supply Chain Industry.

Recent new oil finds is boosting morale at the UAE’s National Oil Company.

Dubai CommerCity, Hellmann and DHL have engaged into a tripartite partnership.

The Group has launched a white paper to enhance project delivery in the GCC.

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence can help governments stem losses.

JAFZA reports growth in steel and construction sectors n Jebel Ali Port handled over 5mn metric tonnes (MT) of metal, steel and construction materials in 2019.

At an average, the port has handled around 4.5mn TEU from 2010 to 2019, which equates to 1bn MT until 2019. Over 50mn MT of general cargo has been handled from 2010 to 2019.

Additionally, JAFZA has witnessed significant growth in the steel, metal and construction segment in 2019, generating AED 13.9 billion.

Jebel Ali Port and JAFZA’s combined capacity and capabilities create DP World, UAE Region’s multimodal trade and logistics hub that connects traders and owners to over 3.5bn consumers. The recent growth and handling capacity underscores the Jebel Ali hub’s strength and competence to enable trade and support the metal, steel and construction segment.

“The construction sector is considered one of the main indicators of a nation’s economy and development. It is also one of the most important business segments in Jafza. We acknowledge its vital role in the regional and global economy,” asserted Mohammed Al Muallem, CEO & Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region and CEO, JAFZA. JAFZA also reported the safe transportation and discharge of

Jebel Ali Port and JAFZA support the region’s construction and steel industry. the Al Wasl dome, the largest 360-degree projection surface in the world, which will offer millions of visitors to the Expo 2020 Dubai an unparalleled visual experience.

JAFZA has attracted numerous local and global steel companies over the years, including Danube Building Materials, Conares Steel, Mammut, Nippon Steel, ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel, Baosteel and CNBM.

RSGT takes delivery of two STS Cranes and 10 Hybrid-RTGs n Jeddah Islamic Port’s Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) has

taken delivery of two state-of-the-art remote-controlled Ship-toShore (STS) cranes, and 10 hybrid-Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGs), as part of the latest steps in the planned expansion of Jeddah Port’s premier facility to double annual container throughput capacity to 5.2 million TEUs by 2023.

“This is another key milestone in RSGT’s commitment and continuous investment to enhance our world-class terminal services. As well as increase the efficiency and capability to meet the different levels of customer needs for next-generation vessels,” stated Jens Floe, CEO, RSGT. The new 65-ton twin-lift capacity STS cranes can accommodate the latest generation of Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) of 24,000+ TEU capacity, with a 70-meter reach and a 52-meter height. RSGT is the only terminal at the Port of Jeddah capable of accommodating the ULCS class’s mega-ships.

Manufactured by ZPMC in Shanghai, China, the new semiautomated STS cranes feature advanced technology such as remote control, Optical Character Scanning capability; chassis alignment, and automatic landing systems; vessel profiling, gantry, and trolley positioning systems; and intelligent status condition monitoring systems.

The new hybrid-RTGs will enhance environmentally sustainable terminal and yard operations by automatically switching to battery power from diesel power to optimize efficiency by reducing fuel consumption and harmful greenhouse gas emissions during container handling operations. .

6 DECEMBER 2020

Panshot of the STS cranes deployed at RSGT. By 2023, RSGT will deploy 24 Super Post-Panamax quay cranes, 67 Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGs), a press communiqué indicated.

Plans are underway for a total investment of US$ 1.7 billion on infrastructure, equipment, and improvements in line with RSGT’’s commitment to Jeddah’s future, ultimately increasing annual container throughput capacity to 8.8 million TEUs. “RSGT is the largest logistics gateway, and the largest container terminal, in Saudi Arabia, and on the Kingdom’s West coast Red Sea. “Our goal is to attract and growth the regional transshipment business through continuing providing world-class service to our customer’s vessels and hinterland supply chain,” affirmed Floe.

Emirates SkyCargo introduces Airbus A380 ‘mini-freighter’ charter operations

An Agility Double Trailer truck.

An Emirates SkyCargo freighter. n Emirates SkyCargo has started utilizing its Airbus A380 aircraft on select cargo charter operations to transport urgently required cargo across its network.

The first dedicated Emirates A380 ‘mini-freighter’ recently successfully transported medical supplies between Seoul and Amsterdam via Dubai.

Working collaboratively with the Engineering and Flight Operations teams within Emirates, the air cargo carrier has optimized the cargo capacity of the Airbus A380 to safely transport around 50 tonnes of cargo per flight in the belly-hold of the aircraft.

Emirates SkyCargo has introduced dedicated cargo operations on the A380 aircraft in response to the surge in the demand for air cargo capacity required for the urgent transportation of critical goods, including medical supplies for combating the pandemic in regions experiencing a second wave of the pandemic.

Emirates SkyCargo is working on further optimizing the capacity of its Airbus A380 aircraft through measures such as seat loading of cargo and has planned more dedicated cargo flights on aircraft for the month of November.

A leading player in the global air cargo industry with a destination network spread across six continents, Emirates SkyCargo has continued to introduce innovative cargo solutions in line with rapidly evolving market conditions since the start of the pandemic.

The freight division of Emirates offers a variety of options for cargo capacity and connectivity to best match its customers’ requirements.

Emirates SkyCargo operates dedicated cargo flights on its Boeing 777-F and its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft including 14 modified Boeing 777300ER passenger aircraft with seats removed from Economy Class for additional cargo volume.

Through its responsiveness and agility, the air cargo carrier has been able to maintain the flow of essential goods and trade across international markets during the pandemic, often providing a much required helpline to communities around the world, a press release concluded.

Agility Abu Dhabi invests in Double-Trailer trucks n Leading global logistics provider Agility is the first

logistics company in Abu Dhabi to operate doubletrailer trucks, which will improve operational efficiencies for its customers and reduce emissions by cutting the number of trips made.

Agility operates an extensive fleet of trailers in Abu Dhabi. About 50 of those are now double-trailer trucks.

Double trailers significantly reduce the number of trips required to haul cargo, decreasing overall wear and tear on tires and vehicles.

In the first six months of operation, Agility’s fleet management data demonstrates that double trailers reduce fuel use by 26% per container, eliminating about 2,500 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.

“In addition to being environmentally friendly, the double trailers will positively impact productivity and that is good for both Agility and our customers,” observed Houssam Mahmoud, CEO, Agility Abu Dhabi.

Acquiring the permit to operate double-trailer trucks took six months of proposals, trials, accident simulations, and safety demonstrations. Agility worked together with a local automotive distributor to develop the safest possible solution for the market, including Active Brake Assist 4, proximity control, and lane assist, indicated a corporate press statement.

In the UAE, Agility has an industry-leading safety record, linking driver incentive pay to safety, rather than speed of operations, and has voluntarily provided extensive third-party training on double trailers to ensure it maintains its excellent record.

DECEMBER 2020 7

DHL Express UAE partners with Creative971

Abu Dhabi Ports and DNV GL ink MoU to transform Emirate’s maritime ecosystem

Captain Maktoum Al Hoqani, Chief Corporate Authority Officer, ADP, and Remi Eriksen, sign an MoU to transform the emirate’s maritime ecosystem.

n DHL Express UAE has partnered with Creative971 to offer e-commerce businesses world-class shipping, design and development solutions as part of creating a comprehensive end-to-end customer experience, according to a corporate press release.

This comes as part of DHL’s commitment towards enabling SMEs and global brands to build their e-commerce presence in the Middle East, in line with Dubai’s vision to become the regional leader in e-commerce activity.

“Our partnership with Creative971 demonstrates DHL’s continued commitment to delivering value to our e-commerce customers by supporting them in their expansion to Global markets,” commented Geoff Walsh, Country Manager of DHL Express UAE. 8 DECEMBER 2020

Creative971 currently works with SMEs, local & international brands to provide a host of services to aspiring local and international brands in the Middle East, from strategy to building, to ongoing optimization of offerings, the press communiqué stated.

“We’ve established a partnership with DHL Express as global market leader in the logistics industry in order to offer seamless solutions to our merchants and provide a robust operational process for our customers’ business operations,” remarked Julia Jackle, Co-Founder and CEO, Creative971.

Creative971 is the leading Shopify and Shopify Plus full-service expert agency in the Middle East, offering its expertise to enhancing e-commerce on Shopify and Shopify Plus within the region.

n Abu Dhabi Ports has signed an MoU with DNV GL, the

world’s largest consultancy of independent maritime and energy experts, to accelerate the sustainable development of Abu Dhabi’s maritime ecosystem.

Under the terms of the agreement, both companies agree to work together in advancing the digital transformation and further economic development of Abu Dhabi’s maritime sector, through the deployment of leadingedge innovations including autonomous technology, AI, as well as logistics and supply-chain authentication based on blockchain.

The partnership also creates opportunities to encourage Emirati graduates to pursue a career in Abu Dhabi’s maritime trade ecosystem by offering research and development opportunities in the field of decarbonisation, such as alternative fuels and renewable energy usage.

“Abu Dhabi Ports’ strategic partnership with DNV GL ensures our emirate elevates its status as a world-leading maritime centre in the years ahead,” observed Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports.

“Digitalization and decarburization are important themes in shaping a maritime industry that are future fit, and by working together we will maximise the impact,” commented Remi Eriksen, CEO and Group President, DNV GL.

DP World and DHL to build sprawling warehouse at the London Gateway Logistics Park n Work has begun on a new 482,000sqft warehouse for DHL Supply Chain at DP World London Gateway.

In a joint enterprise, DHL will construct a brand-new bespoke facility in London Gateway’s Logistics Park. Work to prepare the plot is underway and on completion, DHL will lease the facility from DP World London Gateway.

The 42m high bay warehouse will feature 36m of clear internal eaves height and boast an internal volume equivalent to 645 Olympic swimming pools.

The facility will be completed to a BREEAM Outstanding rating and will be fully automated, ready for operation in early 2023.

Full planning permission

for the new warehouse was received in just 24 days through London Gateway’s unique Local Development Order. When completed, the facility will be the largest single unit at London Gateway’s Logistics Park.

“DHL will benefit from

the right location, the right infrastructure and the right technology to serve Greater London and the South East over the long term,”asserted Oliver Treneman, Park Development Director, DP World London Gateway.

The DP World DHL Gateway Complex.

“Our Logistics Park is the perfect choice for businesses like DHL looking to save time and instill a level of resilience within their supply chains,”remarked Jeremy Cracknell, Senior Property Development Manager, DP World London Gateway.

RTA announces arrival of all new 50 Dubai Metro trains n Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman

of the Board of Executive Directors, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced the arrival of all the 50 new Dubai Metro trains.

Fifteen of these trains are designated for serving Expo 2020, and the remaining 35 trains are meant to improve the level of service of the existing Dubai Metro.

“Seats in the new trains are transversal in the Gold Cabin and longitudinal in both the Silver and the Women & Children Cabins. This redistribution of seats enables the increase of each metro train capacity by 8% from 643 riders to 696 riders,” commented Al Tayer.

The new carriages are configured to suit the use of people of determination and the smooth entry and exit of riders. Seats were redistributed at the two sides of the train and the gangway connecting between carriages has been widened.

The exterior shape of the new Dubai Metro trains was left unchanged to maintain the design identity of the Dubai Metro and its familiar colours to the public,” explained Al Tayer.

The new trains are deployed at the Dubai Metro Depots at Al Rashidiya and Jebel Ali. RTA is currently conducting operational tests of trains on Route 2020 of the Dubai Metro Red Line. Tests consist of four phases.

Phase 1 constitutes ‘Static Tests’, where a motionless metro carriage is placed on the track for carrying out a series of tests including communication systems, automated train control systems, electrical and power supply system among other tests.

Dubai Metro has acquired new trains.

Phase 2 is the ‘Dynamic Tests’, which covers a series of onboard tests on a train in motion. Tests on the rolling stock cover electrical motors, brake systems, Phase 3 relates to ‘Operational Tests’ to verify the system’s reliability and stability. These tests are key phases of the project and start after the completion of tests and the integration of the entire systems.

Phase 4 constitutes ‘Operational Trials’ conducted by the metro operator. It aims at verifying the readiness of the operator before the start of the actual operation of the service.

DECEMBER 2020 9

Amazon in growth mode in UAE n Ahead of its global flagship event White

Friday, Amazon announced that it has invested in strengthening its operations in the UAE to ensure a smarter, faster, and more consistent experience for its customers and sellers, the company stated in a press communiqué.

Spread across three key pillars: delivery infrastructure, job creation, and technology, the capital investments are well-timed for peak shopping season.

Amazon increased its storage capacity by over 45% across its fulfillment network and opened a state-of-the-art new delivery station in the UAE, creating more than 2,000 permanent and seasonal jobs. The company now has more than 2.4mn cubic feet of storage capacity across its network and third-party partners.

Amazon is leveraging its 20+ years of global technology innovation to create more efficient processes for customers and associates in the UAE. Global technologies seamlessly enhance the delivery process from sort centers and delivery stations to associate journeys, resulting in a smooth customer experience, the press note continued.

Amazon’s advanced logistics systems and technology delivery app helps drivers optimize their delivery route providing a seamless road experience.

“Amazon’s investment in strengthening operations reflects our long-term commitment to delivering a world-class customer experience for our customers and partners in the UAE,” affirmed Prashant

Bahri signs five-year framework agreement with the Presidency of State Security n Bahri recently announced the signing of a SAR 300mn (US$

80mn) five-year framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Presidency of State Security (PSS).

Under the terms of this agreement, which encompasses various internal and external sea, air, and land transport and freight services, Bahri will serve as the official carrier for the Presidency of State Security and all its divisions.

The agreement was signed by the Saleh Al-Dabbasi, Deputy Head of State Security for Financial Affairs and Support Services, and Eng. Abdullah Aldubaikhi, CEO, Bahri, in the presence of the Abdulaziz Al-Howairini, Head of the Presidency of State Security, and Mohammed Al-Sarhan, Chairman, Bahri, and officials from both parties.

Al-Howairini praised Bahri’s leading role in serving different government and private sectors, emphasizing the importance of cooperation to achieve the aspirations of the Kingdom’s leadership and fulfil the objectives of Saudi Arabian Vision 2030.

“This deal confirms the trust that Bahri has earned in the fields of logistics and transportation, and this agreement also reflects our commitment to strategic cooperation with different government 10 DECEMBER 2020

Saran, Director Operations-Amazon Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Since the start of the pandemic, Amazon has implemented more than 150 measures for employees, associates and drivers at its sites including new processes and space planning to ensure social distancing, additional sanitization stations, the provision of face coverings and daily temperature screenings.

Signing ceremony of the Bahri Framework Agreement with the Presidency of State Security.

institutions and agencies,” remarked Al-Sarhan.

Bahri has been operating in the maritime transport field for over 40 years with extensive experience in sea, air, and land transportation and freight. Bahri is one of the largest owners and operators of Very Large Crude-oil Carriers (VLCCs) in the world, and the largest owner of chemical tankers in the Middle East.

Aramex UK moves into new London Heathrow facility

n Aramex UK recently announced that it has moved its operations into a new warehouse facility in London Heathrow.

This facility will ensure Aramex UK deliver the utmost effective service during peak seasons and enable them to support an evergrowing customer base of leading brands, a press statement indicated.

The new 80,000+ sqft advanced, technology-driven facility is strategically

located at Poyle, a long established industrial and logistics epicenter minutes from Heathrow International airport.

The facility featuring some of the latest technologies is sure to improve overall operational accuracy and efficiency thus accommodating complex e-commerce and logistics business operations.

“The facility is equipped with innovative technologies for higher capacity, faster

sortation process and reduced transit times.

We believe this will allow us to fulfill growing customer demands for more rapid, efficient deliveries and manage a completely seamless and reliable fulfillment service,”affirmed Umar Butt, Country Manager, Aramex UK. The new facility includes a three-story office accommodation, which gives the company the flexibility to use the site as storage and distribution depot.

Air France KLM Group inaugurates new regional headquarters in Dubai n Air France KLM Group has formally inaugurated its new regional

headquarters at Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA).

The recent ceremony was held under the patronage and in the presence of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, DAFZA, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Dr. Mohammad Al Zarooni, Director General, DAFZA; Henri de Peyrelongue, Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, Air France-KLM; and Welmer Blom Senior Vice President, Middle East, Gulf and India, Air France-KLM. “The group’s selection of DAFZA is important as it will yield positive results for both sides. It will contribute to the growth of business and strengthen its operations in the region and abroad,” noted Dr. Al Zarooni.

“Our new offices provide not only flexibility and comfort for staff but also support our broader sustainability aims thanks to the building’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification with Gold Rating, helping reduce impact on the environment,” remarked Yeshwant Pawar, General Manager, Air France KLM, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan.

The new ‘Flex Work Office’ provides a more flexible and relaxed

The inauguration of the new Air France-KLM offices in DAFZA. workplace with fewer fixed stations and offices. This allows people more freedom to work in a more relaxed environment, as the team continues to move back safely to the office from the remote working format, a press communiqué concluded.

DECEMBER 2020 11

GT USA reports record productivity at the US Canaveral Cargo Terminal n GT USA, the US arm of Gulftainer, the privately owned independent port operator headquartered in the UAE, recently welcomed the M/V KARLINO, with its cargo of lumber, to its Canaveral Cargo Terminal (CCT).

Over a two-day period, CCT successfully discharged 5,104 bundles, the equivalent of 9,178 metric tons, which is the largest individual vessel of lumber volume received to date.

Despite adverse weather conditions and working with multiple single layer bundles, the entire Canaveral Cargo operations team managed to achieve CCT’s highest gross lumber productivity rating of 205.8 bundles or 370 metric tons per hour.

“I’m very proud of the entire Canaveral team: from crane operators, hatch men, dock workers, forklift operators, in fact everyone included in this operation, pulled together to safely discharge the KARLINO’s cargo in record time,” remarked Charles Menkhorst, CEO, Gulftainer.

The US market, including the Central Florida region, has witnessed rising demand for lumber in recent years, driving an upsurge in lumber imports through Port Canaveral.

Lumber being unloaded from the MV Karlino.

El Al Israel Airlines and Etihad Airways ink MoU n EL AL Israel Airlines, the national airline of Israel, and Etihad

Airways are set to explore deeper cooperation following the recent signing of a virtual Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The wide-ranging MoU covers scope to introduce joint codeshare services between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, as well as on the global flight networks beyond the two carriers’ hubs.

The MoU also contains plans for greater commercial cooperation in the fields of cargo, engineering, loyalty, destination management and the optimal use of pilot and cabin crew training facilities.

The MOU was signed ‘virtually’ by Tony Douglas, Group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, and Gonen Usishkin, CEO, El Al Israel Airlines.

“We look forward to examining ways in which the two flag carriers Etihad and El Al can work more closely together to improve 12 DECEMBER 2020

business operations and enhance the experience for our guests,” remarked Douglas.

“Following the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, we have been provided a great opportunity to examine the possibility of cooperation with Etihad Airways,” commented Usishkin.

Both carriers’ engineering and cargo divisions are also set to begin talks about greater cooperation. These discussions would look at optimizing MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) opportunities, as well as ways to increase volumes of freighter traffic flowing into and out of Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, and across the carriers’ combined networks.

Etihad Airways announced recently to commence daily services between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv from 28 March 2021.

Volvo to launch electric trucks in Europe in 2021 n Next year, hauliers in Europe will be able to order all-electric

Roger Alm, President, Volvo Trucks.

versions of Volvo’s heavy-duty trucks with a complete range of battery-electric trucks.

Volvo Trucks will offer a complete heavy-duty range with electric drivelines starting in Europe in 2021. Volvo Trucks’ massive drive towards electrification marks a major step forwards on the road to fossil-free transport.

Volvo Trucks is now running tests of the electric heavy-duty Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX trucks, which will be used for regional transport and urban construction operations in Europe.

These trucks will have a gross combination weight of up to 44 tonnes. Depending on the battery configuration the range could be up to 300 km. Sales will begin next year and volume production will start in 2022.

This means that from 2021 onwards Volvo Trucks will sell a complete range of battery-electric trucks in Europe for distribution, refuse, regional transport and urban construction operations.

“By rapidly increasing the number of heavy-duty electric trucks, we want to help our customers and transport buyers to achieve their ambitious sustainability goals. We’re determined to continue driving our industry towards a sustainable future,” remarked Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks

Microsoft and DHL conclude ‘Digital Difference in Supply Chain’ event n Microsoft and DHL recently jointly

held the ‘Digital Difference in Supply Chain’ event which activated a number of discussions, themed around how logistics businesses are driving digital transformation and the importance of this for the supply chain.

The event holds great value in exploring current issues, with the global supply chain facing challenges throughout the pandemic, and technology offering solutions to ensure continuity of sourcing and supply of goods and of markets.

A key focus of the event featured a panel discussion ‘The importance of datadriven supply chains for all industries,” attended by leading industry figures including Professor Richard Wilding OBE, Chair, The Centre for Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Cranfield School of Management, UK; Hendrik Venter, CEOMainland Europe, Middle East & Africa (MLEMEA) DHL Supply Chain; and Ralph Haupter, President, EMEA, Microsoft.

“Smart supply chains now have the ability to connect optimized forecasting through electronic signals which can deliver communication across the entire supply chain,” affirmed Haupter.

“It is through the course of this year that innovative approaches to supply chain continuity have come to the fore, as companies across the supply chain have all accelerated their pivot towards digital.

In particular, cloud and AI have proved essential tools to enhance the resilience of supply chains,” he asserted.

During the event, the panel discussed topics such as the globally importance of supply chain continuity during the pandemic, including health and safety considerations. Additionally, discussions expanded on areas including how e-commerce was accelerated due to the pandemic, with physical locations taking an impact and organizations needing to find new ways to connect their goods with their audiences outside of traditional stores.

Ralph Haupter, President, EMEA, Microsoft.

“Some experts define this period as an era for logistics channels and we believe there are mammoth considerations for the industry. Smart supply chains, fueled by data, are now helping to unlock higher service levels. This is optimizing costs and to enabling prediction modelling, as well as delivering faster response times,” noted Venter.

DECEMBER 2020 13

AquaChemie breaks ground on US$ 40mn Petrochemical Terminal at Jebel Ali Port n AquaChemie Middle East, a leading chemical sales and services company and part of the UAE-based AquaChemie Group recently broke ground on its strategic, world-class petrochemical terminal in DP World’s flagship, Jebel Ali Port, Dubai.

The AED 150mn (US$ 40mn) project will serve as a vital gateway, facilitating and boosting the growing petrochemical trade between manufacturers and end-users in the Middle East and globally, while also addressing the acute shortage of storage facilities for redistribution and lease for bulk chemicals in Jebel Ali Port.

The advanced specialized bulk storage terminal will have a total envisaged capacity of around 40,000cbm out of which 35,000cbm will be in bulk storage tanks and about 5,000cbm in ISO tanks and drums.

Scheduled for construction completion by early Q2-2022, the facility will be a turnkey and fully integrated distribution center capable of handling bulk imports and packed chemicals at high volume.

AquaChemie Middle East targets revenue of around US$ 400mn from the petrochemical terminal business in the next 7 years. This would form a substantial portion of the AquaChemie Group business.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new chemical terminal was attended by Mohammed Al Muallem, CEO and Managing Director, DP World, UAE region and CEO, JAFZA, and Abdulla Bin Damithan, Chief Commercial Officer, DP World, UAE Region, with others from DP World’s top management in addition to senior officials of AquaChemie Middle East.

AquaChemie Middle East has engaged Mott MacDonald, the

AquaChemie Mott MacDonald and DP World at the terminal’s ceremony. global engineering, management, and development consultancy, to undertake the project’s concept design, basic engineering, detailed engineering and PMC (Project Management Contract).

The key advantage of the 20,000sqm project is its strategic location - connected by four jetty pipelines - located only 500m from Jebel Ali Port Chemical Berth #4. The deep-water port is the flagship facility of DP World that has a portfolio of over 80 marine and inland terminals across six continents.

“This new petrochemical facility will make us a sizeable industry player, responsibly focused on Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE),” observed Subrato Saha, Co-Founder and Director, AquaChemie Middle East.

Raysut Cement holds ground-breaking ceremony for US$ 30mn Duqm Plant in Oman n Oman’s Raysut Cement Company

(RCC), the Sultanate’s largest cement manufacturer held a groundbreaking ceremony triggering the start of the construction of its new US$ 30mn grinding unit in Duqm in Oman.

The development of Duqm plant, a strategic expansion for the Muscat Stock Market-listed RCC will complement the company’s leadership in cement manufacturing adding another one million tonnes to the group output, taking the total to 7.4mn tonnes per annum.

“The groundbreaking is a milestone for RCC. It will contribute significantly to our ambitious capacity expansion targets of 10mn tonnes by 2022, expected to be further scaled up to 22mn tonnes in the near future,” remarked Joey Ghose, Group CEO, RCC. 14 DECEMBER 2020

“The new grinding unit will add more muscle to our capability to cater to the regional and global markets of RCC which continues to expand with new investments and acquisitions in Oman, Asia and East Africa,” commented Salim Bin Ahmed Bin Alawi Al Ibrahim, Acting Deputy Group CEO.

Raysut groundbreaking ceremony.

RCC’s latest acquisition was a majority takeover of LafargeHolcim’s cement terminal at Thilafushi Islands in Maldives in October this year. Last year, the company had also announced investing US$ 40mn in a new grinding unit in Berbera, Somaliland in East Africa.

FedEx Express strengthens trade connectivity between the UAE and Israel n FedEx Express has launched a new route between the UAE and Israel.

The route will strengthen trade between the two countries and support customers, particularly small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), with their international expansion.

Customers shipping to Israel will now be able to choose from a range of services tailored to their different needs, depending on their business requirements. One of them is FedEx International Priority®, the fastest shipping option available to customers in the UAE, according to a corporate press communique.

SMEs account for approximately 99% of businesses in the UAE and Israel. The leading air and ground networks, and comprehensive service portfolio of FedEx Express will support a stronger commercial link between the UAE and Israel, and enable companies to gain faster access to markets and new customers within the two countries thanks to a seamless movement of goods, the press statement continued.

The UAE and Israel recently signed a peace accord to normalize relations, which will explore economic cooperation and investments in sectors such as logistics, aviation, agricultural technology, green energy, and food and water security.

Within the next three to five years, bi-lateral trade between the UAE, one of the top three global re-export hubs, and Israel is expected to reach US$ 4bn annually, the press note concluded citing a Reuter’s report.

Tadweer launches marine waste vessel in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region n Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center

(Tadweer) recently launched a marine waste vessel in Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi as part of the Centre’s continued efforts to enhance the collection, transportation and treatment of solid waste.

The facility will be used to transfer different types of solid waste from Dalma Island in Al Dhafra Region to Ruwais landfill on a regular basis.

The first of its kind facility in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi articulates Tadweer’s continued efforts to protect the environment and ensure the public health and safety in line with the highest international standards.

Compared to traditional methods, the vessel can accommodate large-sized waste containers, doubling the Center’s capacity to transfer huge amounts of waste from different areas of the island.

The 79-ton vessel is approximately 26m long, and is operated under the supervision of a permanent crew comprising six members including two

Tadweer launches marine waste vessel in Al Dhafra Region. the challenges posed by the increasing captains, a mechanic, an electrician and amounts of waste,” asserted Dr Salem Al two assistants.

Kaabi, Director General, Tadweer.

The vessel will operate six times per Tadweer is the key government entity week, carrying a total 200 tons of waste in responsible for all activities related to a highly professional and environmentally the development of waste management friendly manner. services in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, “The opening of our first marine waste including the collection, transportation, vessel comes as part of Tadweer’s treatment and disposal of waste in a safe, continued efforts to develop an integrated efficient and economical manner. waste management system to address DECEMBER 2020 15

Maqta Gateway and TruKKer to collaborate on Digital Truck booking services

Gaurav Biswas and Dr Noura Al Dhaheri

n Maqta Gateway, the digital arm of Abu Dhabi Ports, and TruKKer, the region’s first and largest digital truck booking marketplace, based in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), recently signed an agreement to digitally transform truck logistics through Maqta Gateway’s digital logistics solution platform, ‘MARGO’.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) enables Maqta Gateway to fully integrate MARGO with TruKKer’s expansive fleet of onboarded truck drivers and trucks situated across the Middle East.

“Our collaboration with TruKKer streamlines the complex needs of trade across the entire supply chain by leveraging MARGO and TruKKer’s best-in-class logistics solutions to better meet the demand of those who seek to trade goods and services with the UAE,” emphasized Dr Noura Al Dhaheri, Head of Digital Cluster, Abu Dhabi Ports and CEO, Maqta Gateway.

At the same time, Maqta Gateway will be able to provide a higher quality of service by ensuring all onboarded trucks and drivers are fully licensed and approved on a case-by-case basis in line with the highest international standards.

“By working closely with Abu Dhabi Ports’ Maqta Gateway, our freight customers and stakeholders will be able to readily access a wider variety of cargo movement solutions including line haul in a seamless manner and with competitive prices,” observed Gaurav Biswas, Founder and CEO, TruKKer. Launched in 2019, MARGO is a digital marketplace for innovative logistics services including cargo clearance and delivery solutions, enabling consumers importing personal goods from anywhere around the world through Khalifa Port or Abu Dhabi International Airport to clear and have their goods delivered directly to their homes anywhere in the UAE. 16 DECEMBER 2020

JAFZA and Etihad Credit Insurance partner to offer credit and export financing solutions

JAFZA-Etihad Credit Insurance collaboration.

n Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) and DP World recently

showcased to its customers the trade payments protection solutions it has rolled out in partnership with Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal export credit company.

During the webinar titled, ‘Etihad Credit Insurance Collaboration: Trade with Protection’, JAFZA-based companies were given a walk-through of ECI’s solutions as part of the Free Zone’s drive to ensure the growth of businesses, while lowering the cost of export, by reducing the risk of non-payments, and funding, by lowering banking pre and post-shipment funding in the current unprecedented economic climate JAFZA has introduced ECI’s tailored solutions to support UAE-based businesses and increase trade by providing them with protection against commercial and non-commercial risks. More than 8,000 companies in the free zone are set to directly benefit from the strategic collaboration of JAFZA and ECI, giving export businesses a major boost and a competitive edge in the regional and global markets.

The shared objectives of ECI and JAFZA represent the vision of the leadership to establish the UAE as a preferred global hub for exports. The Free Zone is working closely with ECI to take this partnership forward and reinforce their commitment to business continuity with confidence.

In addition, ECI has issued more than 1,600 revolving credit guarantees for a total exposure amount of AED1.2 bn (US$ 327mn) in the first half of 2020, which is equivalent to AED 4bn (US$ 1.089bn) guaranteed non-oil trade coverage.

Quiqup acquires over US$ 5.5mn funding led by Delivery Hero n Quiqup, the UAE-based on-demand and same day delivery tech startup, raised over US$ 5.5mn in its most recent funding round which was led by Delivery Hero and supported by strategic shareholders, Cedar Mundi, JOBI Capital, and Transmed.

The company will use this capital to further expand their AI driven logistics infrastructure that enables all businesses to offer best-in-class, fast delivery services to their customers.

In related news, Iyad Kamal, logistics veteran and ex-COO, Aramex, has joined Quiqup as a strategic advisor.“Same-day delivery is the next frontier in e-commerce logistics and Quiqup has what it takes to crack the model,” asserted Kamal.

Launched in 2017, Quiqup was established as a tech scale-up building a decentralized, AI-powered, last-mile logistics infrastructure to offer on-demand and same-day delivery services for retailers and restaurants of all sizes. Quiqup anticipates that consumers will maintain their new digital purchasing habits regardless of the long-term side effects of the pandemic, the company revealed in a press communiqué.

Last-mile delivery has become much more complex with the increasing urbanization of our cities. The problem Quiqup committed to solve is to offer quicker and more efficient delivery thanks to a network of professional couriers in constant motion.

“Inspired by our success and the projected long-term trends of the space, we are now gearing up for a new phase of expansion to champion on-demand and sameday urban delivery across the GCC region,” affirmed Bassel El Koussa, Co-founder and CEO, Quiqup.

Bassel El Koussa, Co-founder and CEO, Quiqup.

Solutions for a healthy world Tranzone operates a state-of-the-art 3PL warehouse in Jebel Ali Free Zone. We have partnerships with the leading pharmaceutical, medical device and animal health companies around the world.

Healthcare Logistic Services: Air Freight Sea Freight Land Transportation Value Added Services Warehousing & Distribution Return logistics Documentation Tranzone FZCO (Member of Banaja Holdings)

Jebel Ali Free Zone (South) Plot No: S20129 P.O Box : 262955, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tel : +971 4 811 0000

Web: www.tranzone.ae DECEMBER 2020 17

Swissport grows its presence in Saudi Arabia n Signs up Prince Naïf Bin Abdulaziz International Airport (ELQ) in Central Saudi Arabia Swissport International has added Al-Qassim to its growing network in the Middle East. Recently, a first flight of Pakistan International Airlines has been handled successfully at Prince Naïf Bin Abdulaziz International Airport (ELQ) in Central Saudi Arabia.

With the handling of a first Pakistan International Airlines flight arriving from Multan, Pakistan, Swissport has added Al-Qassim International Airport, Saudi Arabia, to its growing network in the Middle East.

“We are delighted to provide our quality aviation services to Pakistan International Airlines,” remarked Gerold Tumulka, CEO, Swissport Middle East.

Prince Naïf Bin Abdulaziz International Airport at Al-Qassim is located 350 km north of Riyadh, between the cities of Buraydah and Qassim. The region is one of the top three agricultural areas and production facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Swissport has been present in Saudi Arabia since 2016 when it started its operations in Riyadh and Jeddah. Dammam joined the network in 2017. Swissport has since gradually developed its business from a greenfield start-up into an established organization with a broad customer base of regional and international carriers.

Besides Saudi Arabia, Swissport Middle East is also operating in Oman together with its partner Al Jarwani Group, which holds 30% of the joint venture.

IATA DG Alexandre de Juniac to step down

18 DECEMBER 2020

n The International Air Transport

Association (IATA) announced that Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO, will step down from his role at the Association effective 31 March 2021.

De Juniac made known his intention to step down from the Association several months ago which enabled a search process to facilitate a smooth leadership transition. The IATA Board of Governors will recommend to the 76th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 24 November 2020 the appointment of Willie Walsh, former CEO, International Airlines Group (IAG), to become IATA’s eighth Director General from 1 April 2021.

“Over the last years IATA has strategically increased its relevance as the voice of the global airline industry. This has been evident in the Covid-19 crisis. IATA has set the course to restore air connectivity amid

the pandemic with systematic pre-departure testing. We are well into preparations to fulfil critical vaccine distribution needs. Now is the right time to hand over IATA’s leadership for the long process of recovery,” explained de Juniac.

De Juniac joined IATA in September 2016 from Air France-KLM where he was Chairman and CEO. “Alexandre has led our industry in extraordinary times.

Under his leadership IATA has become a stronger and an even more relevant organization. I am convinced that Willie will be a great Director General for IATA,” noted Carsten Spohr, Chair of the IATA Board of Governors and CEO of Lufthansa.

Resolutions will be presented to the 76th IATA AGM thanking de Juniac for his service to IATA as Director General and CEO and proposing Walsh as the next IATA Director General, a press communiqué concluded.

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SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

In the forefront of equipping and energizing logistics automation and materials handling Swisslog demonstrates leadership in logistic-related systems, new solutions and innovation

20 DECEMBER 2020

Swisslog’s robot-based solutions combine KUKA robots and Swisslog’s intralogistics knowhow. They are designed to reduce operational costs and improve warehouse efficiency.

SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Swisslog delivers datadriven and robotic solutions for logistics automation alongside reliable, modular service concepts whilst collaborating with forwardthinking companies, as a testimony of its commitment to setting new standards in warehouse automation to provide future-proof products and solutions, affirms Alain Kaddoum, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East, in an exclusive interview.

H

eadquartered in Buchs-Aargau, Switzerland and with a local office in Dubai, Swisslog with its strong Swiss roots and legacy, is a subsidiary of the German robots manufacturer KUKA which has a workforce of more than 14,000 people working across the globe.

Swisslog’s range of services includes consulting, concept studies, project implementation, customer service, cuttingedge technologies and software, all tailored to the specific requirements of a business.

We stand for innovation, quality, industryleading software and robotics technologies developed in-house.

To obtain insights and get better acquainted on the extent and eminence of its automation products and services quality, Global Supply Chain got close up and personal with Dubai-based Alain Kaddoum, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East, for a wide-ranging interview and the lowdown on the company’s automated solutions in multiple fields related to logistics and supply chain continuum.

Global Supply Chain (GSC): Give us a sense of the size and scale of your current association with the logistics & supply chain industry in the Middle East?

Alain Kaddoum (AK): Swisslog Middle East is actively and intimately associated with several companies in the Middle East

Alain Kaddoum, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East DECEMBER 2020 21

SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Frost & Sullivan Market 2019 Middle East Best Practices Award for its transformational growth and leadership across automation in warehouse management

Swisslog’s AutoStore technology for RoboStores offers maximum storage capacity, flexibility and scalability for today’s warehouse.

Aziz Al-Harbi, COO of RoboStores with Alain Kaddoum.

22 DECEMBER 2020

Accomplishments of Swisslog Middle East during the past five years back, under the stewardship of Alain Kaddoum, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East • The footprint of Swisslog Middle East has expanded in the region. Leading the Swisslog team in the Middle East, Kaddoum has to date signed a total of over 15 projects in the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Kuwait with a value of over US$ 120 million.

• Expanded the local business, strategically growing the team and helping more and more businesses take advantage of automated logistics • Driving thought leadership in data- and robotic-driven automation and educating the industry on benefits of future-focused solutions in logistics automation by showcasing Swisslog global solutions at key Middle East industry forums and events, participating at trade webinars in the UAE and across the region being the voice for the industry • We were awarded Frost & Sullivan Market 2019 Middle East Best Practices Award for its transformational growth and leadership across automation in warehouse management • Delivered the latest robot-based warehouse system in retail and e-commerce for Axiom Telecom in the UAE revealing the project at Materials Handling 2019 expo • Etisalat, the leading telecom group partnered with Swisslog for the first time at GITEX to physically display its highly efficient robot-based order processing solution ItemPiQ, designed for repeated, reliable picking of a wide range of items to fulfill fast delivery of orders at low operating costs • Swisslog is in the process of delivering a fully automated cold storage warehouse with distribution logistics for Almarai in the Middle East. Warehouse management solutions to fully automate the intralogistics systems and to address the requirements of the F&B and retail market • Swisslog was invited to showcase its latest advanced technological solutions at Dubai’s Museum of the Future preexhibition

SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Swisslog’s PowerStore is ideal for manufacturing businesses, especially those in the fast moving consumer goods and food and beverage industries.

– in the UAE and Saudi Arabia but due to confidentiality clause we will not be able to reveal further their identity or the details of the projects. The projects currently in the pipeline are E-Grocery, E-Commerce, Retail and Government sector.

In the last year, we have executed some large-scale projects in the Middle East, such as automation for Almarai and Mai Dubai and a project in the banking sector to name a few that we can talk about.

Also, we have successfully delivered robot-based warehouse system in retail and e-commerce for Axiom Telecom in the UAE and installed a flexible and scalable automated warehouse management system to achieve automated fulfilment operations for Maison-B-More and RoboStores, one of the largest boutique fashion retailers based in the UAE. Maison-B-More and RoboStores is renowned for its expertly edited fashion and stores more than 60 designer labels from across the world, including Roberto Cavalli, Just Cavalli, Dirk Bikkembergs, Philipp Plein, Iceberg, Escales Paris and many more.

To address customer demand, the luxury fashion retailer supply-chain is managed and operated by RoboStores. The company dispatches items daily with stringent cut-off times for morning and afternoon dispatches, even small inefficiency in

the process can have a major impact on productivity and on the capacity of RoboStores.

Faced with limited space and increasing inventory, RoboStores needed a way to standardise its day-to-day picking across its warehouse, while ensuring high levels of security, flexibility, and efficiency.

With the complexities of the supply management chain, RoboStores needed a sophisticated automated warehouse solution to match the reputation of its brand – one that could efficiently track, stock, pick orders and increase its distribution volume and the bottom line.

Swisslog’s AutoStore technology came as an ideal solution for RoboStores. AutoStore offers maximum storage capacity, flexibility and scalability for today’s warehouse.

The AutoStore warehouse solution implemented is a unique and simple solution that is composed of a structural grid, delivery robots and storage bins to quickly process small parts orders.

It provides better use of available space than any other automated system thanks to its unique design that enables direct stacking of bins on top of each other and storage of multiple SKUs in a single bin.

GSC: How is Swisslog currently faring and how does that compare with 2019?

What is your outlook for 2021?

AK: Swisslog Middle East has been receiving a lot of enquiries from businesses on how they can integrate automation technology in their existing infrastructure in a very convenient and efficient manner without disruption to their current business processes, to remain viable and profitable, and ultimately create the future.

These requests are mainly coming from E-grocery and E-commerce sector in the UAE, KSA and Kuwait. The team at Swisslog has been working non-stop consulting with retailers, customizing recommendations for each specific project and implementing automation systems since the pandemic began.

A modular robotic automation system can be deployed in 8 to 12 months for small to medium size solutions, delivering a fast return on investment and a longer useful life due to their ability to adapt to change; taking a modular approach to roll out automation can provide important gains earlier and ease the impact of transition – this is our main focus of support to customers now – helping them adapt and be future-ready.

The Middle East is gearing up to take advantage of digitization in a big way, and we are seeing companies in the region making real investments for real results DECEMBER 2020 23

SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

today. Swisslog’s aim will be to continue with its efforts to help businesses address the strong need to shape the future development of logistics automation.

The time is ripe for automation in the Middle East. Multinational companies in particular will now further improve their supply chain management and establish robust disaster management mechanisms.

GSC: What are Swisslog’s short and longterm expansion plans for the region?

AK: Swisslog will continue to demonstrate leadership in new products and innovation aimed at embedding efficiency, intelligence, and competitive advantages into warehouse logistics operations, especially for businesses that operate in retail, e-commerce, e-grocery, pharmaceutical, F&B and governmental industries.

The ease with which our solutions can be implemented without affecting the existing infrastructure is one of our major USP’s and it will definitely help us expand into various regions in the Middle East.

GSC: What are the opportunities in store and challenges confronting Swisslog in the region going forward?

AK: Covid-19 dramatically changed customer behaviour and has presented a new set of challenges for the supply chain Using the Smart Glasses, service engineers in a centralized service center can connect with on-site engineers and perform diagnostics and troubleshooting through the eyes of the on-site personnel.

24 DECEMBER 2020

industry.

Today a lot of businesses suffer from many challenges. Rising costs, changing consumer habits, increased operating expenses, loss in sales due to limited fulfillment capabilities add greater pressure on businesses. Though many businesses understand that, not many invest in changes. Reports show that a lot of companies are still afraid of using the latest technologies in their business operations as they assume, they are too expensive but soon this perception is going to change.

A recent survey by PwC indicated CFOs across various sectors are increasingly focused on the benefits of automation within supply chain functions as they exit the initial shock period of the coronavirus pandemic and plan forward to diminish

GCC countries’ future development plans as the region’s logistics market is set to grow at a rate of 7.3% CAGR to a value of $66.3 billion by 2020

disruption from future crises or even subsequent waves of Covid-19.

The automation market across the region is set for a paradigm shift due to digitalisation initiatives by end-user industries and the global warehouse automation market is set to grow more than 2x from 2019 to 2025, on the back of strong macro and industry growth drivers of e-commerce fulfillment and increasing warehousing labour costs.

Not surprisingly, automation is central to several GCC countries’ future development plans as the region’s logistics market is set to grow at a rate of 7.3% CAGR to a value of $66.3 billion by 2020.

GSC: How is the surge of E-commerce impacting your business?

AK: Small and big attainments in automation have made e-commerce of 2020 unrecognizable from the ecommerce of 1991. E-commerce is the fastest growing segment in the global economy. According to a recent report by Adobe Analytics, online sales this November and December are forecast to surge 33% year over year to a record US$ 189 billion.

While this means tremendous opportunity for both multi-channel retailers and pureplay e-commerce companies, competition has never been more intense. Meeting the challenges of omni-channel fulfillment operations is compounded by consumer expectations for speed, individuality and convenience, forcing retailers to rapidly adjust their supply chain concepts.

Rapid growth in e-commerce is expected to increase the demand for modern warehouses with advanced IT and digital solutions. Moreover, an increasing number of FMCGs, which are typically a significant contributor to economic growth in the region, are expected to increase the demand for modern warehouses. This is likely to transform warehousing services in the region, specifically in areas of inventory management, cargo loading, order picking and real-time monitoring of stocks.

Some of the other trends we are witnessing are robotics; focus on supply chain visibility and orchestration; and smart last-mile fulfillment. Technology will continue to be a truly disruptive force in how the modern supply chain is shaped, defined, and explored.

From basic improvements like streamlining operations and increasing

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SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Swisslog’s WMS SynQ covers the full spectrum of your organization’s supply chain needs to optimize your warehouse operation in the era of Industry 4.0.

process efficiency to fully automating delivery trucks, technology is enabling much smarter, simpler supply chain management. In the future, companies will leverage new and innovative technologies to create a self-orchestrated supply chain and previously unimaginable efficiencies The flexible and modular technologies and software in Swisslog’s Retail & E-Commerce portfolio are specifically designed to meet the dynamic needs of retail, e-commerce and multichannel logistics.

Retailers can increase the speed of order fulfillment, improve order accuracy and effectively manage an ever-increasing number of SKUs with Swisslog’s automated systems for e-commerce. Order fulfillment rates can be up to five times faster than manual systems.

Integrating automation technology and by using robots to pick and pack online orders, e-commerce retailers can bet lower prices and faster fulfilment, in turn result in accelerating demand for online shopping and creating meaningful opportunities to take market share from their competitors.

GSC: What trends do you foresee in intralogistics automation for the region?

26 DECEMBER 2020

Swisslog wins Award for ‘Digital Transformation & Innovation Solution’ Company recognized for its SynQ Software VR Training App at Seamless Middle East 2020 Swisslog recently won the prestigious award at Seamless Middle East in the category best Digital Transformation & Innovation Solution of the Year for its SynQ Warehouse Management Software (WMS) Application: Virtual Reality Training Manager.

The announcement was done as part of 2020 Seamless Awards, which coincides with Seamless trade expo and took place virtually this year.

SynQ stands for Synchronized Intelligence and is a modular, service-oriented software platform for warehouse management and material flow orchestration. It provides precise functionality needed to optimize warehouse operations.

The Virtual Reality Training Manager has been implemented to overcome the onthe-job training required for pickers within a warehouse environment by moving the training process into a virtual world.

“Ready-to-use innovation is the backbone of our operations, and the Seamless award is a testament of our commitment to continuously innovate competitive technology to meet the demand of today’s omni-channel storage and distribution,” explained Alain Kaddoum, General Manager, Swisslog Middle East.

Picking and palletizing is one of the most time-consuming processes and accounts for up to 60% of the operational costs in warehouses and distribution centres. The Swisslog VR Training Manager application introduces a new approach to training for CarryPick solutions, which increases the efficiency of workers in warehouse picking operations.

The Swisslog Virtual Reality Training Manager provides two additional key advantages to customers who are either just starting with SynQ as their WMS solution, or for existing SynQ customers who have new or seasonal staff that need to be onboarded quickly into a live warehouse environment, a press communiqué concluded.

SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

AK: Automation processes can be devised to tackle a lot of challenges caused by Covid-19. For example, during the pandemic the local grocery stores are witnessing rapid surge in e-grocery sales and the industry is throttled by persistent labour shortages, traditional fulfilment models, and last-mile delivery challenges. Automation can help grocers monitor the inventories in real-time and automatically notify customers once the product is back in stock.

The automated warehouse solutions and the right automation technology can help grocers move their e-grocery fulfilment beyond manual picking. Other important benefits during such challenging times is energy-saving options for businesses, smart execution of processes with higher efficiency but less spend on utilities and other crucial elements for any business.

Automation solutions for grocers can and should be customized for each business to fit their e-fulfilment strategy in the best way. When every second is valuable, such a modernization project can be actually executed on a side without disruption to the main operations, which allow business to continue its work upskilling at the same time.

Automation has proven to be a sustainable and future-focused solution and it is becoming a competitive differentiator

that can help companies uplift their operations without affecting business continuity while offering the smooth and organized experience for customers.

GSC: Explain the Swisslog-KUKA association with regard to ownership and shareholding?

AK: In December 2014, KUKA, a leading global supplier in the fields of robotics, automation and systems engineering, acquired Swisslog. Since August 2015, Swisslog is operating as a separate business unit as part of the KUKA Group. KUKA Aktiengesellschaft is an international group and its shares are traded on all German Stock Exchanges.

GSC: As General Manager, what is your long-term vision for Swisslog in the region? Where do you hope to take the company hereon?

AK: My aim is to continue the efforts to help businesses address the strong need to shape the future development of logistics automation and also to strengthen further the local presence in order to meet our customer expectations and be geographically closer to them.

GSC: Briefly, what are key takeaways and broad observations of the fallout

of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic for Swisslog?

AK: With halted supply chains and blurred production timelines, the outbreak presented several challenges for companies across the globe as consumers prepared themselves for stocking up. Lack of staff due to the quarantines, isolated periods and shortage in transportation also led to serious issues that many labor-intensive companies struggled with their operations, particularly in the distribution and fulfillment centers.

The negative effect to the global flow of goods also bothered many organizations, especially industries where suppliers and distributors rely on single source markets which led to high risk of operations for them.

GSC: How is the onset of the pandemic impacting your local and regional operations?

AK: The team at Swisslog worked round the clock to support our customers as they push the limits of their supply chains to provide needed medical supplies, maintain the food supply and meet the demand for other important sectors.

Globally, over 70% of our staff is engaged in mission-critical business and are working diligently through this time of crisis, to meet the demand of our customers and our communities.

Vectura is a multitalented and energy efficient high bay warehouse pallet stacker crane used in more than 2,000 customer projects.

DECEMBER 2020 27

SWISSLOG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Rest assured, the health and safety of our customers and employees is our number one priority and hence we are committed to maintaining safe environments for each and every member on the team and for that we have numerous processes and procedures developed to ensure smooth and, most importantly, safe execution of tasks for both our staff and customers they serve.

Autostore

Swisslog’s portfolio of data-driven, flexible and robotic material handling solutions enables increased productivity, shorter order cycle times and faster response to change.

We are also addressing queries from new companies on how they can integrate automation technology without disruption to their current business processes, remain viable and profitable, and get new automation systems installed and operational.

While the front-line team is supporting the customers, they are being backed by our global technical support team and supply chain. Our manufacturing sites remain open to meet the demand for new automation systems also ensuring spare parts are available when needed.

GSC: Have your priorities been rearranged and what kind of new demands / pressures are being put on your business now?

AK: Since the requests from e-Commerce and e-Grocery businesses are on the rise, we are working with a lot of companies in this sector to understand their needs and recommend solutions. At Swisslog we were able to develop off the shelf solutions that can be deployed pretty fast especially to cope with the surge of fulfillment needs during the pandemic. However, every warehouse automaton project remains unique – each system should be customized to the individual customer’s business needs and the priority of our business is to help them make the transition at the soonest possible smoothly.

GSC: How can the Logistics Services Providers such as Swisslog better contribute to ensure more streamlined and 28 DECEMBER 2020

speedy transportation and availability of badly needed pharma and protective supplies?

AK: With our solutions portfolio, Swisslog is proud to offer companies with innovative data-based services to optimize their warehouse. For any business including pharma, whose number-one priority is to achieve maximum productivity with reduced costs and minimum downtime, we provide consultation and a detailed analysis with an effective throughput services strategy and recommendations to help ensure their business’s growth, profitability, and success.

The implementation and set up depends on the complexity of solutions chosen, but many can be set up within few months and, most importantly, without disruption to the current business operations.

GSC: What measures has Swisslog taken to better equip its team and maintain a safe environment for the employees?

AK: The team has been supported with protection material and is taking all the necessary precautionary measures advised

by WHO and local public health authority.

We are all in this together and we all have to do our part. For some, that means staying home. For us, it means keeping our customers’ supplies chains going. The world is now depending on supply chains and their supply chains depend on our technology.

Our Global Help Desk employees are working from home using VPN technology to continue to support our customers.

GSC: Do you see ‘green shoots’ emerging and how is the industry adapting to the changing landscape?

AK: Swisslog has a comprehensive program called GreenLog for improving supply chain sustainability through our solutions and business practices. With GreenLog-branded products, businesses get the most energyefficient solutions for their supply chain.

Swisslog’s portfolio of data-driven, flexible and robotic material handling solutions enables increased productivity, shorter order cycle times and faster response to change. Those same qualities, supported by an engineering focus on sustainability, enable a range of environmental benefits.

Enhancing supply chain sustainability requires collaboration across the industry.

We work closely with our customers throughout our solution development process and participate in various certification programs and environmental organizations. All of our facilities are ISO 9001:2015 certified and many are ISO 14001 certified. In addition, we are actively involved in EcoVadis and SEDEX. These initiatives focus our development efforts on areas where we can have the greatest impact on our customers’ businesses and set new standards for the industry.

GSC: How important is technology in the new normal scheme of things and how is it enabling and empowering operations at Swisslog?

AK: In our opinion, businesses should invest in technology that can help them cut costs and improve their bottom line.

Some businesses have limited spaces, and automated solutions can help them utilize them in the most efficient way scaling up their storage capacities, others are challenged by slow operations and number of errors, which as well can be easily solved with the engagement of advanced technologies. The technology is mature, scalable, and cost effective.

SULTANATE’S MARITIME GATEWAY

SOHAR Port and Freezone’s contribution to Oman’s GDP valued at 2.8% Oman’s premier Port and Freezone is renowned as one of the largest industrial and logistic projects in the Sultanate and indeed the GCC and current investments exceed OMR 10.4bn (US$ 27bn).

S

ince the establishment of the Port sixteen years ago, and the establishment of the adjacent Freezone ten years ago, SOHAR has attracted a total of over OMR 10.4bn (US$ 27bn) worth of investment, valued as of mid-2020, the company indicated in a recent major report on the occasion of the Sultanate of Oman’s milestone 50th Golden Anniversary National Day (18 November 2020).

This was a positive reflection of the company’s contribution towards achieving the Sultanate’s development goals and economic diversification efforts within the industrial and logistics sectors. These sectors are considered vital for the growth of the national economy, in addition to its pioneering role in generating more local job opportunities.

Unique Competitive Advantage SOHAR Port and Freezone key advantage is its strategic location at the heart of global trade, acting as a gateway to the main shipping routes between East and West. It facilitates quick and easy transportation of goods to serve the demands of fast-growing markets, with a consumer reach of over 2.2bn across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

SOHAR Port is one of the few global ports equipped with natural deep-water jetties of approximately 25m in depth, capable of handling the world`s largest cargo ships of up to 362m in length and over 400,000 tonnes.

The existing road network links the Port and Freezone to neighbouring countries, including the UAE, and will soon provide direct connectivity to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the largest markets in the GCC. SOHAR provides unequalled access to the fast diversifying economies of the 30 DECEMBER 2020

Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO of SOHAR Port

Gulf States without passing through the congested Straits of Hormuz.

The Port receives over 3,000 vessels annually and handles an estimated 1.5mn tonnes of cargo each week, with the capacity to handle more than 2mn TEUs per year.

Premier Gateway SOHAR Port is the main gateway for import and export in the Sultanate, with over 60% of the Sultanate’s imports entering through the Port. This is in addition to over 40% and 80% of exported and re-exported goods, respectively.

The Port and Freezone play a vital role in connecting Oman to markets around the world, thus contributing to a stable supply of commodities to the local market, while providing local businesses with global outreach.

Apart from its prime location, the Port comprises of a large area of 21mn sqm, in addition to 45 million square metres of development at the Freezone, and offers the availability of renewable energy and cool water sources at competitive prices.

Clean energy The Port management is also looking into alternative energy sources, such as green hydrogen, as part of its strategy to diversify its energy sources and reduce carbon emissions. Green hydrogen is a key component in global efforts towards renewable energy transition and is one of the alternative fuels that holds immense potential for future energy applications.

An Integrated Industrial and Logistics Hub Both the Port and the Freezone are managed under a singular entity, making SOHAR the only complex of its kind in the region and enhancing its competitiveness in attracting foreign investments and companies in the industrial sector.

Vale Oman, a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining,

SULTANATE’S MARITIME GATEWAY

Omar Mahmood Al Mahrizi, CEO of SOHAR Freezone and DCEO of SOHAR Port

is a tenant of the Port and imports ore from Brazil to convert into pellets at its iron ore pelletising complex.

Industrial Clusters Structure SOHAR Port and Freezone is structured in innovative clusters, with companies and factories distributed amongst clusters and in close proximity to each other to facilitate accessibility and flexibility of operations.

The food cluster covers an area of 400,000sqm and has its own dedicated agro bulk terminal, unique to the region, to handle bulk food commodities.

Potential Expansions and SOHAR 2040 Vision SOHAR Port and Freezone aims to position itself as an integrated logistics hub that offers the latest global technologies,

while maintaining the highest standards of sustainability for all its activities. This makes it aligned with Oman’s Vision 2040 and the Oman Logistics Strategy 2040 (SOLS 2040), which is supervised and implemented by ASYAD Group, Oman’s integrated logistics provider.

Phase 1 of the expansion was completed by the end of last year and 500,000sqm was leased out. Work is in progress on Phase 2, which will see the addition of 2mn sqm.

At SOHAR Freezone, the first phase has been developed, with over 63% of the 5mn sqm leased out and home to warehouses, office spaces, industrial and logistics service providers, as well as cold-storage solutions to serve food exporters and importers. There are currently 44 industrial projects at the Freezone, encompassing various sectors.

With Phase 2 of the expansion recently launched by the Freezone management, the area will see an additional 5mn sqm of land ready for lease. For the upcoming years,

the primary focus will be on onboarding companies within the plastic and food industries, as well as those involved in mining, iron and steel, vehicle spare parts and renewable energy projects and activities.

Contribution to the National Economy SOHAR Port and Freezone has contributed to supporting the national economy through various means. Since its establishment, the Port and Freezone have been able to provide over 24,000 direct and indirect job opportunities. The contribution of SOHAR to the national GDP was estimated to be over 2.8%, and valued at OMR 773mn (US$ 2.008bn) in 2017, as per the latest statistics from NCSI (National Center for Statistical Information).

Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO, SOHAR Port and Omar Mahmood Al Mahrizi, CEO of SOHAR Freezone and Deputy CEO, SOHAR Port, sent messages of congratulations and commitment to growth on the occasion of the Oman National Day. DECEMBER 2020 31

VACCINE LOGISTICS HUB

Airlines in turbulence with plunging revenues, passenger numbers and profits The Emirates Group reports H1-2020 losses, but holding up and well-insulated for the future with reserves, financials and workforce trimmings The group is positioning itself to play a vital role in the global pandemic recovery, having established the world’s first and largest dedicated air cargo hub for Covid-19 vaccines at Dubai World Central, writes Orkun Altintas, Director Consulting-Aerospace & Defense Practice, Frost & Sullivan, Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

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he Emirates Group has announced losses for the second time in its 35 year history with H1 2020 revenues plunging to US$ 3.7bn, down 74% versus last year (vly). As the biggest part of the group, Emirates Airline has seen a 75% revenue decline vly, at US$ 3.2bn.

From an operational perspective, Emirates carried only 1.5mn passengers in H1-2020, a figure it would have achieved in just over nine days of normal operations pre-Covid. As another arm of the group, 32 DECEMBER 2020

dnata has not fared better with revenues down by 67% to US$ 644mn vly.

With airline groups announcing losses of similar magnitude as a result of the devastating impact Covid-19 on the global airline industry, the Emirates Group is by no means alone in announcing results of this significance. Competitors such as Air France-KLM Group and Lufthansa Group have seen revenues plummet by 73% and 76% respectively within the same period.

Chinese airlines have fared little better

Orkun Altintas

with two of the three largest carriers in China, namely Air China and China Eastern, seeing declines of 56% and 57% respectively, which can be attributed to an earlier recovery phase for the country.

Domestic services restarted in April and May showing a steady recovery in traffic levels due to not only aggressive pricing by airlines to attract customers coupled with a strong demand for domestic travel. This does not apply to Emirates as its business model is based on ‘Dubai as a destination of global connectivity’ through its hub.

VACCINE LOGISTICS HUB

Cargo revenues on upswing A rare area of improvement that airlines have seen has been in cargo revenues, as a direct result of an increase in demand for air freight during the pandemic period.

Dramatic reductions and often complete halt of passenger services has increased cargo capacity demand due to the loss of belly capacity on passenger aircraft.

This increase in demand covered not only pure freighter aircraft but interestingly in an industry first, the conversion of a large number of passenger aircraft globally to serve as temporary freighters by removal of passenger seats in the cabins.

Emirates itself has seen an increase of 106% in cargo yields, despite suffering a decline in its cargo tonnage by 35% vly.

However, while vaccine centric supply chain logistics will help support this increased demand for cargo capacity, the revenue significance of air cargo is expected to reduce as passenger aircraft with suitable belly capacities return to the skies.

Despite the bleak financial results, the Emirates Group has been proactive in trying to safeguard its future. The group’s efforts have covered a range of areas from cost base reduction to operational planning to meeting existing demand while also positioning for a post-pandemic recovery.

While a return of traffic to pre-Covid levels is not expected before at least 2023, several areas of concern remain for airlines globally from which Emirates too is not immune: • Varying levels of travel restrictions, changing by country • Restrictions on passenger load factors that may be applied by relevant authorities • Speed of traffic recovery with an emphasis on higher-yielding business travel • Dependence on regional and global traffic flows • Revenue Yield performance • Optimized network and fleet to meet the new market conditions

US$ Billion

$21.7

$15.9

$17.3 2019-20 H1 Revenue US$ Billion

$14.5 $12.8

$10.2 $9.1 $7.3

-74% $3.7 Emirates

-73%

-76% $5.2

$4.3

Air France Lufthansa KLM Group Level

-75% $3.2 Emirates

-56% $4.5

$3.9 Air China

Revenues based on combined Q2 & Q3 performance of comparison airlines Emirates FY Apr-Mar, Comparison Airlines FY Jan-Dec

Employee reduction of 24% to an overall count of 81,334 at group level

-57%

-85% $2.6

Lufthansa China Eastern Airline Level

2020-21 H1 Revenue US$ Billion

-67% $2.4 Turkish Airlines

Source: Various sources and Frost & Sullivan Analysis

Conversion of B777 and A380 aircraft as temporary freighters to support its existing 11 strong dedicated B777 freighter fleet

Launching the world’s first and largest dedicated air cargo hub for Covid-19 vaccines at Dubai World Central

Emirates resilience Despite the turbulent times brought on by the pandemic, resulting in more than 40 airlines globally either suspending operations or ceasing altogether, the Emirates Group appears to be wellarmoured as covered below, to weather through the current crisis: • Remaining strong cash reserves of US$ 5.6bn, despite a reduction of US$1.4bn in H1-2020 • A supportive ownership structure with US$ 2bn secured as equity investment during H1-2020 • Steady recovery of operations with the airline already operating to 104 countries, albeit at lower frequency and aircraft sizes • A leaner organization with a reduced cost base Furthermore, the group is positioning itself to play a vital role in the global pandemic recovery, having established the world’s first and largest dedicated air cargo hub for Covid-19 vaccines at Dubai World Central.

With two-thirds of the world’s population being within an eight-hour flight time from Dubai and the airline’s freighter fleet of B777 aircraft capable of carrying more than 100 tons of cargo over 10 hours of flight time, the group aims to be a critical link in the global pandemic recovery efforts.

Vaccine breakthrough With the announcement of new vaccines

by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in November and other potential vaccines in development, there is hope that the first signs of recovery will be felt in 2021. This was confirmed by airline stocks rallying by 12% in expectation of stronger future bookings following the announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech.

In the meantime, Covid-19 is leading to calls to explore more agile itinerary management for the Aviation and Tourism industries, with them asking, could this push us towards an ‘Amazon model’ of high adaptability, accommodating the changing choices and needs of customers and hosts, Why not?

(Report by: Orkun Altintas, Director Consulting-Aerospace & Defense Practice, Frost & Sullivan, Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia.)

DECEMBER 2020 33

ETIHAD AIRWAYS

Etihad Airways announces shakeup at top management

New streamlined structure is leaner, flatter and scalable to support organic growth as air travel resumes

E

tihad recently announced a new organizational structure that will position the business to deliver on its mandate in the wake of the pandemic and meet the challenges of the global downturn in aviation head on.

The restructuring sees the airline continuing its transformation into a midsized, full-service carrier concentrating on its fleet of wide-body aircraft, with a leaner, flatter and scalable organizational structure that supports organic growth as the world returns to flying.

“The first stage of this is an operational model change that will see us restructure our senior leadership team and our organization to allow us to continue delivering on our mandate, ensuring longterm sustainability, and contributing to the growth and prominence of Abu Dhabi,” explained Tony Douglas, Group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group.

The new operational model will result in a number of changes to the executive leadership team to streamline the organizational structure, a press communiqué indicated. .

Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, has decided to leave the business, and following his departure, the business units within Commercial will be separated and transferred under the joint leadership of Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer; Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer, and Terry Daly, who will assume the 34 DECEMBER 2020

role of Executive Director Guest Experience, Brand & Marketing.

Duncan Bureau, Senior Vice President Sales & Distribution, will also be leaving Etihad. Reporting directly to Al Balooki, Martin Drew will take on Duncan’s portfolio alongside his current responsibilities as Managing Director for Cargo & Logistics.

Following the departure of Akram Alami, Chief Transformation Officer, the Procurement and Supply Chain department and Transformation Office will move under the leadership of Adam Boukadida.

Ibrahim Nassir, Chief Human Resources & Organizational Development Officer, will have an additional responsibility for the Asset Management department.

Finally, Mutaz Saleh will be leaving his position as Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, after which Henning zur Hausen, General Counsel, will take on additional responsibility for Ethics & Compliance, while Risk and Performance reporting will move under Adam Boukadida, forming part of a new Corporate Strategy team.

Business Continuity will transfer to Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Senior Vice President Government, International & Communications.

Chief Digital Officer, Frank Meyer; Chief Engineering Officer, Abdul Khaliq Saeed; and Chief Investments Officer, Andrew Macfarlane continue in their respective positions, also reporting to the Group Chief Executive Officer.

Etihad Aviation Group and Al Dahra drive digital transformation The global pandemic is prompting companies to accelerate digital transformation to help drive economic resilience and competitive endurance, leaders from Philips, Etihad Aviation Group, and Al Dahra discussed at the recent ‘Procurement Reimagined’, an SAP SE virtual event for procurement, supply chain, and external workforce management professionals.

Etihad Aviation Group, incorporating the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s national airline Etihad Airways, adopted SAP Ariba solutions to consolidate procurement operations in an effort to reduce negotiation cycle time, improve user experience and introduce e-invoicing with suppliers.

“The recent global pandemic accelerated execution of our digital transformation strategy to support our growth, enhance resilience in our supply networks, and advance our social and environmental agendas,” observed Cassie Mackie, Vice President of Sourcing and Procurement, Etihad Aviation Group.

“With SAP Ariba our suppliers became more equipped to use the platform. It’s a great way to ensure governance, and it enabled us to adjust to working from home from day one without impacting the business,” remarked Mohamad Saker, Chief Corporate Services, Al Dahra.

DNATA

dnata rolls out just-in-time freight handling platform in Dubai

Cloud-based platform significantly improves operational efficiency

d

nata has further enhanced operational efficiency by launching a smart, just-in-time freight handling platform across its Dubai operations.

A cloud-based platform, Appointment and Dock Management (ADM) ensures improved planning, efficient processing and end-to-end transparency of the entire cargo journey, delivering significant benefits for all freight forwarders. The innovative solution is provided by Siemens Logistics, a wholly owned subsidiary Siemens Digital Logistics.

ADM enables freight forwarders to book an appointment with the cargo terminal to deliver and pick up consignments. The system considers multiple parameters – such as shipment characteristics, flight details, vehicle types, and other business-relevant factors to determine the optimal slot for delivery or acceptance of goods.

A unique feature of the digital platform is its capability to intelligently predict the duration and suggest an appropriate slot based on the historical behaviour of the forwarders and the flight schedule.

Speedy processing ADM has reduced the average freight handling time at dnata’s cargo terminals by more than 60 percent to an average of 30 minutes, meeting the industry’s needs for planning and transparency to avoid costly idle time for carriers, freight forwarders and terminal operators.

Furthermore, the platform allows terminal operators to see demand in real-time, enabling them to plan the required resources and serve customers just in time.

“ADM is a crucial element in our digital transformation programme. It seamlessly integrates into Calogi, our existing trading platform for the air cargo community, which connects over 800 supply chain partners with 2000 users,” remarked Bernd Struck, Senior Vice President, UAE Cargo and DWC Airline Services, dnata.

“We offer innovative applications for increasing efficiency in freight and cargo process management. Our new platform in Dubai has improved our customer’s business processes,” commented Michael Reichle, CEO of Siemens Logistics.

As one of the world’s leading cargo

service providers, dnata handles 700,000 metric tons of cargo per year at the two Dubai airport airports, Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC).

The ADM integrates around 800 freight handling agents and manages already more than 600 appointments per day, whereby the system is capable of even more.

One Cargo In addition to ADM, dnata has also launched One Cargo, an innovative cargo management system that steers all processes and manages all air cargo operations on a single technology platform. One Cargo has eliminated all redundancies and manual check sheets and simplified dnata‘s operations, significantly improving operational efficiency at both Dubai airports.

Most recently, dnata has been focussed on enhancing its pharma handling capabilities. The company has been using the latest technologies and global best practices to ensure that every pharma and vaccine shipment is handled in compliance with the highest international standards, according to a press release.

DECEMBER 2020 35

TRISTAR GROUP

“Our resilient business model is underpinned by long-term contracts with our investment grade customers” — Eugene Mayne, CEO, Tristar Group.

Resilience, fortitude and foresight have been the hallmarks and defined Tristar Group’s operations under the stewardship of Eugene Mayne, Founder and Group CEO, at the helm.

T

he continuing Covid-19 pandemic, devastating and unrelenting has challenged companies and economies, both national and global, for their very survival in 2020. The Tristar Group, has demonstrated remarkable buoyancy to buck the downward trend, successfully navigate the turbulence that is impacting many companies and operations and emerge strong despite the demanding landscape.

In an exclusive, expansive interview with Global Supply Chain, Eugene Mayne, CEO, Tristar Group, spoke expansively about his company’s encouraging performance in a new post-Covid business ecosystem; how

36 DECEMBER 2020

the company is coping with the new normal operational environment and staving off challenges wrought by the pandemic that has befallen the globe.

Global Supply Chain (GSC): This year 2020 has been like no other—unusual, challenging and volatile to say the least.

Briefly provide us your general introductory comment/s, observations and assessment of the current landscape with regard to multimodal liquid logistics services?

Eugene Mayne (EM): Fortunately, we have not experienced a major setback in 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and in fact, expect to end the year on a positive note as our business grew in 2019. We did

experience some segmental challenges due to the overnight crash in oil prices and the measures adopted by governments to contain the pandemic, but we did not experience a material disruption to our operations.

We did see a slowdown in our crossborder logistics movements due to mandatory quarantining of drivers at border crossings; however, our fuel storage business was hardly impacted thanks to our take-or-pay contract models.

Our remote fuels business supports peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, which have not been curtailed. There are of course some limitations in the movement

TRISTAR GROUP

of troops and flights which have resulted in the reduction of aviation fuel volumes.

However, we expect aviation operations to normalise once the pandemic is under control.

On the maritime front, our business has grown, and as we expand our operations with new long-term contracts with oil majors, we expect it to grow further.

GSC: How has the Tristar Group performed to date in 2020 and how do you propose to close this year?

EM: Our greatest achievement this year is having successfully navigated our business through the pandemic without having to implement extreme measures such as laying off staff. Our resilient business model underpinned by long-term contracts with our investment grade customers has ensured that our revenue streams remained stable without the pressure of cancelled contracts or price negotiations.

We expect to close 2020 in a stable position, building on the resilience of our business model.

GSC: How have the working and professional environments changed at the Tristar Group post-Covid 19 and the new protocols in place?

EM: This year has been a challenging year for all industries, particularly with the transition to remote work. However, our company has been able to showcase a resilient business model through effective business continuity plans and due to our people-led approach to business.

We have chosen to find solutions to mitigate the negative impact of Covid-19 by staying focused on reducing service disruptions to customers rather than reducing our workforce. We have set up a Crisis Committee which meets weekly even now to review and monitor the health of our employees and potential disruptions to our services across the 21 countries we operate in.

Astute management of our business continuity plans with day to day oversight by the committee has ensured minimization of disruptions and has ensured that

the arrangements for employee testing, isolation and treatments are well.

We organized Covid-19 testing for all our employees and proactively implemented several preventive measures to enable our employees to keep themselves and their families safe during these unprecedented times.

We also provided regular operational updates on emerging situation to our customers, which have been well received as it mitigates the risk of disruption to their individual supply chains.

We continue to check in on our employees, to make sure they are doing well both mentally and physically during these tough times.

GSC: What are the Group’s current and future expansion plans?

EM: For the short term, we will focus on strengthening our integrated logistics model by looking for key acquisitions in our areas of interest and ensuring our organic business continues to grow annually in double digits.

DECEMBER 2020 37

TRISTAR GROUP

Despite the pandemic, our integrated business model is resilient as it has been built on long-term contracts. We will continue to develop and grow this model – a strategy which has worked well for us over the last 20 years.

In terms of next steps and the future, the integration of technology is very important to us and we are constantly working to find the newest technology that is both efficient and cost effective for our current and future projects.

At the moment, we are looking at Robot Processing Automation and Artificial Intelligence solutions to help with predictive maintenance and forecasting analysis which will ultimately increase performance and efficiency. We are also looking at smart ship technology to better improve operating costs on our marine assets.

Overall, we are growing in our core markets and beyond. We are operating soon our India fuel retail business which is a new market for us and look forward to exploring more opportunities there.

GSC: The Tristar Group recently launched a cryogenic liquids transportation service. How is the division doing?

EM: While our organic growth strategy is to widen our client base, we also aim to deepen our service offering in parallel, and therefore branching out into the movement of cryogenic goods by road is a natural diversification for our road transport business, as handling and movement of extremely low temperature liquids and 38 DECEMBER 2020

This year, our joint venture United Stars in Saudi Arabia signed a five-year contract with Linde-Sigas, a majority owned subsidiary of Linde gases requires a high level of specialised training and safety in operations and is a good fit for our high HSE standards.

The division is doing well, and we look forward to building a GCC wide network for movement of cryogenic gases and liquids.

GSC: Bring us to current on the construction of storage tanks for JAFZA Chemical Terminal?

EM: We began construction of 10 new storage tanks for our chemical terminal in Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) in July 2019 and aim to finish the project by May 2021.

We acquired this facility from one of our customers as they used to own and operate the facility.

Initially, we bought the chemical terminal from the customer in order to lease it back to them, and the next step was to expand the facility in order to leverage the storage space for other clients as well. We are currently working on increasing the capacity of the terminal from 5,000 cubic metres to 25,000 cubic metres. Next year, 75% of the facility will be completely ready to use, a

great achievement for our business.

Other upgrades to the JAFZA chemical terminal that will be constructed in due course include: n A second loading gantry with 10 dedicated pipelines that can accommodate four road tankers simultaneously, n Three more new stainless-steel lines from jetty (receipt from ship) to terminal n Ten drumming lines for flammable liquids, n A nitrogen generator within the terminal n A 100-ton capacity weigh bridge and n A two-story office building with a data acquisition (PLC / SCADA) control room n Upgrading the fire-fighting and fire alarm system as per latest NFPA / UAE fire code standards GSC: Comment on your JVs and contracts with Shell and Linde-Sigas?

EM: Earlier this year, our joint venture United Stars in Saudi Arabia signed a fiveyear contract with Linde-Sigas, a majority owned subsidiary of Linde in the Kingdom, a leading manufacturer of industrial and medical gases. This was a great partnership for us as we have a diverse portfolio of clients in Saudi Arabia with our depots in Dammam, Riyadh and Jubail.

As for our long-standing partnership with Shell, in 2018 we signed a longterm contract to charter six IMO2 25K Chemical Carrier vessels, and we recently inducted four of the six IMO2 25K chemical carrier vessels we ordered from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, South Korea’s premier shipbuilder.

TRISTAR GROUP

The new vessels feature Tier III engines which will reduce emissions and operate in an eco-friendly manner. We have worked with Hyundai for many years, as the we previously received six 50K DWT MR tankers from the dockyard in 2016 for US$ 200million.

GSC: How are your Duqm (Sultanate of Oman) operations faring?

EM: We first established our presence in Muscat, Oman in 2002 and we are proud to say we are now a key transporter for the major international and local oil and gas companies in the Sultanate. In January 2020 we acquired more than 11,000 square metres of logistic land in the Port of Duqm where we had constructed our 3,048-square-metre covered warehouse with a capacity of 5,000 pallet positions and an open yard for future expansion. The warehouse project will offer 3PL and 4PL services.

GSC: The comprehensive Tristar Group Sustainability Report is published annually. Briefly summarize your findings and your initiatives in conjunction with your stakeholders in this area of the 8th 2020 Edition?

EM: The 2019 Sustainability Report was developed in accordance with the globally recognized GRI standards and covers our stakeholder engagement initiatives. The report highlights our key Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) achievements in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and UN Global Compact Ten Principles.

With the aim to protect environmental resources, Tristar achieved a 22% reduction in water use per employee and paper consumption. We also offset 25% of 2019 group carbon emissions using the UNFCCC program. Our JAFZA Warehouse in UAE received the prestigious US Green Building Council LEED Gold Green Building certification.

In partnership with RTA and Dubai Chamber, we conducted road safety campaigns for the community and expanded our educational initiatives.

Additionally, as part of our commitment towards gender equality, we signed the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles.

I was also elected to be one of the Board members of the UN Global Compact UAE Local Network last year.

GSC: You have been known to be a strong advocate of and deeply concerned about

Our resilient business model underpinned by long-term contracts with our investment grade customers has ensured that our revenue streams remained stable. sound mental health among seafarers?

Tell us more about this endeavor and the Group’s other CSR programmes?

EM: Tristar integrated its Corporate Governance and CSR objectives to create a broader Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Framework, as a holistic approach to the planning, monitoring and execution of all activities which support our Sustainability Goals.

As a responsible business operating in the logistics industry, we anchored our sustainability strategy with the adoption of the ESG framework in line with the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Ten Principles and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At Tristar, we have adopted several initiatives of our own to ensure the safety, and more importantly, the happiness and mental wellbeing of our crew and seafarers. When the pandemic first began, we organised three online Psychological First Aid workshops for Vessel Masters and Senior Officers, which had over 90

participants.

The workshops were conducted through video conferencing, to shed light on human behaviour, the signs and symptoms of a person struggling with mental health, and included situational role play to equip Senior Officers with the skills to best deal with these symptoms.

Last November 10, 2019, we hosted our first ever ‘Safety at Sea’ conference with the intention of drawing attention to the number of deaths due to suicides at sea in the maritime world. It was well received and attended by all our customers and other stakeholders from the industry including more than 500 seafarers who watched virtually in India and the Philippines.

We are scheduled to host our second ‘Safety at Sea’ conference this December 9 via webinar and going forward we are committed to making this an annual event.

We have also contracted the Sailors’ Society to set up a 24/7 dedicated confidential helpline for all officers, crew and their families. The services include crisis response assistance, counselling through various channels such as email, WhatsApp and other social media chat platforms, and making appointments with counsellors on behalf of the seafarer in accordance with the ports they will visit during their contract.

GSC: What are the opportunities and challenges for the Tristar Group going forward?

EM: We are excited about the future. At the moment, we operate in 21 countries and we’re looking to increase our footprint, DECEMBER 2020 39

TRISTAR GROUP

The initiatives we have put in place are small steps as part of a wider movement to address these issues and ensure adequate support is provided to our people. expanding with our existing customers while also looking for new opportunities and acquisitions.

The integration of technology is important to us and we are constantly working on finding innovations that will be efficient and cost effective for both our current and future projects; for example, Robot Processing Automation and Artificial Intelligence, in addition to smart ship technology.

Last year I participated in a panel discussion at the Future Blockchain Summit in Dubai where I discussed our digital strategy and pioneering work with Blockchain in the region and how we aim to leverage technology to provide world-class services to our customers.

We were recognized for being the first logistics company in the GCC to have a fully live Blockchain platform, which provides our customers with real-time oversight of our warehousing and transportation processes, so I can confidently say that innovation and technology will be a key area of focus for us going forward. I look forward to participating in more events in the future and establishing ourselves as a key player in the integration of technology in the logistics services industry.

We also look forward to strengthening our ESG programme and implementing sustainable practices across all our sectors.

Our commitment to being a strong advocate of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) will continue unabated as we strongly believe that as a private sector company we should lead the way for the business world to pay attention to the health and well-being of people, which will be a top priority for all of us after the pandemic.

In terms of challenges, of course the global pandemic has had an impact on oil prices and the slowdown in cross-border logistics movements due to mandatory quarantining of drivers at border crossings.

However, we are hopeful by 2021 that the situation will improve, and government regulations will ease. Our priority is for everyone to stay safe and healthy, and we 40 DECEMBER 2020

look forward to a safe future.

GSC: The Tristar Group recently won an award by Arabia CSR Network for its Health and Safety Programme.

Expand on this recognition as also the Group’s support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

EM: In October we were honoured to have been awarded by Arabia CSR Network for our Health and Safety Programme, particularly for our Safety at Sea initiatives.

The health and safety of our employees is our top priority, especially now during the pandemic. Seafarers can be particularly susceptible to mental health issues, as they are often far from home, with little contact with family and friends.

Whilst we are all encouraged to talk about mental health, it seems that it is still a taboo subject amongst seafarers and as a result they are missing out on vital support and treatment at the early stages of a severe illness.

The initiatives we have put in place are small steps as part of a wider movement to address these issues and ensure adequate support is provided to our most valuable asset – our people.

I’m honoured that Tristar has been recognised for its work in this space, and I look forward to celebrating many more successes with the team in the future.

For the past nine years, we have been a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact with compliance to the Principles of Human Rights, Anti-Corruption, Labour and Environment.

One very important initiative for us, is providing access to education for all as per UN SDG No 5. We have made some progress towards this goal, particularly in Africa. Over the past few years, we have supported the funding and development of two local schools in South Sudan, to help enable access to basic education.

In 2018, we established a Computer Lab at the Gabat School in Juba, South Sudan, making it the first primary school in the country to offer computer classes.

We are extremely proud of the success of this development as it has provided an

Tristar Group donates to Al Jalila Foundation to combat Covid-19 Group supports UAE Government’s medical initiatives to counter the pandemic Tristar Group has donated AED 600,000 (US$ 166350) to support the Al Jalila Foundation’s Covid-19 research. Since 2016, Tristar has supported Al Jalila Foundation in its research efforts to bring global best practices together with regional expertise to solve the region’s biggest health challenges.

Al Jalila Foundation, part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, invests in research and healthcare programmes to position Dubai at the forefront of medical innovation. To date, Al Jalila Foundation has invested more than AED 28mn in grants awarded to UAEbased researchers working in the areas of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and mental health, and more recently, Covid-19.

“This donation towards research ties in with our efforts to support the UAE government as it marches forward in the fight against Covid-19,” affirmed Eugene Mayne, Group CEO, Tristar Group.

“Now more than ever, we are counting on scientists and doctors to come together and develop diagnostic testing and treatments to gain a better understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 biology and combat the pandemic,” observed Dr Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama, CEO, Al Jalila Foundation.

opportunity for young children in Sudanese communities to pursue higher education and build a brighter future.

GSC: Any imminent mergers or acquisitions on the cards?

EM: All our expansion plans, whether organic or by acquisition, will have our end customers’ interests in mind.

GSC: Any plans for the Tristar Group to go public / IPO issuance?

EM: It is part of our longer-term growth strategy. We will provide updates in due course.

Join NAFL / FIATA to get connected for networking and business opportunities Membership open for 2021

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FIATA LEARNING ACADEMY

CLOUD WMS

Cloud WMS coupled with automation key to Warehouse Operations Optimization Oman’s premier Port and Freezone is renowned as one of the largest industrial and logistic projects in the Sultanate and indeed the GCC and current investments exceed OMR 10.4bn (US$ 27bn).

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y adopting cloud WMS, warehouses can also improve staff efficiency and mitigate challenges around training, affirms Vishal Minocha, Sr. Director, WMS Product Management and Go to Market, Infor, the New Yorkheadquartered multi-national enterprise software company and a global leader in specialized business cloud software.

He spoke recently to Global Supply Chain in an exclusive interview.

Vishal Minocha, Sr. Director, WMS Product Management and Go to Market, Infor.

42 DECEMBER 2020

Global Supply Chain (GSC): What are the biggest challenges in the warehousing sector amid Covid-19, and how can technology help?

Vishal Minocha (VM): Based on

CLOUD WMS

Cloud WMS becomes even more powerful when combined with automation.

conversations with a lot of global warehousing customers around the world including in the Middle East, the biggest issue customers are facing with their warehouses is capacity disruption.

Major ongoing trends such as e-commerce are having a significant impact on warehouses and the way they manage their capacity, while Covid-19 has forced many warehouses to handle a sudden rise in volume and throughput for certain types of product, such as masks and medical supplies, and a decline in others.

Looking at e-commerce in more detail, in some industries it was there for a long time but that trend has accelerated, and even sectors such as grocery and packaged food

– which did not have e-commerce as their normal channel – are being forced to adapt to e-commerce.

From a warehousing perspective, the way e-commerce and traditional orders are handled is completely different.

E-commerce orders are typically smaller, whereas traditional store fulfillment orders are larger but less frequent.

The way warehouses process these in terms of the allocations and the picking is completely different. If a warehouse is handling both e-commerce and traditional orders from a single facility, it needs a flexible WMS system which can handle both, and we have that flexibility in our WMS.

With respect to the capacity issue, one of the major advantages of using a cloud WMS is that is allows for rapid up-scaling and downscaling of computing warehouse capacity. With cloud WMS we don’t have to go through the traditional deployment and procurement of the hardware: It is already provisioned and deployed on the cloud. This means that provisioning for a new customer takes days rather than weeks or months.

Cloud WMS becomes even more powerful when combined with automation, which allows your computing capacity to auto scale as per capacity demand, which keeps the warehouse running at an optimum level.

By adopting cloud WMS, warehouses can DECEMBER 2020 43

CLOUD WMS

We aim to get 60% of functionality in a matter of weeks.

The next 30% is about fine-tuning, optimizing the warehouse and ensuring also improve staff efficiency and mitigate challenges around training. If a warehouse is using traditional WMS, with various components from different vendors, it can create challenges in terms of ensuring sufficient staff are trained to use the various systems.

If someone is off sick or on leave, a warehouse can easily find itself in a situation where there is nobody on-site with the know-how to use a certain piece of software. Conversely, with an intuitive WMS, it is far easier to have a large pool of staff trained and able to use the software.

GSC: What specific requests have customers made during Covid-19?

VM: One of the main things we’re helping customers with is the ability to cope with extra volume. If they’re cloud customers we can spin off an environment quickly for them, and in 2-3 days they can have an environment up and running.

GSC: Will the pandemic speed up digital transformation? If so how?

VM: I believe it will. From the warehousing perspective we are already seeing the impact of digital transformation. It’s an enabler that benefits all areas of a business, from the operations to customer experience, and warehouses are no different. E-commerce itself is a result of digital transformation and it will keep growing at a massive rate, 44 DECEMBER 2020

especially during the pandemic.

For warehouses this means increased volume, and this is likely to encourage some warehouses to look at adding some degree of automation to their warehouse to augment their workforce, helping them to perform essential jobs such as picking more efficiently.

In this industry, speed is of essence, and solutions that give you an edge are important. But warehouses must also be able to cope with black swan events such as Covid-19.

As mentioned, we are seeing disruptions in supply chains due to the pandemic and some warehouses need some level of new functionality. Tomorrow there might be another black swan event, so how do customers ensure that their warehouse management system keeps up with disruptions that might happen in the future.

The only way to keep up with all the disruption and change that is happening in warehousing is with cloud WMS. With this we provide continuous innovations every four to six weeks, which are all updated automatically. This is a big value proposition for customers.

GSC: What savings can be made by a warehouse typically?

VM: It really depends on the starting point.

We have seen customers get as much as 20-30% productivity improvements by

adopting cloud WMS. This is mainly due to the faster time to value because it’s much easier to deploy in the cloud with our agility and implementation methodology, as opposed to 12-18 months for implementation of tradition on-site systems involving hardware and software.

We use an agile implementation method with more of a continuous delivery type approach, so we go live in phases allowing the customer to start reaping the benefits of their investment sooner. We aim to get 60% of functionality in a matter of weeks. The next 30% is about fine-tuning, optimizing the warehouse and ensuring we are doing warehouse transactions in the optimal way.

GSC: What are some of the obstacles to customers adopting cloud?

VM: The warehousing sector was relatively late in moving to the cloud and remains at a nascent stage. One of the big reasons for this is that some warehouses are in remote locations and there was concern about the connectivity and bandwidth to public cloud providers. This was a big hindrance, but it gets better every year.

Cybersecurity was also perceived as a challenge, but with the amount of investment the public cloud providers are putting into security, and the investment we are making, it is no longer an issue to deter warehousing companies from migrating their management systems to the cloud.

VACCINE LOGISTICS HUB

Abu Dhabi launches the Hope Consortium for global vaccine distribution

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mid an anticipated surge in vaccine logistics demand, Abu Dhabi is poised to cement its position as the global logistics hub to facilitate Covid-19 vaccine distribution across the world, after spearheading the launch of the Hope Consortium.

Comprising leading Abu Dhabi and global entities, the Hope Consortium represents a complete supply chain solution to address vaccine transport, demand planning, sourcing, training, and digital technology infrastructure, and facilitate vaccine availability across the world, according to a press communiqué.

The news follows Hope Consortium member Etihad Cargo and the consortium transporting five million vaccines in November on behalf of the Department of Health–Abu Dhabi, which is spearheading the consortium and will oversee regulatory compliance, full chain expertise and scientific insight.

46 DECEMBER 2020

Five million vaccines have been transported in November on behalf of the Department of Health–Abu Dhabi Department of Health–Abu Dhabi, Etihad Cargo, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, Rafed and SkyCell collaborate to handle more than six billion vaccine doses Multiple stakeholders The consortium also includes Abu Dhabi Ports Group, Rafed, the healthcare purchasing arm of Abu Dhabi-based ADQ, and Switzerland’s award-winning SkyCell, which develops next-generation, temperature-controlled logistics containers for the pharmaceutical industry. As part of the Hope Consortium, SkyCell will establish a regional service and manufacturing centre in Abu Dhabi.

The Hope Consortium has pooled its collective expertise to garner a multifaceted capability to provide logistics services to handle over six billion doses from the vaccines being developed and manufactured around the world – whether in single or multi doses – in cold and ultracold conditions in 2021, rising to over three times more doses by the end of next year – the largest capacity and logistics capability regionally and one of the largest globally.

“The Hope Consortium will offer

VACCINE LOGISTICS HUB

Abu Dhabi Ports.“Our expansive operations at KIZAD are among the largest cold chain and ultra-cold storing in the region and enable us to support the emirate’s drive to spearhead global immunisation efforts that will positively impact millions of lives,” he continued.

Maqta Gateway

international governments, nongovernmental organisations, and vaccine suppliers a cohesive solution across every supply chain step – from air freight, regional storage and temperature monitoring, to inventory management, cold and ultra-cold container solution, regulatory clearance, and healthcare and pharma quality assurance,” explained Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi Ports Distribution of the vaccines, which will be stored in Abu Dhabi Ports Company facilities, will be carried out by Etihad Cargo, the first Middle Eastern carrier to gain IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certification for pharmaceutical logistics. The UAE’s national carrier will leverage its extensive

intercontinental network, fleet and charter flights to supply vaccines globally.

“With two thirds of the world’s human footprint within a four-hour flight of Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital’s investment in technological expertise and world-class infrastructure facilities means we can serve as a global logistical hub to, and for, the world,” observed Tony Douglas, Group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group.

As part of the Hope Consortium, Abu Dhabi Ports, which has the Middle East’s largest capacities for cold chain and ultracold storage, will leverage its capabilities as an innovation epicentre serving the Middle East and wider world through Abu Dhabi as a supply chain gateway connecting East and West.

“This collaboration is in line with our ethos of creating innovative ideas, concepts, solutions and opportunities,” said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO,

“Supporting the uninterrupted flow of critical cargo, such as medical and food supplies have been crucial in Abu Dhabi Ports’ story during 2020, but the distribution of vaccines will form the most significant success to date. Maqta Gateway is committed towards creating innovative digital solutions to boost the transparency and integrity of the region’s supply chain,” emphasized Dr. Noura Al Dhaheri, Head of Digital Cluster – Abu Dhabi Ports, CEO, Maqta Gateway.

“Our expertise in centralised procurement services will provide vital support to the consortium. Through our collaboration we will better consolidate our efforts for the benefit of our global partners in the public and healthcare sectors,” affirmed Rashed Al Qubaisi, CEO, Rafed.

The Hope Consortium intends to transport the vaccines using SkyCell’s hybrid containers. The storage and transportation containers are secured through an IoT monitoring service which tracks temperature conditions to ensure sensitive vaccines are protected even under extreme conditions.

SkyCell “Our hybrid containers will safeguard the full efficacy of vaccines that are vital to defeat the pandemic, all while reducing long-term business and environmental costs,” noted Richard Ettl, CEO, SkyCell.

“The Hope Consortium has the right partners, infrastructure and service ecosystem to ensure time and temperature sensitive transportation in a seamless cool chain operation.”

“Abu Dhabi Ports’ ability in expanding capacity to receive and store clinical, pharmaceutical and life science materials at moderate and extreme temperature ranges is a testament to our commitment to offer world-class logistics solutions,” assured Robert Sutton, Head of Logistics Cluster, Abu Dhabi Ports.

DECEMBER 2020 47

IATA VACCINE LOGISTICS

IATA preps and drives global vaccine distribution logistics IATA coordinating with state pharma and logistics stakeholders to ensure streamlined vaccine circulation and availability

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he International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently released guidance to ensure that the air cargo industry is ready to support the large-scale handling, transport and distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine in the light of the recent Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna announcements.

‘IATA’s Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Logistics and Distribution’ provides recommendations for governments and the logistics supply chain in preparation for what will be the largest and most complex global logistics operation ever undertaken.

Reflecting the complexity of the challenge, the Guidance was produced with the support of a broad range of partners, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), World Customs Organization (WCO), World Trade Organization (WTO) and other major state and industry stakeholders.

The guidance includes a repository of international standards and guidelines related to the transport of vaccines and will be updated regularly as information is made available to the industry. Accompanying the guidance, IATA established a joint information-sharing forum for stakeholders.

48 DECEMBER 2020

“Delivering billions of doses of a vaccine that must be transported and stored in a deep-frozen state to the entire world efficiently will involve hugely complex logistical challenges across the supply chain. While the immediate challenge is the implementation of Covid-19 testing measures to re-open borders without quarantine, we must be prepared for when a vaccine is ready.

This guidance material is an important part of those preparations,”noted Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO, IATA.

Challenges Key challenges addressed in IATA’s Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceutical Logistics and Distribution include: • The availability of temperature-controlled storage facilities and contingencies when such facilities are not available • Defining roles and responsibilities of parties involved in the distribution of vaccines, particularly government authorities and NGOs, to assist safe, fast and equitable distribution as broadly as possible • Industry preparedness for vaccine distribution which includes: Capacity & Connectivity The global route network has been reduced dramatically from the pre-Covid 22,000 city pairs. Governments need to re-establish air

connectivity to ensure adequate capacity is available for vaccine distribution.

Facilities and infrastructure: The first vaccine manufacturer to apply for regulatory approval requires the vaccine to be shipped and stored in a deep-frozen state, making ultra-cold chain facilities across the supply chain essential.

Some types of refrigerants are classified as a dangerous goods and volumes are regulated which adds an additional layer of complexity. Considerations include availability of temperature-controlled facilities and equipment and staff trained to handle time- and temperaturesensitive vaccines.

Border Management: Timely regulatory approvals and storage and clearance by customs and health authorities will be essential. Priorities for border processes include introducing fast-track procedures for over-flight and landing permits for operations carrying the Covid-19 vaccine and potential tariff relief to facilitate the movement of the vaccine.

Security: Vaccines are highly valuable commodities. Arrangements must be in place to ensure that shipments remain secure from tampering and theft. Processes are in place already, but the huge volume of vaccine shipments will require early planning to ensure that they are scalable.

SAL VACCINE LOGISTICS

Saudi Arabian Logistics Company braces for streamlined distribution of vaccines

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The Logistics Services Provider (LSP) unveils new pharma and perishable facilities in the Kingdom’s capital Riyadh in time for the Covid vaccines distribution.

audi Arabian Logistics Company (SAL), the Kingdom’s leading cargo ground handler and logistics provider, is pleased to announce the unveiling of its new pharma and perishable facilities at the Cargo Village in Riyadh, specializing in perishables and all types of pharmaceuticals, including the muchawaited Covid vaccines soon to be rolled out worldwide.

The Saudi Minister of Transport, Eng. Saleh Bin Nasser Al-Jasser recently inaugurated SAL’s new facilities at the country’s main gateway, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. SAL, a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation, is tasked to complement the nation’s goal of creating a global logistics hub.

With 5,000 square meters of storage, the pharma and perishable facilities combined can adequately handle up to 365,000 tons of cargo a year. With SAL’s partnership with the Saudi Customs, Saudi Food and Drug Authority has made clearance of shipments becomes easier and faster.

The new facilities have four docks for loading refrigerated containers. The project, which started its operations, also has twelve

warehouses with different temperatures ranging from minus 20 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius to suit the nature and type of cargo to be stored. In addition, within the facility, there is a special storage dedicated for flower cargo.

Riyadh facilities “The launch of the Riyadh Cold Storage facilities comes at a historic moment that coincides with the world’s anticipation for the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine. This urgency makes us harness the capabilities of the operation capacity of our pharmaceutical facility and be fully prepared to receive and handle the new vaccines in coordination with the health authorities,”commented Omar Hariri, CEO, SAL. The new project, he added, will enhance SAL’s handling and storage services for medical and pharmaceuticals in line with the highest quality standards approved by the EU GDP. The opening of the facilities ushers in a new and advanced phase for handling sensitive cargoes including foodstuffs that require special care. Within the facilities, there are divisions run by the Saudi Food

and Drug Authority and the Saudi Customs to inspect and expedite the cargo handling process to avoid an unbreakable cool chain.

The new facilities also feature a 650 sqm temperature control breakdown area. There’s also an area for shipping refrigerated containers enough for 20 active containers. It is also equipped with a thermal isolation area.

Riyadh Cargo Village Last May, SAL started its operations at its new facilities in the Riyadh-based King Khalid International Airport’s Cargo Village.

The total area of the facilities is 42,000 square meters while its operation capacity reaches 450,000 tons a year including cargoes and goods handled.

SAL aims to contribute to the Vision 2030 objectives and turn the Kingdom into a global logistics hub and invest in its strategic geographical location connecting three continents.

The Saudi Ministry of Transport assured the country’s transport infrastructure and facilities, particularly air cargo and logistics, are fully prepared to handle Covid-19 vaccines once it’s ready for distribution.

DECEMBER 2020 49

TURKISH CARGO VACCINE LOGISTICS

SAP VACCINE LOGISTICS

Vaccine Collaboration Hub from SAP improves Supply Chain efficiency Hub covers the end-to-end process from manufacturing to controlled distribution

Turkish Cargo carries Covid-19 vaccines via its cross-continental air bridge Creates global pharma corridor between more than 400 destinations

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ontinuing its contributions for the sustainability of the global supply chain by building a global air cargo bridge all across the globe with its cargo flights, Turkish Cargo started to carry Covid-19 vaccines with its wide fleet network and special cargo service quality.

Offering service to 127 countries around the world, Turkish Cargo carried the vaccines, manufactured in China, to Brazil, a flight distance of approximately 17,000km.

The vaccines, loaded inside seven containers equipped with dedicated cooling systems, were transported safely from Beijing to Sao Paulo, the biggest city of the South America, with a connection flight at Istanbul.

By carrying pharmaceuticals to the key and certificated destinations such as Mumbai, Brussels, Istanbul, Singapore, Dubai, Basel, London and Amsterdam, Turkish Cargo has created a global pharma corridor between more than 400 destinations.

Holding the IATA CEIV (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) pharma certificate, Turkish Cargo, maintains the cold chain at the optimal conditions thanks to the ‘TK Pharma’ product which was has designed for carrying pharmaceuticals at global standards, according to a press release.

In order to satisfy the increased demand for transportation of the vaccines, pharmaceuticals and temperature-controlled cargo, Turkish Cargo commissioned the temperature-controlled smart warehouse with an additional area of 1200sqm.

Additionally, having increased its capacity for the cold chain shipments by 30 percent by working with the largest suppliers of active containers in the industry, Turkish Cargo enhanced its cold chain shipment scale to 25,000 tonnes per month with the deployment of an additional 150 aircraft pallets. ’Turkish Cargo offers industrial solutions such as the dedicated temperature-controlled storehouses between the range of -20/25 degrees, pharmaceutical maintenance teams, active containers and thermal carriers,” remarked Turhan Özen, Chief Cargo Officer, Turkish Airlines.

50 DECEMBER 2020

S

AP recently announced the launch of its vaccine collaboration hub (VCH) for organizations to better manage vaccine supply distribution, and to help governments and their industry partners coordinate and successfully deploy mass vaccination programs.

SAP’s VCH is built on the industry-award winning SAP Information Collaboration Hub for Life Sciences. It covers the endto-end process from manufacturing to controlled distribution to administration and postvaccine monitoring.

“Covid-19 has put a lot of pressure on the life sciences industry where they have realized a large gap in their supply chain strategy,” commented Michael Townsend, Industry Analyst, IDC. “A one-stop place for the life sciences industry to manage their vaccination procedures and tap into a source of suppliers, even those across industries, will help to fill this gap, to ensure patients obtain lifesaving drugs and devices,” he continued.

Businesses that are part of the vaccine production process, from manufacturers, logistics service providers and pharma companies to wholesalers and dispensers, can run their critical vaccine processes on SAP software.

Building on its deep expertise in the industry, SAP has designed the VCH as an extension to its business network–enabled drug supply chain, to help make collaboration among the network partners easy and monitor the order fulfillment of vaccines, all the way from vaccine suppliers to the dispensing units.

The VCH, part of SAP’s industry cloud strategy, is designed to address specific industry needs. It provides the critical network and technology capabilities required to effectively support large-scale vaccination programs and drug distribution, while creating the backbone to better mitigate future emergencies.

BAYER VACCINE LOGISTICS

CRANE WORLDWIDE VACCINE LOGISTICS

Bayer launches Middle East Distribution Centre in Dubai to expedite deliveries The centre will facilitate the delivery of more than 3400 tons of pharma products to the region

Ready for the Supply Chain Challenge of the Century

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ayer Middle East recently announced the launch of its regional Distribution Centre that will reduce time-to-market by as much as 58 percent. The Centre will facilitate the delivery of more than 3400 tons of pharma products annually, while ensuring greater network flexibility, increased frequency and dedicated stock for customers in the Middle East.

Supporting network optimization and streamlining supply, the warehouse is located in the Jebel Ali Free zone, close to the Jebel Ali Sea Port with easy connections to Al Maktoum International (DWC) and Dubai International (DXB) airports and major road arteries.

Equipped with the latest warehousing and cold chain technologies, the facility operated by Agility, one of the world’s leading logistics companies, is spread over 60,000 m² with multiple storage temperature options.

Accommodating over 100,000 pallet positions, 56 loading docks and 83 material handling equipment points, the centre is fully compliant with Ministry of Health, EU Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice and World Health Organization standards.

“Within the last decade we have successfully launched various innovative products that advance the unmet health and nutritional needs of the region, which as the next step required us to invest in logistics infrastructure to ensure greater flexibility and reduce lead times,” remarked Thomas Panzer, SVP –Head Supply Chain Management Pharmaceuticals, Bayer.

“Benefitting from Dubai’s strategic geographic location and logistics infrastructure and Agility’s experience, scale, operational capability and regional track record, the Centre improves our distribution model in the Middle East and optimizes our last mile processes,” commented Henrik Wulff, Senior Bayer Representative – Middle East & Head, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Middle East.

“Through this partnership we aim to support Bayer with worldclass warehousing that incorporates multiple temperature-zone storage and cold-chain solutions,” noted Albert Asool, CEO, Agility Dubai.

Crane Worldwide strengthens its global solutions for the safe delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine.

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ith recent announcements that pharmaceutical companies are close to supplying an initial vaccine to combat the Covid-19 virus around the world, global logistics experts are stepping up to support what will be an epic supply chain challenge.

An escalated process of delivering a regulated vaccine to market has spearheaded a fast race by pharmaceutical companies to present a successful solution to the pandemic. As the world watches closely, supply chain experts are exerting their knowledge and expertise and will play a critical role in distribution strategies to deliver the vaccine to end-users in rural and city locations.

Specific supply chain solutions encompassing the storage, international/domestic transportation, and final mile distribution methods of the Covid vaccine will hinge upon the leading pharmaceutical companies’ final product specification that could include temperatures as cold as -70’C. Crane Worldwide has documented, tested and verified the most rigorous requirements and invested in visibility and monitoring systems that will be used to provide end-to-end record keeping that meet industry and regulatory compliance, enable enhanced security, and provide the utmost quality assurance to global vaccine manufacturers, the company indicated in a press statement.

“Supply chain partnerships will be a critical success factor in the distribution of the Covid vaccine to communities all over the world,” commented Keith Winters, CEO, Crane Worldwide, who featured in a recent podcast conducted by the company.

“Building on the intelligence and research available to date, we have tested and verified a multitude of supply chain scenarios that will support and supplement the three pillars of success for the vaccine supply chain: storage capabilities, ground transportation and local/international transportation requirements,” he added.

DECEMBER 2020 51

WORKPLACE CHANGES

Six digital trends that will change the future of the region’s workplaces CallisonRTKL highlights successful workplace transformations for the future evolve around three key components: people, place and purpose

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lobal architecture, planning and design firm, CallisonRTKL (CRTKL) has recently revealed six key trends on how technology can support and transform the Middle East’s workplace of the future. With the nature of work and the workplace changing, following the outbreak of Covid-19, new technology, practices, and processes will come to change offices in the MENA region.

With both employers and employees in the region having faced radically different circumstances over the past nine months, the opportunity to leverage digital solutions in the workplace has never been more abundant.

The Middle East is at the forefront of

global technology adoption, and nations across the GCC have emphasised the importance of digital development within national economic strategies. With so many employers having to suddenly create flexible working solutions due to the pandemic, workplaces have significant opportunity to see the integration of technology into their day to day operations.

New technologies Although fuelled by new technologies, the workplace of the future will continue to be centred around people. Accordingly, workplaces need to be designed to be user-centric for employees. CallisonRTKL

have identified three key components for enabling the workplace of the future: people, place, and purpose. In doing so, employers ensure their people continue to perform well in their workspace, while still building a strong community.

“As companies deal with the widespread effects of the pandemic, Middle East employers have a transformative opportunity to change the status-quo of how staff engage with their office space,” affirmed Matthew Tribe, Executive Director, CallisonRTKL. “Implementing programmes through digital transformation ensure that employees who are working remotely remain engaged and connected at all times. In doing so, business leaders in the Middle East will be forging the future of the region’s workplaces,” he added.

The six workplace trends from a technology perspective are:

1

Leveraging Data

Utilising technology to collect and manage data from a work environment can be highly informative and useful for the future of workplaces.

Being able to gather and evaluate the data not only informs companies of their current status but it can also highlight a variety of opportunities to help improve awareness and operational inefficiencies.

52 DECEMBER 2020

WORKPLACE CHANGES

This can be achieved by using sensors to determine occupancy levels in the workplace which can control the amount and types of space needed, when and where a space needs to be cleaned or to adjust the HVAC levels if necessary based on occupancy and zones.

2

Bring Your Own Device

Personal mobile devices will become a more robust method that individual users can use to not only communicate with others, but also connect with smart systems built within a workplace environment. This will create a safe and frictionless journey to and from the office for individual users by using the functions on their device.

This can be seen by scanning a QR code on the device to gain security access, to remotely call a building elevator, access real-time parking space availability, make real-time office announcements or to schedule and reserve conference rooms or desks. This can save individuals up to 58 minutes per day with a 34% increase in productivity.

3

Seamless Conferencing

Most companies have become “power users” for video collaboration technologies such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Cisco Web Ex. The need for collaboration technologies

that foster highly effective and modernised experiences seamlessly in spaces on-site and virtually from home will become more prevalent in the future.

This could be achieved through an identical virtual conferencing experience without the need to always bring your laptop or tablet into the office or by implementing systems within conference rooms that accommodate ‘one touch’ or touchless functionality for easy activation.

for employees through technology advances.

This can be achieved through smart system integration to help manage and collect data related to the office’s sustainable performance through air flow, energy usage, and water consumption and more which will in turn improve comfort and operational efficiency leading to an increase in cost savings of up to 15%.

Digital Creation Lab

Wellness through Technology

4

The need to build immersive experience centres and innovation labs at the workplace is vital when building the workplace of the future.

These spaces can be used for multiple functions from digitally showcasing the office’s sustainable and wellness data on a dashboard, to providing multi-dimensional spaces for various purposes or to display a company’s latest portfolio or products.

Although this promotes a company’s culture and brand its main purpose is to spark innovation and collaboration.

5

Sustainability

Sustainability will continuously be a key influencer in the future workplaces. It has grown to become a large factor in designing today’s work environments and can immensely impact the physical nature and comfort of a space

6

As employees are the heart of companies, wellness is vital.

Technological enhancements in a work environment can ensure that the health and wellbeing of employees are continuously supported on a daily basis.

This can be supported through automated systems that; adjust HVAC filtration and air flow levels based on occupancy; sensors that measure temperature, humidity, CO2, VOC, and sound levels; indoor lighting systems that mimic natural light to regulate circadian rhythms; regular notifications to remind employees to stand up and stretch; dashboard notifications to notify when spaces or desks have been cleaned and a change mode on occupancy sensors/ wall switches in enclosed spaces to avoid frequency of touch.

DECEMBER 2020 53

SUPPLY CHAIN FLEXIBILITY

The resilience of the Supply Chain Industry

Seven key trends for 2020/21

Car manufacturers all over the globe are using artificial intelligence in just about every facet of the car making process.

Global supply chains realigning and adapting to a new business landscape and realities The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to global supply chains. The crisis has revealed weak links, but has also shown the benefits of good sourcing practice. Joe Hepworth, Director, OCO Global, and Founder of the British Centres for Business (BCB), highlights some pointers and developments that are changing the face and the landscape of the Supply Chain ecosystem—Editor.

54 DECEMBER 2020

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s companies emerge from the sweeping Covid-19 pandemic, it is natural to expect the supply chain sourcing to adapt to drive greater efficacies and resilience.

It is very obvious that Covid-19 has had a profound impact on global supply chains, and the changes we have seen are only the beginning. Changes that are being implemented now are likely to be long lasting and will reshape international trade of the future.

At OCO Global, we have seen seven key trends emerge or come to the forefront this year, that are likely to impact supply chain and logistics as we move forward in a post-Covid world.

SUPPLY CHAIN FLEXIBILITY

1

AI and Machine Learning

More and more organisations are turning to AI and machine learning to simplify tasks and automate procedures.

Gartner reports that in the four years to 2019, there was a 270% increase in the number of organizations using Artificial Intelligence.

Predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms are being used to improve planning and decision support systems, identify purchasing patterns, automate tedious warehousing processes and manage inventory. Many organisations are using AI to replace humans performing repetitive supply tasks and to perform complex supply chain calculations.

2

Governance and Security

Cyber and digital security are increasingly important as global risk events increase. Privacy is also a major focal point, and a s a result, we can expect to see a range of new solutions emerge for the industry, whether in terms of track-andtrace, smart packaging, RFID and NFC (Near-Field Communication).

3

Sustainability

Increasingly, we have seen multinational corporations pledging to work only with suppliers that adhere to strict social and environmental standards, ensuring that sustainable practices are implemented throughout the supply chain.

For others, Covid-19 has completely disrupted the supply chain, and as systems are being reviewed and adapted, some organisations are using the opportunity to instil sustainable practices and processes into the chain. Now is an ideal time for everyone to focus on long term sustainable evolution of business processes, rather than short-term quick fixes.

4

Re-shoring

Re-shoring is the process of bringing manufacturing and part or all of the supply chain back to the home country from a foreign country. Near-shoring is a similar process, but refers to a location near the home country.

There are calls from many industries, associations and the public sector to bring supply chains home. This really came to the fore in March/April when we saw shortages of critical medical supplies around the world,

highlighting the risks of relying on foreign or single sourcing, and the indications are there that this will continue to be a popular strategy.

5

Cloud Solutions

6

5G Implementation

There are many organizations that still rely on legacy on-premise supply chain software, but the future lies in cloud-based solutions, because it allows flexibility, scalability and a global reach – all increasingly important elements of any supply chain strategy these days – without the expense of setting up and maintaining extensive on-site computing infrastructures.

According to McKinsey, cloud-specific spending in 2020 will grow 6x faster than other IT expenditures. These solutions should complement on-premise supply chain software, and provide a better user experience, greater functionality and easy access to new features and developments.

Compared to its predecessors, 5G is a massive step forward with regard to data speed and processing capabilities. It can be applied throughout the supply chain, from vehicle-to-vehicle communication to tracking items as small as microchips. In the warehouse, pickers can be guided by augmented reality applications that lead them to the correct bin.

Implementing these networks has huge benefits in terms of operational efficiency, particularly in terms of Internet of Things (IoT) and video communications. Running a 5G network in a factory can minimize latency and enhance real-time visibility and IoT capabilities when it comes to track-andtrace, product monitoring, blending indoor and outdoor operations and networks, and using real-time data.

7

VR/AR Immersive Experiences

Immersive experience technology such as Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality has the potential to radically influence the trajectory of supply chain management, helping to improve product and process design, data and process visualisation, employee collaboration, and experiencebased learning.

These new interaction models amplify human capabilities, and many companies are already seeing the benefits when it comes to on-boarding new workers through

immersive on-the-job training in a safe, realistic virtual environment, for example.

These are the trends we have seen develop over the course of this difficult year, and with so much uncertainty still in the present and around the future, our predictions and trends are sure to evolve and develop as we move through the waves of this pandemic around the world. All we can be sure of is that things will not be the same as they were before.

Joe Hepworth Director, OCO Global, and Founder of the British Centres for Business (BCB) With responsibilities across all market sectors and multiple regional countries, Joe oversees trade and export support projects across the region and is responsible for delivering the company’s investment attraction services in the region. He also leads the company’s economic development consulting team for the GCC. As part of Joe’s work with OCO, he holds a number of other important client representational roles in the Middle East. He is Director for Missouri Department of Economic Development in the Middle East; Regional Director for IDA Ireland; Middle East Director for the Connected Places Catapult and has managed the UK’s Department of International Trade regional delivery contract since 2013.

DECEMBER 2020 55

ADNOC’s agility and resilience lauded by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at SPC Meeting ADNOC

SPC announces the discovery of recoverable unconventional oil resources estimated at 22bn stock tank barrels

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bu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) announced the discovery of substantial recoverable unconventional oil resources located onshore, estimated at 22bn stock tank barrels (STB), and an increase in conventional oil reserves of 2bn STB in the Emirate (Abu Dhabi).

The announcements were made following the recent SPC meeting presided over by HH Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces and Vice-Chairman, SPC. At the meeting, the SPC approved ADNOC’s capital expenditure (CAPEX) plan of AED 448bn (US$ 122bn) for 2021-2025 to enable smart growth. As part of this plan, ADNOC aims to drive over AED160bn (US$ 43.6bn) back into the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) economy between 2021 and 2025.

The inflow to the local economy will be enabled by ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) Programme which is aimed at nurturing new local and international partnerships and business opportunities for the private sector, fostering socioeconomic growth and creating job opportunities for Emiratis.

56 DECEMBER 2020

Green light In addition, the SPC gave approval for ADNOC to award exploration blocks in Abu Dhabi’s second competitive block bid round which was launched in 2019, it was revealed via a press communiqué.

The SPC also reviewed the transformation in ADNOC’s Marketing, Supply and Trading (MS&T) Directorate, which has evolved to offer customers a broader service, while further stretching the value from every barrel that ADNOC produces, refines and sells. The directorate has become a more integrated shipping and logistics, storage and trading focused entity, establishing two new trading companies – ADNOC Trading (AT) and ADNOC Global Trading (AGT) – to help deliver its mandate.

The SPC also reviewed ADNOC and ADQ’s recently announced joint venture, TA’ZIZ, established to fund and develop chemicals projects within the Ruwais Derivatives Park. ADNOC and ADQ, through TA’ZIZ, are setting the stage for the UAE’s next generation of technology-driven growth and helping to advance the UAE post-Covid economic recovery.

Commenting on ADNOC’s discovery of onshore unconventional oil resources and an increase in its conventional oil reserves, HH Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed said the achievement is a testament to ADNOC’s relentless efforts to unlock and maximize

value from the UAE’s hydrocarbon reserves for the benefit of the nation.

“Following the SPC’s approval of ADNOC’s CAPEX, we are well-positioned to continue driving long-term and sustainable value for the UAE while creating opportunities for local businesses and private-sector jobs for Emiratis through our in-country value target,”affirmed HE Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Group CEO. ADNOC’s CAPEX plan will enable it to drive upstream growth, progress downstream expansion and further strengthen the company’s marketing and trading capabilities to ensure it maintains its competitiveness and industry leadership position over the next fifty years.

Downstream expansion ADNOC’s downstream expansion continues to prioritize the transformation of Ruwais into a globally competitive chemicals and industrial hub, leveraging close geographic proximity to fast-growing global demand centres, a competitive feedstock position, Abu Dhabi’s attractive fiscal and regulatory environment, and an integrated utilities, infrastructure and services offer to drive accelerated FDI inflows over the long term.

ADNOC

Despite the challenging market conditions, ADNOC delivered AED 62bn ($16.8bn) in foreign direct investment (FDI) to the UAE this year, taking the total FDI ADNOC has driven since 2016 to AED 237bn (US$ 64.5bn).

HH Sheikh Mohammed expressed the SPC’s appreciation of ADNOC’s smart and innovative approach to strategic partnerships and investments which has resulted in the company completing several landmark transactions.

ADNOC maintains its leadership role in driving ICV for the UAE following the huge success of its ICV program which has driven more than AED 76bn ($20.7bn) back into the UAE’s economy and created over 2,000 private-sector jobs for Emiratis since it was launched in January 2018. ADNOC’s new ICV goal will enable the localization of strategically critical parts of the oil and gas value chain and create more private-sector jobs for Emiratis.

The new discovered resources will further strengthen the UAE’s role as a leading resource holder with high-quality crude grades, reinforce the country’s energy security and underpin its position as an essential and reliable energy provider to the world. This year, ADNOC successfully increased its crude oil production capacity to over 4mn barrels per day (mmbpd).

Hydrogen opportunities The mandate to explore potential opportunities in Hydrogen will see ADNOC capitalize on the emerging global market for Hydrogen by leveraging its existing infrastructure and partnership base as well as Abu Dhabi’s vast reserves of natural gas.

ADNOC already produces hydrogen for its downstream operations and following this mandate, the company will explore the potential to help meet the emerging global demand for hydrogen and ammonia derived from natural gas.

Building on its advantaged position as a major natural gas reserves holder and producer, with existing infrastructure and strong partnerships, ADNOC is well placed to lead the development of international value chains and establish a hydrogen ecosystem for the UAE in partnership with other Abu Dhabi entities.

Recoverable oil resources The 22bn STB of recoverable unconventional oil resources announced by the SPC exceeds some of Abu Dhabi’s major fields in terms of resources and the production potential ranks alongside the most prolific North American shale oil

plays. The unconventional oil resource assessment was supported by extensive well data as well as a dedicated appraisal program by ADNOC in an area covering 25,000sqm in Abu Dhabi.

The 2bn STB of conventional oil reserves announced by the SPC increases the UAE’s conventional oil reserves base to 107bn STB of recoverable oil, strengthening the country’s position in global rankings as the holder of the sixth-largest oil reserves.

This increase in reserves is as a result of the ongoing maturation of ADNOC’s developments towards its 5mn barrels per day (mmbpd) oil production capacity target by 2030, and its appraisal activities, particularly in the Al Nouf field.

Both the conventional and unconventional oil resources offer the potential to provide ADNOC with additional amounts of Murban-grade crude. Murban is ADNOC’s signature grade crude and is recognized around the world for its intrinsic chemical qualities, consistent and stable production volumes, large number of international buyers, and numerous long-term concession and production partners.

Hydrocarbons These additions to the UAE’s hydrocarbons base follows the announcement in November 2019 by the SPC of increases in hydrocarbon reserves of 7bn STB of oil, 58tn standard cubic feet (TSCF) of conventional gas, and 160 TSCF of unconventional recoverable gas resources.

These additions to the UAE’s hydrocarbon reserves marked a historic milestone for the country since the last major update of its reserves base three decades ago.

As ADNOC develops its upstream resources and expands its downstream footprint, it is further strengthening its marketing and trading capabilities. As part of this effort, AGT – a joint venture with ENI and OMV – is set to begin the trading of refined products before the end of the year.

In addition, ADNOC will expand its shipping capabilities by purchasing a fleet of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), through ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), creating new long-term revenue streams as it enters a new sector to support growing customer demand and its historic move into trading.

DECEMBER 2020 57

DUBAI COMMERCITY-HELLMANN-DHL PARTNERSHIP

Dubai CommerCity partners with Hellmann and DHL Express Stakeholders sign strategic agreement to support future growth of e-commerce

Hellmann who will manage consumer and shipment queries including tracking and tracing of deliveries. The clients will be supported with reporting dashboards based on their individual requirements.

“Hellmann’s end to end warehousing solutions will help our customers capture business opportunities that they may have otherwise lost,” noted Geoff Walsh, UAE Country Manager, DHL Express.

ubai CommerCity, the region’s first dedicated e-commerce free zone, recently signed an agreement with Hellmann Worldwide Logistics to manage and operate a shared, multiclient warehouse within the logistics cluster of the free zone.

Dubai CommerCity is set to elevate Dubai’s position as a leading hub for international e-commerce, supporting economic diversification and smart transformation. It is a AED 3.2bn (US$ 900mn) project covering an area of 2.1mn square feet in Umm Ramool, right next to DXB International Airport, the proximity to the centre of Dubai and airport offers fantastic speed to the consumer.

Hellmann will provide end-to-end warehousing including services like order management systems and streamlined customs clearance processes. As part of end-to-end logistics services, Hellmann will also offer last mile delivery services, through its last mile partner DHL Express, from the bonded warehouse directly to the consumer.

The multi-client warehousing customers will be serviced by a dedicated team from

Incentives

E-commerce surge

Customers at Dubai CommerCity will be able to benefit from pre-negotiated, market competitive warehousing and last mile conditions along with economical delivery lead times and coverage. Customers can also avail unique and exclusive pay-asyou-go storage options which is highly cost efficient and which allows flexibility to scale their operations in line with demand.

“This year has highlighted the vital role that e-commerce and logistics play in the global economy. These sectors will be crucial for enabling other industries to prosper and for supply chain to be strengthened,” remarked Amna Lootah, Assistant Director General, DAFZA. “Dubai CommerCity’s strategic partnership with such a globally renowned service provider as Hellman Worldwide Logistics and our last mile partner, DHL Express, will enhance Dubai CommerCity’s service scope as a specialized free zone compared to the traditional infrastructure provider model,” commented Madhav Kurup, Regional CEO-Middle East and South Asia, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

The e-commerce retail market in the Middle East & Africa is expected to grow by 20% to reach USD 26bn in 2022, which outpaces the global growth of 13%. The GCC is also expected to contribute 43% of MEA’s e-commerce retail market by 2022” Dubai CommerCity will provide advanced opportunities for global and regional manufacturers, as well as distributors and global e-tailers. It will facilitate a business ecosystem for companies in the e-commerce industry such as, web developers, photo-shoot studios, call center service providers and others.

Divided into three main clusters business, logistics and social, Dubai CommerCity will be a home for innovation, new technology, plug & play ecommerce ecosystem, state of the art services and modern infrastructure, a press communiqué concluded.

It is pertinent to note that all of the stakeholders involved in this partnership— Dubai CommerCity, Hellmann and DHL Express are clients of Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG) in the UAE.

D

58 DECEMBER 2020

COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING

SNC-Lavalin to adopt collaborative contracting for GCC project delivery The Group has launched a white paper that provides a strategic framework to enhancing project delivery and efficiency in the GCC.

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he SNC-Lavalin Group in the Middle East has launched a white paper entitled ‘New Alliances: Collaborative Contracting in the GCC Projects Market’ that provides a strategic construction frame to accelerate project delivery and capabilities in the GCC. The framework combines the Company’s market knowledge with its end-to-end services broadly including consulting, advisory, design, engineering, procurement, project & construction management, and operations & maintenance expertise under the SNC-Lavalin, Atkins, Atkins Acuity, and Faithful+Gould brands.

The white paper was launched at a recent live webinar that included a panel discussion and open Q&A with industry leaders across the region. The panelists who led the discussion included Faisal Butt, Director, Project Delivery, The Red Sea Development Company; Raymond Hector, Director–Commercial Contracts, Aldar Properties; Paul Abbosh, Managing Director, GCC–excluding UAE & KSA, Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group and Sean McQue, Operations Director, Alec.

The need for a new approach Over the past two decades, the GCC has established a reputation for delivering ambitious megaprojects that push the boundaries of what can be achieved.

With an estimated US$ 2.9tn of major projects planned or underway at the end of 2020, there are abundant future project opportunities in the region.

In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the challenges facing project delivery. Despite the challenges, this disruption of the pandemic provides an

opportunity for the GCC projects industry to rethink its approach.

Throughout 2020, the pandemic encouraged people and companies to collaborate in order to overcome the challenges of remote working and social distancing. In particular, the crisis has accelerated the adoption of new digital and online technologies

Collaborative contracting Collaborative contracting is the key to resolving many of the challenges facing regional project delivery and has been shown to deliver considerable financial savings, improved quality of assets and optimization of available resources.

Digital transformation Digital technology is the key enabler of closer collaboration between parties from different phases of the project lifecycle, as well as improving the coordination of multiple teams in real time. The wave of

new digital solutions is emerging at the same time as project clients are increasing their demand for faster and efficient construction.

Drivers of collaboration Collaborative contracts are well-suited to complex, medium-to-long term projects that involve multiple stakeholders. These complex, large-scale projects carry a larger number of risks than smaller developments, and consequently need to be better managed from the outset. However, one size does not fit all.

Selecting the right consultant and contractor that share a collaborative mindset and expertise is key to steer a project towards efficient delivery and positive outcomes. Owner and stakeholder involvement is another key enabler of collaboration. This can be achieved by appointing an alliance management team that includes representatives from all parties to oversee project progress and delivery at all stages.

DECEMBER 2020 59

HARNESSING AI

Leveraging AI capabilities can save GCC Governments up to US$ 7bn annually New Oliver Wyman Report places the Middle East and Africa (MEA) as the leading region in forecast internet protocol traffic growth

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liver Wyman, a global company in management consulting, estimates that the efficiencies generated by artificial intelligence (AI) technology can support Middle Eastern government budgets by up to US$ $7bn annually.

A new report by Oliver Wyman titled ‘AI for Governments’, places the Middle East and Africa (MEA) as the leading region in forecast internet protocol traffic growth with a 41 percent growth rate by 2022. With more data available now than ever, enabling high-impact AI projects has become more achievable.

“Due to the breadth and depth of data availability across sectors and on the citizen-level, AI and other related technologies have the potential to solve many finance and revenue problems that governments face, while driving impact,” commented Manuel Abat, Partner-Digital and CMT Practice, Oliver Wyman.

According to the report, several approaches have been adopted by governments on a global scale that can be implemented and tailored in line with regional visions, government goals and strategic outcomes.

First-Class Government Services The study highlights that citizens often interact with government agencies to complete day-to-day tasks, typically leading to complaints around speed, quality, and bias. By using AI, governments can personalize such services by leveraging models that optimize for citizen-specific attributes, such as next-best-action (NBA) models embedded in chat-bots or virtual assistants.

60 DECEMBER 2020

A good example in the region is the UAE showing interest geared towards the implementation of virtual assistants and which has begun moving government services to digital channels as Dubai launched its AI-backed advisor ‘Rashid’. The program uses AI to offer official and reliable answers to customers’ questions regarding the necessary procedures, documents, and requirements to conduct various transactions.

Citizen-centric Public Policies The report also indicated that governments can leverage AI to shape the content of their policies. For example, the technology can be used to monitor social media responses and local concerns brought on prior to formulating a particular policy. Tracking and analyzing the results can allow government officials to take a reactive response and amend the policies in line with public concerns.

Inventive Public Servants AI-enabled technologies can allow for the completion of mechanical tasks quickly and accurately. Embedding the technology into the workforce gives citizens a more convenient experience, while freeing up employees’ time for more impactful work.

Optimal Government Budgets Another approach indicated is making use of AI technologies for governments to manage their finances. Public finance management can streamline algorithms to improve revenue collection, optimize budget allocation, detect and reduce

Manuel Abat

financial fraud, and augment government audit capabilities to reduce corruption and avoid wasting taxpayers’ money.

“To capitalize on the benefits of AI technology, governments need to take a holistic approach that should incorporate historical learning and conclusions, best practice benchmarks, and managerial perspectives,” continued Abat.

“Outlining aspirations that the AI technologies will set out to achieve, prioritizing sectors and issues that should be targeted with the AI technologies, measuring the impact of the projects, enabling success through the capabilities and outlining methods to efficiently manage the AI projects and resources, will allow governments to identify and prioritize AI investments,” he added.

According to the report, designing and implementing an AI Roadmap is a priority and is critical in ensuring sustainable and resilient government activities. The report also highlights that the benefits of AI to governments were tangible by the end of 2019 and are now even more pertinent in the context of Covid-19.

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