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Future Warehou e & Lo i tic

According to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), it foresees that UAE’s logistics sector will be contributing a major part to its economy, from the current 5.4% to 8% by 2021. With the rapid growth in warehousing and logistics sector in United Arab Emirates (UAE), a 3-days conference themed “Future Warehouse & Logistics 2020, will be held from 10 –12 March 2020 (Tues – Thurs), in Dubai – UAE, bringing more than 20 world-class speakers together to share their insights on how to create a synergy between people, process and innovation for a smarter operating facility.

Some of the world-class speakers include of Prashant Saran, Chief Operations Officer (COO), Middle East & North Africa- Amazon Consumer Business of Amazon, UAE; Jan Gliszczynski, Logistics Specialist of Leading Logistics Solution Designer, Germany; Anant Gairola, Head of Operational Excellence – Customer Care of Walmart

eCommerce, USA; Ahmed Nasr, Warehouse & Logistics, Manager of Mondelēz International, Bahrain; Marco Antonio Carreno, Supply Chain Cluster Director (Kuwait, Iraq, Iran) of

Kuwait Food Company (Americana), Kuwait; Ali Kafil-Hussain, VP Strategy of Noon.com, UAE among others.

This conference will be uncovering crucial sections and navigate a seamless transformation through two streams - Future Warehouse (Stream One) & Smart Logistics (Stream Two). For Future Warehouse – focuses on key strategies and techniques on how to lower operational expenses from errors, techniques to increase warehouse space utilisation and flow, meeting customers’ expectation and same day delivery whilst minimising overheads through sustainable operations; For Smart Logistics – showcases how the GCC’s logistics and supply chain leaders are developing their roadmap from End to End Synchronisation, Real-Time Forecasting and Planning, Control Towers, Intelligent Scheduling (Algorithm and Optimisation), Intelligent Manufacturing Supply Chain.

In addition, an exclusive and insightful half-day tour to a most advanced State-ofthe-Art Warehouse in Dubai will be offered, regardless of the stream delegates are in. This conference also features a full day post-conference workshop, themed “Digital Supply Chain: The Route to An Effective Warehouse Management”, facilitated by Ian Maughan, Managing Director from Supply Chain Network Ltd, UK, to create a roadmap which will explore a holistic approach, examining the key stages and steps to preparing a warehouse to deliver an optimal digital strategy and a best of breed warehouse management systems solution as the key execution enabler. If you are interested, please contact Anna Foo directly at +603 2603 2593 or email to annako@marcusevanskl.com.

Rel i abl e ai rfrei g h t servi ces cu stom -m ad e for you r person al n eed s

Tran port and Innovation

Kasun Illankoon caught up with Jörg Mommertz, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales Area MEA& Latin America and Managing Director, MAN Truck & Bus Middle East FZE

How did MAN perfor in 2019 and did it eet it expectation for the year? Speaking for the Sales Area Middle East, Africa & Latin America, I will say 2019 ended on a positive note. Despite various challenges in different markets, we managed to do well. Of course, the global scenario was punctuated with issues such as key economies slowing down; trade disputes; geopolitical developments; and region & country specific political instances to name some.

Last year was perhaps one of the most challenging period since the 2008 global meltdown. However, the mix of developments and cumulative impact was not expected. But I am happy to say that we are satisfied with our performance in 2019.

In ter of the arket outlook - how doe it look for MAN in the Middle Ea t and in the UAE ? The Middle East offers a mix of opportunities and challenges. While global economic slowdown has impacted all markets, there are positive in this region signs that gives us confidence. The region’s economy is expected to recover in 2020, following a dull performance in 2019. There are small but definite trends of economic diversification towards non-oil businesses, sup- ported by government policies and initiatives.

For the oil exporting countries, growth is expected to rise up to 2%. Business climate reforms and investment in infrastructure are expected to provide growth to up to 2.2% among the GCC countries. MAN will work proactively to increase its business opportunities this year. Besides vehicle sales, we are also looking to enhance our Aftersales business.

In ter of the tran portation indu try - what are your thought on it? The transportation industry is poised to grow significantly in the GCC countries. Respective

governments are developing large-scale infrastructure, with an emphasis on road network. Also, it is expected that the non-oil GDP growth will grow faster in 2020.

The GCC countries are also focusing on attracting greater investments and become hubs for global trade, imports may rise. The mode could be either through aviation or shipping, which means these locations could become trade centres. All these factors mean the transportation sector could benefit from these developments.

If things move in this direction, transport & logistics businesses will require trucks that are reliable, powerful and efficient. MAN’s truck range, which includes long-haul; local distribution and last-mile-delivery solutions, is powered by engines that are proven to be powerful yet efficient, consuming lesser fuel, over long duty cycles in demanding conditions.

Our vehicles are also built on the concept of lightweight, which allows customers to carry more payload per trip resulting in more earnings. Even a benefit of about 1 tonne higher payload per trip can benefit operators significantly over the product’s operating life. It is pertinent to note we are expanding our truck product portfolio and now we also offer e-vehicles. These aspects, besides many others, make MAN the right choice for transport & logistics industry.

Tell u about the late t truck that have been relea ed by MAN ? MAN will be conducting the global launch of its new truck generation. The new truck sets standards for usability and connectivity. The new truck is not just a truck, but rather an integrated transport solution that makes work easier for the driver, more efficient and more comfortable. The vehicle will impress both transport companies and drivers.

While the introduction of the new truck generation in the Middle East region is a given, we have not yet taken a decision on the timeline. MAN will continue to offer the current TG range and aftersales solutions till then.

In ter of innovation and technology - how i MAN i ple enting it in their product ? As part of the TRATON Group, MAN is taking active steps in these areas. We are working on electric vehicles (van, bus, and truck), autonomous driving, fleet management and digitalisation.

On the e-vehicles front, MAN Truck & Bus was one of the first European commercial vehicle manufacturers to successfully put e-mobility on the road together with its customers. MAN followed this up with a small production run of the MAN TGM 26.360 E LL distribution truck in December 2019 at the Steyr plant in Austria. The new MAN eTGE van is already being used by two major logistic companies in France by DHL Express France & Geodis and in Austria by Quehenberger Logistics, a transport and logistics company.

We have also received our first electric city bus order from the city of Hamburg, Germany. The fully electric Lion’s City E will delivered in the second half of 2020.

The question of how used batteries from electric vehicles can be used after their first life in the vehicle is being explored by MAN Truck & Bus, Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein (VHH) and the Volkswagen Group in a ground-breaking pilot project. One objective of the project is to develop a flexible battery storage concept which allows for the replacement of batteries.

The scope of work in innovation & new technology is vast and MAN continues to make efforts and offers to all its customers business solutions like energy management, consulting.

Some of the countries in the Middle East region have shown interest in our solutions. We are engaged in discussions to understand the market requirements and will prepare a roadmap to introduce our products at the right time.