SAUDI
ARABIA’S
vol 06 ISSUE 02
MOST ADMIRED
COMPANIES IN
2021 Mr. Noor Sheriff Co-Founder and CEO
Tech Timeline The Evolu on of Robo cs #Trendsplaining What exactly is Guerrilla Marke ng? – Decoding the controversial marke ng approach
Jamjoom
Pharma Redefining Quality and Innovation while Achieving Global Success
EDITOR’S DESK
T
he business culture in Saudi Arabia is witnessing a seismic change with the government opening doors and encouraging non-oil businesses through its vibrant schemes.
SAUDI
ARABIA’S
vol 06 ISSUE 02
MOST ADMIRED
The Kingdom is adapting to the new world changes and is asserting its position in the global business world. Its consistently vibrant economic growth is its unique selling point (USP) that has only helped it to experiment in non-oil businesses.
COMPANIES IN
2021 Mr. Noor Sheriff Co-Founder and CEO
#DigitalEverything 5 Things Small Businesses Should Know about Social Media Marke ng Up&About How to maintain a produc ve environment while within a remote team
Jamjoom
Pharma Redefining Quality and Innovation while Achieving Global Success
Advantage Saudi Arabia: Leveraging Novel Opportunities
Critical thinkers and change-makers are the youth of the country who are making their presence felt on the global map of businesses. Be it healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), manufacturing, retail or start-ups, ecommerce, telecommunications, Saudi Arabia promises tremendous potential besides its traditional oil and tourism business. The retail business in Saudi Arabia dates to around 2000 years back when Mecca was the hub of trade and people from Arabian countries and the neighbouring ones travelled for trade. The retail
outlets and supermarkets in Saudi Arabia are of a very recent origin beginning from the last century.
included in the workforce. The government is leaving no stone unturned to realise its Vision 2030.
Besides, the manufacturing sector is touted to become an international hub and thereby reduce its economic dependency on fossil fuels.
We, at Insights Success, selected some companies that have travelled an extra mile to secure a global place for themselves. We are sure you will enjoy reading our latest edition - Saudi Arabia’s Most Admired Companies in 2021 to learn more about these extraordinary entrepreneurs.
The Saudi Arabia government’s initiatives to promote small and medium-sized enterprises will further diversify the businesses in the country and consequently increase the contribution towards the country’s economy from diverse sectors. This is expected to increase the contribution of SMEs to the gross domestic product from 20% to 35% by 2030. The oil giant’s robust economic growth due to oil and gas reserves, developing and expanding other businesses is hardly a challenge for Saudi Arabia. The country has become more open to non-oil businesses contributing significantly to the GDP of the country. It is also opening doors to global business houses and foreign investments. Entrepreneurship is also flourishing as it did never with start-ups. More women are emerging in the entrepreneur world of Saudi Arabia and, more women are also being
Have a great read!
Sumita Sarkar
COVER STORY
08 Jamjoom Pharma Redefining Quality and Innovation while Achieving Global Success
Articles 22 Tech Timeline The Evolution of Robotics
32 #Trendsplaining What exactly is Guerrilla Marketing? Decoding the controversial marketing approach
C
O
N
T
E
N
T
16 Al Ain Farms Upholding a Legacy of Quality
26 Circle K Catering World Class Service With High Quality Products
28 Jashanmal Group A Legacy of Reliability, Empowering the International Retail Sector
36 PayTabs Enabling Businesses to Transact Online with Ease and Safety
S
Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Senior Editor Anish Miller Abhishaj Sajeev Deputy Editor Assisting Editors Trishika, Yash Visualiser David King Art & Design Head Asha Bange Art & Design Assistant Priyanka Rajage Co-designer Paul Belin Art & Picture Editor Shahid Shaikh Business Development Manager Sherin Rodricks Marketing Manager Joseph D'souza Business Development Executives Kelly, Michael Sales Executives Jenny, Mark, Alice Technical Head Jacob Smile Assistant Technical Head Amar Sawant Technical Consultants Pratiksha, Aditya, David Digital Marketing Manager Alina Sege Assistant Digital Marketing Manager Amol Wadekar SME-SMO Executives Gemson, Renuka Research Analyst Eric Smith Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com
June, 2021 Corporate Ofce Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-859-2600 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com
Follow us on :
www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/
www.twitter.com/insightssuccess
We are also available on : RNI No.: MAHENG/2018/75953 Copyright © 2021 Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.
Company Name
Management
Brief
Al Ain Farms alainfarms.com
Willem Van Walt Meijer Chief Executive
Al Ain Farms is UAE's first dairy, poultry, camel milk and juice company.
Circle K circlek.ae
Laurent Guitart CEO
Circle K has become one of the most widely recognized convenience store brands, known worldwide for quality products and great customer service.
Etisalat etisalat.com
Hatem Dowidar Group CEO
Etisalat Group is one of the world’s leading telecom groups in emerging markets.
Jamjoom Pharma jamjoompharma.com
Mr. Noor Sheriff Co-founder and CEO
Jamjoom Pharma has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities which encapsulates the latest in manufacturing technology, systems and business practices.
Jashanmal Group jashanmalgroup.com
Khaled Soliman CEO
Jashanmal Group today is a corporation with multi-channel activities in the GCC and India with headquarters in the UAE.
Jumeirah jumeirah.com
José Silva Chief Executive Officer
Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts is a well-established luxury hotel company, which has had a distinct impact on the global hospitality market for the past two decades.
LuLu Group International ae.lulumea.com
Sainula Shamim Director
LuLu Group International today is a highly diversified entity with operations spanning a vast geographical landscape.
Nuyu nuyu-ksa.com
Princess Sara Al Saud Head of Marketing
nuyu’s mission is to offer women the opportunity to show their support– be it for their college, favorite movie character, sporting event or hobby.
Paytabs paytabs.com
Abdulaziz Al Jouf Founder and CEO
PayTabs is an award winning, B2B, payments solutions powerhouse founded by Saudi entrepreneur Abdulaziz Al Jouf.
Zid zid.sa
Abdullah Aljuma Marketing Manager
Zid is an e-commerce in a box - solution that any retailer can use to start their eRetail.
Jamjoom
Pharma Redefining Quality and Innovation while Achieving Global Success
T
he ambition for achieving excellence is what drives any company to zeniths. This excellence could encompass—but not limited to—delivering unparalleled service to its customers, innovating products that add value to the users, or prioritizing on saving the environment.
“
Our prime focus has been on building core manufacturing competencies to ensure that each Jamjoom Pharma product reflects world-class quality.
With excellence being at the crux of their mission, the companies featured in this edition titled, Saudi Arabia's Most admired Companies in 2021, exhibit true potential to spark a paradigm shift in the ways that industries and markets will function. One prominent name among such companies is Jamjoom Pharma, a world-class research-driven and globally recognized leading pharmaceutical company. The company has, in a very short span of time, emerged as one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the Afrasia region. Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals was established to provide highquality healthcare and wellness products at competitive prices for consumers' benefit. The company strives to set the highest quality standards in everything it does and continuously endeavor to make its name and image synonymous with quality and integrity. The cornerstone of Jamjoom Pharma was laid on the philosophy of Think globally, act locally. The central idea revolves around learning new technologies, ideas, concepts,
“
C O V E R S T O R Y
Mr. Noor Sheriff | Co-founder and CEO
Saudi Arabia's Most admired Companies in 2021
and models and making use of this knowledge to improve the company's local capabilities, expertise, capacities, and skills to produce better product offerings. The leadership team at Jamjoom Pharma believes that the primary responsibility of an organization is to create value for customers and stakeholders. In this sense, the company considers itself fortunate to have painstakingly built teams that are committed, result-oriented, and believe in the organization's vision and mission.
Exemplary Expertise The co-founder of Jamjoom Pharma and visionary leader Mr. Noor Sheriff is a seasoned authority on strategy, business development, and
“
We recorded the highest growth compared to the last five years, but we also managed to maintain a safe and secure environment for our employees to feel confident and give their 100% in such testing times
“
"Our prime focus has been on building core manufacturing competencies to ensure that each Jamjoom Pharma product reflects world-class quality; these standards are expected to meet established international companies' challenges. We attribute our remarkable success in the marketplace firstly to the world-class quality and efficacy of our products, comparable to the best in the industry and secondly to our people," says Mr. Noor Sheriff, the Co-Founder and CEO.
management, coupled with excellent leadership, communications, and teambuilding skills with over 50 years of experience. Mr. Sheriff is a consistent demonstrator of adapting problem-solving techniques and high-performance modulators across multiple departments and markets. He has always had a keen interest and expertise in the pharma industry trajectory over the past five decades, allowing for a high proficiency in the sector. Mr. Sheriff started his career in sales and marketing in the early '70s at Allergan. After moving through all the organizational hierarchy layers, he left Allergan but not before leading five successful years as Vice President/Managing Director of such a world-renowned organization. In the year 2000, Mr. Sheriff helped establish the structure of Jamjoom Pharma. He has thus naturally amassed the credit for hiring the right team to carry out Jamjoom Pharma's vision, which is now rated as the 'fastestgrowing and top-ranked pharmaceutical company' in Saudi Arabia. Along with his team of dedicated members, he has ensured the formation of various operating committees and executive teams and their successful implementation.
Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ
Following are some highlights of his profound career at Jamjoom Pharma: Established Jamjoom Pharma from its conceptual stage; Hired the 'right team' to carry out the vision of Jamjoom Pharma. Ÿ Leading cross-functional teams to plan, build, launch, and manage world class innovations. Ÿ Managing over 30 countries across Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Overseeing various Operating Committees and Executive teams. Built the 1st soft gel facility in the country. Established a state-of-the-art R&D center with over 100 top class scientists, several PhD holders who have developed over 230 products (and over 100 are in the pipeline). Guided Jamjoom Pharma as a Specialty Product line company operating in JP Ophtha, JP Derma, JP GIT, JP Cardio-Vascular medicine, JP CNS, JP Nutra, adding over a tenfold capacity across many lines. Maintained a high standard of performance for the product line. In a concise period, three of our
Specialty lines attained #1 rank as per IMS, and many of our products are among the Top 3 in the segment they operate. Ÿ Mentored the team responsible for establishing Jamjoom Academy, an institute responsible for training and developing young Saudis in several functions of Pharmaceutical manufacturing. Ÿ Contracted joint venture relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers in Ÿ Established a 100% owned Pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Egypt. Overcoming Adversities The team at Jamjoom Pharma believes
“
My goal has only been to try and bring out the best in every team member to define them, refine them, and be their best selves as individuals and professionals.
that COVID-19 has impacted the global economy like never before; the overall impact was crueler than anticipated. The consequence of this pandemic for some industries, especially airlines and hospitality, was catastrophic.
an opportunity. We recorded the highest growth compared to the last five years, but we also managed to maintain a safe and secure environment for our employees to feel confident and give their 100% in such testing times," the team added.
"Fortunately for the health care sector, the effect was not that significant, especially for the local manufacturer due to the inelastic demand. We have anticipated this as an opportunity. We knew that to capitalize on this opportunity, we must put ourselves in order, plan diligently and execute to perfection," the team expressed. Mr. Sheriff and his team also states that during the pandemic, pharmaceutical products' imports had drastically reduced, giving local manufacturers an outside opportunity to replenish the market demand by locally manufactured products.
Jamjoom Pharma currently has an ongoing expansion in Egypt and Algeria and envisions these sites to be fully operational by the end of 2022. One of the significant elements of Jamjoom Pharma's success is targeting the specialty line since its inception. "We will continue exploring them and discovering different specialty lines where we are currently not present," Mr. Sheriff concluded.
"This pandemic period, without a doubt, has been unlike any we have ever experienced, with challenges unlike any we have faced, but with perseverance, immaculate planning, and impeccable execution, we have managed to convert this challenge into
Bequeathing Invaluable Wisdom We asked Mr. Sheriff for his views on how the adoption of modern technologies such as AI, big data and machine learning have transformed the healthcare industry and what more could be expected in the near future, to which he said, "All three things mentioned above are in the early adoption phase, but I am sure they have a long way to go in the years to come. I am sure these technologies will become a necessity." "Whether from computer-aided drug designing to simple marketing and sales, or to know customer insight to fine-tune and develop product liking and market requirements, everywhere AI, big data, and machine learning will have a prominent & significant role to play. The concept of big data is not new. With the emergence of artificial intelligence, I am sure this big data will improve production efficiency, customer satisfaction and help bring down production costs in the health care industry," he added. Sharing his advice to the budding
“
entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the healthcare space, Mr. Sheriff said, "I have always believed in aiming higher, setting standards that are above the mark. My goal has only been to try and bring out the best in every team member to define them, refine them, & be their best selves as individuals and professionals. I have lived my life by certain values and principles. As a 'leader' my role was to promote those very values instill them among many of my team members.” "For new entrepreneurs, I will advise them to be confident and visualize the big picture of what they would like to achieve and remain focus. They should remain steadfast and not to give in to shortcuts when tested. I would strongly encourage them to select their team assiduously & diligently because, in the end, it is people that matter," he adds.
“
We attribute our remarkable success in the marketplace firstly to the world-class quality and efficacy of our products, comparable to the best in the industry, and secondly to our people
Exhibiting Unparalleled Excellence Following is Jamjoom Pharma's performance as per the latest data available with IQVIA. IQVIA is a third-party data analyzer and a world leader in using data technology and advanced analytics. It has the expertise in helping customers drive healthcare. As per IQVIA, Jamjoom has been recognized as the 3rd largest and one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical product manufacturers in Saudi Arabia.As per IQVIA, the company is number 2 prescribed company in Saudi Arabia.
Corporation
2020
2021 MAT
SPIMACO*
1
1
TABUK
2
2
JAMJOOM PHARMA*
3
3
GLAXOSMITHKLINE*
4
4
HIKMA PLC
5
5
SANOFI
7
6
NESTLE*
6
7
NOVARTIS
8
8
ASTRAZENECA*
10
9
PFIZER*
9
10
Grand Total
Apart from this, during 2020, Frost & Sullivan, a business consulting firm involved in market research and analysis, recognizes Saudi Arabia-headquartered Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals with the 2020 KSA Company of the Year Award for its operational excellence and expanded product portfolio and footprint. Additionally, during the recently concluded GCC BEST EMPLOYER BRAND AWARDS - 2020, organized by GCC Employer Branding Institute, Jamjoom Pharmaceutical company has won GCC's Best Emerging Employer Brand Award and Dream Company to Work for – Pharmaceutical Sector.
“
subscribe
Global Subscription $250.00
$130.00
$70.00
$25.00
1 Year
6 Months
3 Months
1 Month
(12 Issues)
(06 Issues)
(03 Issues)
(01 Issue)
Stay in touch.
Subscribe to Insightssuccess Get Insightssuccess Magazine in print, & digital on www.insightssuccess.com
UAE's Best
Retail
2021
vol 04 ISSUE 07
Companies
2021 Acknowledging Change Cashier-less stores: the next big step for the retail industry Timeless Tech The impact of modern technology on the retail sector
Toufic Kreidieh | Chief Executive Officer
BFL GROUP
“
Choose E xc e l l e n t, Choose Insights
Saudi Arabia's Most admired Companies in 2021
Upholding a Legacy of Quality
A
yearning for excellence and an unshakeable commitment towards delivering nothing but the best quality products is what makes Al Ain Farms one of the most prominent brands in the Middle East.
In our endeavor to bring into spotlight Saudi Arabia’s Most Admired Companies, crossing paths with a significant company such as Al Ain Farms was inevitable. Having been in operations for more than 40 years and sustaining its legacy and promise of delivering the finest food products is what makes the company a people’s favorite. In the following interview, Willem van Walt Meijer, the CEO of Al Ain Farms, shares a few valuable insights into the company’s position as a leader in the food and beverages market and his future vision for the company. Below are the highlights of the interview:
company in the UAE, running four farms under its brand – the dairy business, the juice business, the camel milk production, and the poultry section with fresh chicken and eggs. All products are produced in Al Ain, the heart of the UAE, and delivered to all regions daily, serving more than 13,000 outlets nation – wide and delivering close to 20 million units millions of fresh, long life dairy and poultry products monthly to the United Arab Emirates. The company has always had and will continue to have a pivotal role for enabling the food security of the country. Tell us about your company’s offerings, and how you have ascertained your stronghold within Middle East? The core competencies of the company lie in the strong brand reputation achieved across decades of operations in the country, further enchased with availability of the products across all regions.
of farms delivery within 24 hours from farm to customer, ensuring the fresh, tasty, safe, wholesome, and healthy food. Amongst many products, the core is the fresh milk – naturally pure, nutrient-rich, fresh, and healthy, available in multiple fat levels options and several package sizes. Company also produces a significant volume of long – life milk packed in paper cartons, enabling fresh milk to be preserved longer, without addition of any preservatives. Quite a large consumption category of fermented products, consisting of Laban (drinkable yoghurt) and thick yoghurt, and it offers a support for both good digestion and immune system benefits, by having an addition of the probiotic strains, LGG and BB12 which work in parallel to support and boost the health of consumer.
Please brief our audience about your company, its values, and its journey so far. Founded in 1981 by the Father of the Nation, late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayhan, Al Ain Farms was the first dairy company in the UAE to start the dairy operations and provide access to fresh milk to the nation.
The reach and coverage in UAE are sometimes difficult to achieve as cold chain in dairy must not be interrupted at any time, and the fleet over 270 vehicles, and thousand people almost never sleeps as fresh products are delivered 24/7 to more than 13,000 outlets daily.
The NO sugar fresh juice is available in eleven different flavors for everyone’s taste. Living in a hot and humid climate, fresh juice is an ideal refreshment and energy recovery, especially during the summer season. The company is the first local UAE company to offer a fresh juice range without any sugar to the consumers in UAE.
Continuing the heritage for close to 40 years now, Al Ain Farms has grown to be the largest integrated local dairy
The proximity of the farms to factory being in the same site compound enables us to ensure a straight promise
The only food company to nurture both the cows and camels at its farms, Al Ain Farms takes a special pride in
16| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
About the Leader Willem Van Walt Meijer, Chief Executive Officer, Al Ain Farms is a Dutch national. Following several positions in Marketing and Sales at Unilever in the Netherlands, Willem and his family lived in Indonesia, Ireland, and Russia where he held a series of director positions in Unilever operating companies. After 21 years working in the world of Unilever, Willem headed to new challenges. He was CEO of the Greenery, a co-operative of fresh produce growers, and then headed the Classic Dairy & Cheese division of Friesland Foods, a co-operative of dairy farmers. He served as the CEO of MidOceanBrands and was a member of the board at Polyconcept Ltd (US), from which he became Hong Kong-based Managing Director of the company’s international division. Mr. Willem was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Al Ain Farms in early 2020. He is leading Al Ain Farms on its continued journey towards becoming a major player in the UAE food industry, guided by the UAE leadership’s strategic initiatives to ensure the food security of the country. Mr. Willem works hand in hand with the management team, which consists of the representatives from all business divisions of dairy and poultry, brand development & concept innovation, sales & logistics, and support functions.
“
Al Ain Farms has continued to operate seamlessly during the challenging times, increasing its capacity to produce locally made, fresh products delivered daily across the UAE.
“
17| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
offering the Camel Milk, both locally and internationally in fresh and powder variant. Camel Milk has a high amount of healthy unsaturated fatty acids, higher calcium, vitamins and minerals and it is a good contribution to the strong bones, and overall good health of the immune system. Known as the ‘natural pharmacy’, due to many health benefits it contains, can be consumed also by lactose intolerant people. Over 8 million chickens and 120 million eggs are produced annually in Al Ain Farms and delivered to households across the country. Free from antibiotics, and any hormones, meat is produced in whole chicken and other varieties such as Lean Fillet, Drumsticks, and multiple pack options. Eggs come in different size of small, medium, and large, and are the most tasty and nutritional source of protein in daily diet. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your company to sustain operations and ensuring safety of your employees at the same time? Al Ain Farms has continued to operate seamlessly during the challenging times, increasing its capacity to produce locally made, fresh products delivered daily across the UAE. The core functions of farming, production and sales remained operational 24 hours throughout the whole year to ensure continuity of supply, and we have tirelessly undertaken all necessary measures to prevent any health breaches at our farms. Daily checks are conducted, and all employees remain safe and healthy. Our operational readiness and crisis protocol were key in making sure the
18| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
where demand exists, but supply is lacking, or a step change can be improved. Big current market is nice to know, but it is not interesting if you bring the same. Fast experimentation to scrutinize at low risk and low cost your product and business system should always work. In food industry, habits change relatively slow due to being engrained into culture, so planning for low pace scenario is needed, so we could be investing into growth. Finally, for all is that we should be coming with novel ideas of concepts and technology often found far from the place of core operations. Reason is that differentiation is everything, but potential lies in adapting the local needs and operational requirements. How do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in 2021? I believe the trend towards greater local production is clear, not just for reasons of self-sufficiency, but also because of the economic boost it can provide.
health of our employees and business continuity were safeguarded. It was a learning, but responsive and quick implementations, such as the opening of Al Ain Farms’ Care center in Sharjah for quarantine and medical security, and the rehousing of 600 employees, meant that we were able to continue business as usual. We implemented hard zone site where no one could enter from outside to ensure full biosecurity. Admittance to site is only granted after a negative test result was issued and one-week quarantine completed. Rigorous testing and a phased approach to working from home undoubtedly were key in preserving the welfare of our employees.
Safeguarding our partners and suppliers were also a key priority for us and we implemented a protocol with immediate effect, securing minimum impact along the supply chain. In first quarter of 2021, we have vaccinated all our staff on voluntary basis with a newly developed vaccine for Covid response, as company utmost priority is the health, safety and well – being of all its employees, biosecurity of the animal livestock, and quality of products and operations. What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the market that your company is catering to? Advice would be to go into something
Al Ain Farms continues to stress the availability, affordability, and outstanding quality of locally made products. All with a relentless attitude of continuous improvement in all we do. We are confident that the continued support we receive from the government on the farming part will further enhance the scale of the local output and ensure a fair level playing field for all local manufacturers within our sectors. We also aim to work more closely with our retail partners to customize shelves and packaging to communicate the benefits of locally made and benefits of our products for consumers.
19| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
The
Evolution of
ROBOTICS T
echnology today has reached heights that we couldn’t have comprehended even a few decades ago. Since the dawn of modern technology, humans have been in awe and admiration of the marvels that technology is capable of and, somewhere been a little anxious about the kind of power technology holds. This fear arises somewhere from the films that have mostly depicted robots as these machines which take over the world one day and eradicate humanity from the face of the earth. These movies, at best, succeeded in creating a fantasy AI and scaring humans into thinking what the future technology might have in the bag for them. Though in reality today, we see a different picture than what had been predicted or fantasized about by all of us. The following article will try to gauge and summarize how robotics has evolved over the years and, if anything, has only made human life easier.
0122| | MM 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
Tech Timeline
| MM 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com 23| June02 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
First robot of the world The idea of automata has been around for a long time now. Prominent innovators from across the world have experimented with a bunch of prototypes to finally come up with their respective versions of machines resembling very closely with the idea of robots. After a lot of experimentation, the world’s very first robot came into existence in 1954. This robot was built by George Devol, an American inventor. The robot was named Unimate and was the first commercial, programmable, and digital robot. This robot was later sold to General Motors in 1961, where it had the job of lifting hot metal pieces from die casting machines. Modern robots Since its evolution, there have been a ton of new developments in the world of robotics. It has contributed to the industrialization process tremendously. The invention of industrial robots has kept humans far away from dangerous, menial, and repetitive jobs in the industry and shifted the workforce to areas where human intellect and creativity are required. Similarly, service robots are used to aid humans by performing services that are useful to the well-being of humans and equipment. These are operated either semi or fully autonomously. Then came the educational (interactive) robots that aid teachers in educating children. These robots were used for the first time in the 1980s when turtles were used in computer science and mechanical engineering training. Now there are robot kits like Lego Mindstorms, BIOLOID, OLLO, and ROBOTIS that can help children learn about mathematics, programming, physics, and electronics.
Today humanoid robots like Pepper can recognize faces and basic human emotions. Pepper is optimized to engage in human conversations and is designed aesthetically to have a human touch to it. Today pepper is successfully operating in setups like hospitals and schools. There are robots like Roomba, which is a domestic vacuum cleaner robot that does a single menial job of keeping the surface clean on its own that leaves humans to do the more important jobs. Similarly, we have cars today with a cruise control option that lets the driver take a back seat on a highway after feeling fatigued in a long-distance drive and take back control in a crowded city street, thus completing the more complex job for which human instinct and intellect is required. With time it is becoming more evident that in the future, humans are more likely to work in harmony with robots rather than being replaced by them. Robotics will be aiding humans in achieving goals that seem inconceivable and assist humans in doing mundane and dangerous jobs. The usefulness of robots can be realized with the emergence of the recent pandemic. Robots could easily deliver the tasks like assisting health professionals by becoming the first line of defense and stopping person-to-person transmission of the virus, and complete menial tasks with absolute safety. This leaves the doctors to deal with the more complex jobs of management of the system and similar important tasks. Thus, we can conclude that the future looks promising with the evolution of modern robotics, and previously inconceivable dreams now seem more conceivable.
Robots have also been introduced in the life of elementary and high school children in the form of robot competitions. Modern robots are representing well how humans and robots can interact and work together to achieve industrial goals and create possibilities for even greater innovations and unlock higher potential. What to expect in the future With so many new innovations coming in, we have a lot to look out for in the future. Abilities like sensing the environment and responding appropriately to the situations, robots possess a high level of AI. This increases their probability of working in conjunction with humans in other fields as well.
03June | MM2021 2021| |www.insightssuccess.com www.insightssuccess.com 24|
-Trishika. R
Circle K
Catering World Class Service with High Quality Products
T
he retail food industry has seen a massive upsurge in the past couple of decades and is expected to expand even further. What makes these retail food stores so popular as against traditional food stores is value for money, hygiene, and ambience. Convenience stores is the buzzword today and food retailers are leaving no stone unturned to deliver the best with a variety of options. We spoke to one such food retailer, Circle K that is focused on becoming the top convenience store. Following are the excerpts of the interview:
Please brief our audience about your company, its values, and how the company has been positioned as a leading player in the retail space. Circle K is one of the largest food retailers in the world and is recognized as a Leading Global Franchise. It was brought by Convenience Arabia in 2009, catering a unique shopping experience for customers. We have been awarded as Best Convenience Retail Chain, three consecutive years in a row - 2017, 2018 and 2019. We are also Ranked #9 on the Top 10 Global Franchises for 2012 by Entrepreneur magazine, ahead of KFC, Domino's,
Dunkin' Donuts and 7-Eleven. What makes us remarkable? It is the unique locations that we have. What products does your company offer, and how are these making an impact on the industry and your customers? We have got on-the-go healthy snacks, fresh food, hot meals, beverages, pastry items, the everyday necessities for your family. We impact our customers' experience by catering a world class service and keeping the highest quality of products with healthy attributes for our customers. Brief us about Laurent Guitart and his journey in the industry, and how they have contributed towards the company's success. The joining of Laurent Guitart in the team in 2015 brought a tremendous success for the company. He implemented numerous positive result programs, deep reorganization of management team and its Company Strategy Mission and Vision. He improved purchase and operations platform resulting in substantial increase in revenue and margin and streamlined relationship of partners and suppliers. Under his leadership, Circle K got awarded Best Retail
Convenience Chain in UAE for three years in a row. Being an experienced leader, share with us your opinion on how the adaptation of modern technologies such as AI, big data and machine learning have transformed the retail industry and what more could be expected in the near future? Artificial Intelligence, big data and machine learning help us to rethink how we integrate information, analyze data, and insights to improve identifying our decision. We are forced to adapt these changes to cope up with the modern way of living. We can expect that in the near future retail stores will become unmanned and that only machines will work for them, such as smart vending machines. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your company to sustain operations and ensuring safety of your employees at the same time? Our immediate action helped protect the team and at the same time our business. Always, safety comes first. So, we implemented safety measures at
26| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
Saudi Arabia's Most admired Companies in 2021
all our outlets and in our office. It was a tough decision that we decided to close some of our stores, minimizing manpower from head office team to operations team, requesting the landlords for rent relief, and sending letters to suppliers to hold their payments and asking them to understand the situation. It was a horrible season for all businesses, but that is the reality. What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the retail space? My advice for them is to wake up 5 am every morning and be grateful. Learn to adapt the changes quickly, study the market trends and to put the customers at the heart of the business. How do you envision scaling your company's operations and offerings in 2021?
Laurent Guitart Chief Executive Officer
“
Learn to adapt the changes quickly, study the market trends and put the customers at the heart of the business.
“
We keep showcasing great products in front of our customers, so they cannot resist but buy our products. At the same time, we do sales promotions. It has been used for decades and the outcome was always great success.
27| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
Saudi Arabia's Most admired Companies in 2021
Jashanmal Group
A Legacy of Reliability, Empowering the International Retail Sector “Legacy is not what I did for myself. It's what I'm doing for the next generation.”
T
hese words by Brazilian mixed Martial Artists Vitor Belfort stand true to Rao Sahib Jashanmal, who by founding Jashanmal Group in 1919, left a legacy behind, which has become a global name catering to clients and creating job opportunities across different countries. Since its inception, Jashanmal Group has been a reliable partner in retail space for international fashion and footwear, travel gear, home appliances, and publishing companies seeking an opportunity to enter the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Today, the group's retail operations span over 150 stores in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and India. Our distribution network extends to more than 1,000 outlets. Furthermore, under the leadership of CEO Khaled Soliman and with the strong support of a proprietary logistics network that manages freight-forwarding, warehousing, regional, and international supply chains, Jashanmal Group has established itself as an equity partner in several regional joint ventures.
“At the heart of our new value creation strategy is our innovative philosophy of transforming relationships into partnerships," says Khaled, "We are closely working with international business partners in the premium and luxury sectors to help build brands in the GCC region through our retail operations and extensive distribution and wholesale network." Read the following interview where Khaled Soliman shares the success saga of Jashanmal Group also how the company came out strong while facing the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. What products does the Jashanmal Group offer, and how are these making an impact on the industry and your customers? We offer a wide selection of premium and high-quality goods from appliances and luggage to home, beauty, books, and fashion. There has been a shift in consumer behavior, customers are focusing more on self-care and are looking for products that create value in their lives. During the recent pandemic, our appliances were in demand, there is a strong emphasis on health and wellbeing. Being an experienced leader, share with us your opinion on how the adaptation of modern technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Machine Learning has transformed the retail industry and what more could be expected in the future? AI, Big Data, and ML adoption are reshaping the retail industry across inventory planning, supply chain management, and customer data management. We can now create better demand forecasting models using Big Data and AI to mine granular insights from trading patterns, consumer behavior, competitor activities, and make proactive changes to our marketing, merchandising, and pricing strategies. AI and Big Data are also playing a significant part in our communications with customers whereby we can personalize CRM strategies and tailor offers and promotions based on customer demands.
28| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
“
Khaled Soliman CEO of Jashanmal Group
At the heart of our new value creation strategy is our innovative philosophy of transforming relationships into partnerships.
“
About the leader
Since the day Khaled Soliman joined the Jashanmal Group his mandate was to turn around the organization and march along with the next century. His vision to work towards transforming the company to be compatible in an increasingly digital environment, all the while ensuring the best possible in-store and online shopping experience has led Jashanmal Group to new heights. Khaled developed and implemented the necessary strategies required to innovate from the inside and roll out fully immersive technology-driven retail spaces. Jashanmal Group launched its e-commerce business during the pandemic and in less than a year it has contributed 3-4% of the turnover.
29| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
With more maturity of these technologies in the future, we expect their adoption to be the norm rather than a choice. Retailers not integrating these technologies run the risk of losing market share. We can expect more personalization in assortment, promotions, and experiences based on customer personas built on ML and Big Data in both stores and online. Interactive chat, guided discovery, and conversational support will play a bigger role in traditional customerfacing roles. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has already been a catalyst to this change due to physical distancing. But I think in the short term, Supply Chain Management will be the biggest benefactor of these technologies, as we should see time and material spillovers reduce, with more accurate demand and delay forecasting. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your company to sustain operations and ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time? For businesses, there have been many lessons to be learned. Just like every other company we had to control our cost structure especially when operating remotely which has become a new normal with various segments of the businesses being more virtually connected now than ever before. The pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce, contactless purchases, service, and digital payment platforms. We are now more agile and confident in contactless and virtual interaction across all areas of service and business. The safety of our employees is our priority. We continue to provide an environment that respects the best and highest occupational health and safety standards as per the U.A.E guidelines. Regular disinfection of the office spaces, maintaining social distancing, and flexibility to work from
home are some of the key measures that have been undertaken by the Jashanmal Group. What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the retail space? The retail space is dynamic. It is constantly evolving. It is important to know your business well and have a long-term vision. I would strongly recommend the young aspirants to test the market for their product portfolio through different options pre-committing to any retail space investment. Retail spaces are not easy to maintain and can be quite a drain on your expense account. How do you envision scaling your company's operations and offerings in 2021? Today Jashanmal Group stands at a cusp of expansion and innovation and we all have exciting times ahead of us. We live in a data-driven world that requires digital dexterity and customer-first innovation, changing the status quo and an entire culture to prioritize long-term digital transformation is like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube on a rollercoaster. For us, digital will continue to spearhead. We are making our divisions lean, efficient, and technology-focused and are constantly revisiting our product portfolio and offerings.
30| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
What exactly is
Guerrilla Marketing? Decoding the Controversial
Marketing Approach
32| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
#Trendsplaining
G
uerrilla marketing is an unconventional method of marketing, where the techniques and tactics surprise the audiences. It creates an extraordinary relationship with the non-existing and existing audiences, astonishing the people by showing them fantastic stuff they might not have seen earlier, thus creating a buzz about the brand. In times of war, specific military tactics were used to attack the opponents. This way, the opponents were not able to do anything but to suffer the attack. The same tactics are used in modern-day Guerrilla Marketing, amazing the audience and influence them to buy products or services of the featured brand. Why Guerrilla marketing? Guerrilla marketing is an effective way to promote the products and services of a brand. It boosts awareness and creates a buzz among the audience, which makes them think about the brand. It impacts the audi ence psychologically and emotionally, which eventually helps in word-of-mouth marketing. The audience sees something unique, out of the box, and a different concept of marketing. Characteristics of Guerrilla Marketing It's cost-effective - It requires less money; once the idea and its process are decided, then it can be set up at low costs. Apart from expensive digital marketing, this traditional marketing is cheap and impactful. It's area-specific - It must be set up in the desired area, where there is more visibility like building, roundabout, etc. As it is area-specific, guerrilla marketing techniques target only the audience which is present in the chosen area. It's viral marketing - If the audience shoots or captures footage of the setup and shares it on digital platforms, then it can reach people other than the chosen area, where it can
33| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
go viral and reach multiple platforms. For this to happen, the advertisers should have a distinctive idea and concept.
distances, so it was able to target countless people to the sizable circumference.
It's Creative - Guerrilla marketing is a creative process; advertisers brainstorm to come to a final concept. If the idea is appealing and the message is getting interpreted creatively, then that idea is finalized.
Mc Donald's (Fast Food) Mc Donald's uses various strategies to empower its brand. It featured French fries—which is the most selling snack of McDonald's—to emphasize its brand. It displayed billboards informing the driving customers about the navigation of its restaurants. Mc Donald's has always tried to showcase surprising burgers and cold drinks on top of buildings by creating 3D enlarged models of food items. This kind of marketing aroused craving in the mind of bypassers for McDonald's burgers.
Types of Guerrilla marketing – Ambush marketing It is a type of Guerrilla marketing, where the advertiser ambushes to get exposure over its competitors. It can occur in public places like stadiums, where surprisingly, a brand is exposed to the public. The goal is again to surprise the audience. Experiential marketing In experiential marketing, the advertisers display products of the brand in such a way that it is open for trial. Consumers can try the product and get experience and then form their opinions about it – for example, test drives, faceto-face marketing, in-store experience, sampling, shows, kiosks. Stealth marketing In stealth marketing, a brand is displayed or advertised to people unconsciously, and the target person does not know that a brand is being advertised to him/her. Ambient marketing In this type, billboards, kiosks, hoardings, and objects are placed at unusual places, where the audience could not have imagined. The idea is to get their attention and draw them towards the features of a brand. Viral marketing Viral marketing includes promoting a brand on a larger level where the advertisers don't take much effort, as the people are doing it for them. The audience shares the story extensively to let it reach to larger audience organically. For this to happen again, the story, concept, or idea has to be different. Examples of Brands, which adopted Guerrilla Marketing strategies – Audi (Automobile) Audi adopted a stunning marketing strategy, where a hot air balloon was tied to a hoarding. It was depicting the strength and power of Audi; it has got the strength to pull and control a hot air balloon. This set could be seen from larger
Nike (Fitness) Nike is a shoe brand; thus, it has to promote fitness so that its target audience will start using Nike shoes all along their journey to stay fit. Nike dislocated the base part of the bench—which is used to sit in parks or jogging tracks—and used its logo with its tagline 'Just Do It.' This was to influence the psychological mind patterns of individuals. Rather than taking some rest, move and get going. KitKat (FMCG) As its tagline goes, "Have a break have a KitKat," it mostly markets its product in ways to relax and chill. One example showed, on a KitKat printed billboard, a swing was hung for the pedestrians to sit on the swing and relax. This engaged the people, which led to customer involvement. People did enjoy the setup and started clicking pictures of it. Duracell (Energy) Duracell is known for its artworks on power boxes, and they displayed two Duracell on the frontal part of small power boxes, which are usually seen in south-eastern areas of the United States. It depicts that the Duracell has the power to majorly supply electricity to different areas of the States. A cost-effective and powerful concept was initiated by Duracell. Guerrilla Marketing has proved to be a great way to market brands. Guerrilla Marketing aims to retain old customers and generate a new audience. It is all about how brands are displayed, the idea behind it, and how it is impacting psychologically and emotionally on the minds of the people. It does not resemble a traditional marketing initiative, such as a straightforward print or TV advertising campaign. Many brands are not adopting this approach due to its benefits and results. -Yash. Y
34| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
Saudi Arabia's Most admired Companies in 2021
Enabling Businesses to Transact Online with Ease and Safety audi Arabia, the country that was famous for its traditional dependence on oil, is now shifting towards innovation, digitization, and entrepreneurship. To strengthen this shift further under Saudi Vision 2030, the Saudi Arabian government aims to raise the contribution of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the GDP from 20% to 35% by 2030.
S
Please brief our audience about your company, its values, and its journey so far. Back in 2014, PayTabs was established in a humble office with only 6 members onthe team. Seven years ago, we were a struggling start-up and today we're proud to mention that we are an award-winning payment solutions company with operations around the MENA region.
As such, there are tremendous growth opportunities and potential for people, businesses, and communities who want to be part of this transformation. And PayTabs, a home-grown payments company is contributing to the Saudi 2030 vision by providing an easier and secure payment gateway.
Our vision has always been to be global in outlook but next-door in service by making payment processing simple, straightforward, and seamless for all members of the e-commerce field.
“We have analyzed the gaps in the payment market and launch solutions that play to the strengths of our diverse and dynamic team,” says Abdulaziz Al Jouf, theFounder and CEO of PayTabs. Read the following interview where Abdulaziz has shared how he was inspired to venture into payments gateway space and how PayTabs has been helping businesses streamline their online transactions through the company's easier and safer platform.
Over 7 years, PayTabs has evolved since its founding from a home-grown payments company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to a regional GCC market player to an iconic global payment solutions enterprise. With presence from Cairo to Dubai. Originally backed by Aramco's Waéd Entrepreneurship Center and later by other private institutions and individuals, it now has strategic partnerships worldwide. PayTabs success has been built on many factors:
List the range of PayTab's offerings, and how you have ascertained your stronghold within Saudi Arabia. We have analyzed the gaps in the payment market and launch solutions that play to the strengths of our diverse and dynamic team. We are geared to take the region's payment ecosystem to the next level of sophistication and ecommerce adaptation via our digital products and online solutions suite which includes: Online Payments/Mobile Payments: We enable customers to pay and get paid instantly, securely, and globally online via our mobile payment application. Recurring Payments: This solution is perfect for merchants who wish to set up repeat payments such as gym membership, educational fees, etc. Social Payments – Paylinks: Our new social commerce solution#PayLinks allows our merchants to sell from the comfort of their home or office desk and get paid with ease. It is a secure payment link that our merchants can share with their customers over any popular messaging platform and get paid instantly. E-Invoices:An in-built in-house solution for quick electronic invoicing
36| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
and invoice customization. PayTabs supports up to 168 currencies for effective digital invoicing. Biller Solutions: From Oman to Jordan and UAE to Egypt, we have localized options for bill payments to simplify the lives of millions and allow them to make effortless bill payments from home.
Paytabs Switch: In Q4 2020, PayTabs entered a software purchase arrangement with an India based technology company - for a middleware switch technology that will complement PayTabs' current technology stack and help in expanding the business to cater to multinational banks and partners that may be looking for an end-to-end payment processing solution. Being an experienced leader, share with us your opinion on why the adoption of modern technologies is necessary for your industry and how have you leveraged technology within your company? The silver lining of 2020 was that merchants increased their engagement of online platforms and demand towards innovative payment solutions and acceptance of cashless transactions grew.
From Zoom meetings to online food delivery and on-demand movies to digital fitness, technology has overpowered our lives. Customer behavior during the pandemic was evidence of the technology surge in our lives. Our enhanced payment processing platform has been designed to enhance our merchants' user experience, automate, and streamline payment processes. The PT 2.0 100% in-house technology platform will ultimately result in flexible and nimble rollout of new product features for web, social media, and mobile play. PayTabs soon aims to offer a full suite of acquiring solutions that include both offline and online processing modules which will bring cutting-edge technology like Phone NFC, social commerce, digital invoicing, and merchant financing
37| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
Abdulaziz Al Jouf Founder and CEO
“
People who ultimately succeed in life are not the strongest or the most intelligent but the ones most adaptable to change and survival.
“
Education Solutions: A centralized fee payment portal that enables parents to pay enrolment, registration, tuition, and other fees online while providing schools and educational institutes with a secure platform to manage the collection of student fee payments. Hospitality Solutions: PayTabs and SecurePay have partnered to offer a seamless paybylink and 3DS payment gateway solution for the hospitality industry to streamline reservations operations, increase occupancy, and eliminate chargebacks.
driving your company to sustain operations and ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time? We focused on the health, safety, and well-being of the PayTabs team and other stakeholders by continuing to work from home where necessary, during these strange times. It took upon us to motivate the team to progress with the roll-out of PayTabs' sophisticated new payment platform PT 2.0 to our merchants and partners, in KSA and globally to facilitate their payments more effortlessly, amidst Covid-19.The company also introduced relevant payment solutions during the pandemic and enabling businesses to think cashless. along with issuing an end-to-end acquiring platform. n today's hyper-connected world, we continue to make payments super Isimple for clients that have placed their trust in us. For the first time in the region, we successfully launched PayLinks which will enable our merchants to sell from their homes or office and get paid easily. It's a secure payment link that
merchants can share with their customers over any social platform. Once the customer clicks on the shared PayLinks they are directed to a payment page and then the merchant gets paid instantly. PayLinks can be shared via Facebook posts, Instagram photos, Tweets, LinkedIn articles, or even emails.
One of the features of our new system is social commerce. Social payments enable thousands of freelancers and small businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other markets to sell via Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, by sharing payment links with their clients.
Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you
Here is a fun fact, across the Middle East, Instagram has 63 million users, representing about 10% of global users
38| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com
on the platform. Imagine being able to sell to all of them and get settled via a simple and effective payment link. This is what excites and motivates me about running a payment company. What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the market that your company is catering to? Today, it's a different mindset and culture brought on by millennials. What I would like to say to this young generation of entrepreneurs is, take chances and make the most of given opportunities. One of the first things I learned through my experience is that you cannot do it without money; operation costs are inevitable. You must work smarter and be more prepared when it comes to entrepreneurship. Secondly, you cannot do it without a good team. While this is true, I always surround myself with what I call challengers (people who do not fear to challenge the boss).I hire and work with people I have never worked with before and learn from their diverse cultures and multicultural backgrounds Hire people that will amaze you. Negate your weaknesses by the strengths of your team members. I think what I have grown up believing is that people who ultimately succeed in life are not the strongest or the most intelligent but the ones most adaptable to change and survival. Its' always about moving to your next destination without delay. Change is a part of the journey so why fear? Travelling, another hobby of mine that has helped me be an open-minded person. Travelling opens my eyes and the doors to new possibilities and makes me try things that I have no idea about but excite me.
Exhibiting excellence “Exceptional and quick service, excellent platform. Special thank you for assistance with concluding the corporate business partnership.” – Karl Hougaard, Trade License Zone, UAE
“We have worked recently with PayTabs and they were very helpful, trying to help the startup ecosystem as much as they can, it was a great experience.” – Yousef Gamal, Nerd Mentors, Jordan
How do you envision scaling your company's operations and offerings in 2021? Being the first homegrown company in KSA to provide seamless B2B e-commerce solutions to SME's, the team and I at PayTabs are currently working on launching our next generation, unified payments platform, PayTabs Switch© to interlink the multibillion-dollar enterprise market chain in the MENA region. PayTabs Switch© is an electronic fund transfer (EFT) software platform. This turnkey platform will power secure transaction processing on an elevated scale in real-time for banks, financial institutions, processors, and other businesses with a retail interface. PayTabs Switch©, a full-stack product suite, will offer other Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and financial institutions a premium gateway to access major alternative payment methods in the MENA region. About the Leader Serial entrepreneur and fintech influencer, Abdulaziz Al Jouf foundedPayTabs when he faced problems in finding a suitable payment gateway for one of his business
startups. After figuring that many other SME owners in the MENA region need access to a payment platform tailored to their requirements, Abdulaziz created one of the most exciting and successful new e-commerce businesses in the MENA region. Known to his staff as AA, his passion and focus and with his trait of being a hands-on natural leader Abdulaziz has been leading the company to soar new heights while being fiercely supportive of his team's growth. He believes in giving back and he does so by tirelessly mentoring the region's young entrepreneurs. As a confessed risktaker, Abdulaziz is always open to opportunities as they arise and making the most of them. He recognizes failure as a lesson to gain valuable experience. Abdulaziz and PayTabs have been regularly lauded by their peers both locally and internationally. In 2020, PayTabs emerged as one of the top 10 funded startups in the Middle East while in 2019, it was ranked number one on the top 20 Fintech Startups list, by Forbes Middle East.
39| June 2021 | www.insightssuccess.com