INTERVIEW
TECHNOLOGY
INTERVIEW
H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC Group
New trends to drive the tech sector in 2021
Ramez Hamdan, Al-Futtaim Automotive
CONNECTING TRADE PROFESSIONALS WITH INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE
FEBRUARY 2021
POWERING FORWARD
BRIAN WOODSIDE THE GROUP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AT AL MASAOOD GROUP AIMS TO NOURISH BUSINESS VITALITY BY OPENING DOORS TO NEW IDEAS
A MEMBERS OF EMIRATES TRANSPORT BUSINESS CENTERS:
IN THIS ISSUE
24
28
18 POWERING FORWARD
BRIAN WOODSIDE
The Chief Financial Officer at Al Masaood Group aims to nourish business vitality by opening doors to new ideas
10 NEWS 16 OP-ED
PENNED Creating stronger bonds in supply chain: Independence is out of the question as reliance on other regions and countries has become a necessity
24 INTERVIEW
VALUABLE BRAND In conversation with H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO, ADNOC Group
26 TECHNOLOGY
NEW TRENDS TO DRIVE THE TECH SECTOR IN 2021 Damo Academy, Alibaba Group’s research initiative, shares its forecast of the top 10 principal trends that will shape the tech industry for the year
28 INTERVIEW
AHEAD OF THE CURVE Ramez Hamdan, Managing Director- Industrial Equipment at Al-Futtaim Automotive shares his insight on the company’s way forward in the face of the pandemic
30 TRADE
TRADE & INVESTMENT 2021 Middle East forecast
32 FLEET MANAGEMENT
SMART CREDENTIALS Farnek launches in-house smart fleet management solution
34 TRUCKS
RENAULT TRUCKS: ENOC’S
NEWEST ‘PARTNER OF CHOICE’
Major fleet deal sees ENOC take delivery of eight new C 380 tractor heads from Renault Trucks
LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 3
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EDITOR’S NOTE
DUBAI-ISRAEL TRADE PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT BOOST TO THE ECONOMY
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ubai’s trade with Israel in the last five months (Sep 2020 -Jan 2021) touched a value of Dhs1 billion and a volume of 6.217k tonnes. Of this, imports were valued at Dhs325 million (718 tonnes), exports at Dhs607 million (5.4k tonnes), and transit trade at Dhs98.7 million (52.4 tonnes), according to Dubai Customs statistics. The normalisation of relations between the UAE and Israel is set to be a turning point in the economic and investment relationship between the two countries with mutual trade expected to grow to AED15 billion in the next few years generating more than 15,000 jobs, Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of Dubai’s Ports,
Customs and Free Zone Corporation noted. In the light of this exceptional growth, Sultan bin Sulayem believes opening new markets and stimulating mutual trade between Dubai and Israel will encourage companies to increase production, leading to greater economic growth and more job creation. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, stated that the volume of Dubai’s seaborne trade with Israel amounted to 5.7k tonnes (Dhs82.8 million), while airborne trade reached 423 kg (Dhs948.6 million). Dubai’s main imports from Israel include vegetables and fruits, diamonds and flat screens, hi-tech devices, and medical and mechanical devices, while exports include diamonds, smart phones, engine spare parts, perfumes, and lubricants. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih stated that Dubai and Israel can both generate new growth opportunities by virtue of possessing exceptional competitive advantages that place them in a good position to promote win-win cooperation between each other’s business communities. Kasun Illankoon
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REGIONAL NEWS
STAGE TWO OF UAE RAILWAY COMPLETES 59% CONSTRUCTION
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rack-laying works across Al Dhafrah Region in Package A of Stage Two of the UAE’s national railway were inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region. His Highness was briefed by Shadi Malak, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Rail, on the construction progress of Package A, which will connect the UAE
rail network to Al Ghuwaifat on the Saudi border and the wider GCC region. Having started in early 2020, steady progress has been made on construction of Package A, which is now 59% complete. A progress report presentation was also held, it revealed that across Package A half of the soil preparation works have been completed, with 79% of sand and rock cutting also finished.
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REGIONAL NEWS
THE RED SEA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY APPOINTS DAA INTERNATIONAL TO MANAGE OPERATIONS AT DESTINATION’S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
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he Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project, has named daa International as the operator of The Red Sea Project’s unique and iconic airport. daa International will provide airfield and terminal operations, aviation services, facilities management and commercial activities, as well as corporate and financial services. “Our state-of-the-art airport will provide a unique gateway for guests arriving at our destination, and this announcement is an important step in bringing the experience to life ahead of welcoming visitors by the end of 2022,” said John Pagano, CEO of TRSDC. “daa International was selected because we are confident that they can deliver not only an airport experience worthy of our luxury destination, but for their commitment to ensuring our sustainability goals are met.” daa International will manage the operations of the airport during three separate stages. Stage one will involve ensuring that all airport designs benefit the customer. Stage two covers planning a full and seamless operational model for the airport when it opens to the public. The final stage will be to manage and operate this plan, maintaining the highest standards in customer experience and sustainability, and prioritizing safety and security. “The Red Sea International Airport will become a fundamental part of each visitor’s journey to this unique destination, and we believe their holiday experience should start from the moment they land,” said daa International Chief Executive, Nick Cole. “That is why we
intend to deliver a seamless airport experience for passengers, underpinned by a commitment to achieving TRSDC’s stringent sustainability goals. We’re pleased to play our role in helping to open up this new destination and wonderful country to the rest of the world.” The Red Sea International Airport is accessible by 80 percent of the world’s population in less than eight hours and is set to serve one million passengers annually by the project’s completion in 2030, with a peak capacity of 900 passengers per hour. Visitor numbers will be limited to one million, based on the environmental carrying capacity of the destination. The entire transport network at the site, including the airport, will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy. In line with TRSDC’s commitment to set new standards in regenerative tourism, the airport is designed to include shaded areas and natural ventilation that minimizes reliance on air conditioning. TRSDC awarded the airport design contract to international architecture firm Foster + Partners in October 2019, after it presented exciting designs that are explicitly informed by the natural Saudi landscape. TRSDC also awarded a contract for construction of a Code F runway, Code B seaplane runway, aprons, taxiways, helipad, roads and navigation aids to a Saudi joint-venture, Nesma + Partners and Almabani, earlier this year and work is well underway at the site. Upon completion in 2030, The Red Sea Project will comprise 50 hotels, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms and around 1,300 residential properties across 22 islands and six inland sites. The destination will also include a luxury marina, entertainment and leisure facilities. LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 11
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REGIONAL NEWS
ORGANIC WHOLESALER DOUBLES OUTPUT WITH AUTOSTORE EMPOWERED BY SWISSLOG
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he leading wholesaler in the Swiss organic market, Bio Partner, has doubled its output following the implementation of innovative robotic logistics from Swisslog at its facility in Aargau, Switzerland. Bio Partner supplies business customers in the organic specialist trade as well as the rest of the retail and food industry from its location in Seon. As a result of the merger with Somona GmbH, the warehouse reached its performance and capacity limits, and the wholesaler turned to a local partner with a global footprint to deliver an automated storage system. The 12,200 metre square warehouse handles 10,000+ products, a process now optimized thanks to the highperformance AutoStore storage solution, delivered by global warehouse automa-
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tion specialist, Swisslog, a member of the KUKA group. “Companies with large warehouses have to constantly work on increasing efficiency and our robot systems work flawlessly around the clock,” says Swisslog CEO, Dr. Christian Baur. The aim of this new system from Swisslog is to automate the storage and picking of the dry assortment and to compress it in terms of volume. The new AutoStore system at Bio Partner has 44 robots with the ability to handle 25,000 containers and at least 6,000 products completely autonomously. “The high-tech robots create a volume of 900 containers per hour and, depending on the development, this system can still be expanded considerably,” says CEO, Dr. Baur.
The orders are automatically transmitted to the AutoStore system and processed in accordance with parallel processes, which is a huge advantage in large warehouses. This means that higher volumes can be made available in a shorter time. Picking errors cost time and money, and robots don’t make mistakes since the hardware and software work together perfectly. Bio Partner relies on the modular warehouse management software SynQ from Swisslog to orchestrate the warehouse and picking processes based on data-based insights. “Our company relies on long-term, sustainable partnerships. With Swisslog, we found a strong local partner and the system installation was quick and easy,” commented Lukas Mettler, head of warehouse logistics at Bio Partner. As a leading global integrator with over 200 realized projects, this is just one example of many projects which showcase the wide implementation spectrum of AutoStore empowered by Swisslog.
REGIONAL NEWS
CATHAY PACIFIC CARGO LAUNCHES FREIGHTER SERVICE TO RIYADH
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athay Pacific Cargo is launching a new scheduled freighter service between Hong Kong and Riyadh (RUH) starting 5 January 2021. The airline has seen a growing demand for air cargo flights between Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong (HKG), a leading cargo and logistics hub in Asia. These new flights will meet the strong demand for shipments of ecommerce and other general cargo such as garments, providing our customers with reliable, efficient and direct air cargo services offering the high level of quality for which Cathay Pacific Cargo is known. The inaugural flight on 5 January will see Cathay Pacific Cargo operate the service using its Boeing B747-400 ERF aircraft. Cathay Pacific Cargo has launched a number of scheduled and charter services recently to meet the air cargo needs of its customers. On 16 December 2020, the airline launched a seasonal cargo service between Hong Kong and Hobart in Aus-
tralia, providing an important airfreight lane for the export of fresh produce from Hobart to various parts of Asia via Hong Kong. Meanwhile in September last year, the airline launched a temporary service to Pittsburgh in the US to serve the seasonal upsurge in demand. In addition to operating a full freighter flight schedule, Cathay Pacific has also been operating thousands of pairs of cargoonly passenger flights, some with cargo loaded in the passenger cabins, and chartered hundreds of pairs of flights from its all-cargo subsidiary Air Hong Kong to provide additional air freight capacity.
LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 13
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REGIONAL NEWS
H.E. Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Bahrain Economic Development Board
BAHRAIN RANKED FIRST GLOBALLY IN TRANSPORT AND WAREHOUSING COST EFFECTIVENESS
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estament to the success of regionwide economic diversification efforts, Middle Eastern cities performed impressively in the inaugural Transport and Warehousing Cities of the Future ranking, produced by fDi Intelligence – a specialist division of the Financial Times. Middle Eastern economies’ strong performance in a sector traditionally dominated by the Asia-Pacific region comes in spite of global supply chain disruption owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Al Hidd was ranked first globally in the Transport and Warehousing Cost Effectiveness category, which also saw both Egypt’s Port Said and
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Damietta as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi included in the top 10. In this category a range of data points were examined such as the cost of construction permits, fuel prices, electricity prices, and tax rates amongst others. Bahrain is one of the region’s most cost-effective distribution hubs. According to the KPMG Cost of Doing Business Report 2019, Bahrain offers up to 43% operational costs savings, and 33% savings in living costs when compared to the region, as well as, zero corporate and income tax and no free zone restrictions. Bahrain and the UAE also ranked in the top 10 for the Economic Potential category. The top ranking for cities overall
“BAHRAIN HAS LONG PRIDED ITSELF IN OFFERING THE MANY GLOBAL MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS PLAYERS A PLACE TO CALL HOME WITH SOME OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE SETUP AND OPERATING COSTS IN THE GCC.” was awarded to Hong Kong, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi at fourth and sixth place respectively. Bahrain’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications H.E. Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed commented: “Bahrain has long prided itself in offering the many global manufacturing and logistics players a place to call home with some of the most competitive setup and operating costs in the GCC. We are therefore delighted that Al Hidd City has been ranked so highly by fDi Intelligence for cost effectiveness in the Transport and Warehousing sectors – a testament to the Kingdom’s reputation as the region’s de facto transport and logistics hub. “The year 2020 has been a challenging year for transport and logistics globally, but thanks to Bahrain’s strategic location at the nexus of the Middle East and our technologically streamlined customs processes, we have been able not just to maintain the continued flow of cross-border trade but enhance it, seeing a 13.5% year-on-year surge of shipments into Khalifa Bin Salman port in the first nine months of 2020. In 2021, we look forward to building on the successes of 2020, and welcoming many more global transport and logistics players seeking an efficient and cost-competitive gateway to the region’s largest market and beyond.” Located at the nexus of the Middle East, Bahrain has earned a reputation as the region’s de facto transport and logistics hub and is fast emerging as the main regional distribution and fulfilment centre hub. The COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed the uptake of technology in these sectors, including the launch a first-of-its-kind “SmartHub” logistics warehouse for pharmaceuticals and food to be headquartered in Bahrain to serve the GCC market.
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REGIONAL NEWS
EMIRATES GROUP ROLLS OUT COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAMME
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he Emirates Group today rolled out a COVID-19 vaccination programme for its substantial UAE based workforce in coordination with the Dubai Health Authority and the Ministry of Health and Prevention. The inoculation drive began this morning, with priority being placed on its frontline aviation workforce, including Cabin Crew, Flight Deck and other operationally focused roles.
The airline, along with dnata, are among the first transport and air services organisations in the world to offer employees the option to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Over the course of the pandemic, Emirates and dnata have implemented multiple layers of safety measures, to ensure the health and safety of customers, employees and the communities served. The rollout of its vaccination programme is another step forward, helping to safeguard the health
and wellbeing of aviation employees who serve the travelling public and help move essential goods around the world. The Emirates Group is making both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm vaccines, which have been approved by the UAE health authorities, conveniently accessible to its employees at various company locations across the UAE. Inoculation appointments will run 12 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure as many essential aviation workers as possible can get the vaccine. Like all citizens and residents, Emirates Group employees in the UAE can also opt to get vaccinated at government designated medical centres and clinics, as the UAE’s leadership and health authorities have spared no effort to make vaccines free and accessible to the population. According to the data compiled by Our World In Data, a research website based at Oxford University, the UAE is ranked second highest in the world for vaccination rates, with over 19.04 doses administrated for every 100 people, and close to 1.9 million vaccinations have been given to citizens and residents since their rollout in December 2020. The UAE is also on track to inoculate over 50% of its population by the end of March.
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OP-ED
PENNED Creating stronger bonds in supply chain Independence is out of the question as reliance on other regions and countries has become a necessity BY KARIM SHARIFF, PARTNER AT BAIN & COMPANY MIDDLE EAST
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OVID-19 threw the global supply chain into a complete frenzy. Many companies were astonished by their own susceptibility. The risk of depending on a supply base that is concentrated in one geographic region has been increasing over the past 30 years, but the pandemic quickly demonstrated how much chaos and pain one unexpected event could inflict. It was a powerful wake-up call. The disruption triggered by COVID-19 has prompted leadership teams to confront a new era of supply chain volatility. Flexibility and resilience Bracing for an era of increased turbulence, leading multinationals are rethinking their supply chain strategies to lower
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the risk of disruption. In a recent survey of 200 global manufacturers by Bain & Company and the Digital Supply Chain Institute, executives ranked flexibility and resilience as their top supply chain goals. Only 36% of senior executives ranked cost reduction as a top three goal, down from 63% who saw it as a priority over the past three years. To improve supply chain resilience, 45% of respondents plan to shift production closer to home markets in the coming years. The good news is that automation has reduced the cost of manufacturing, eroding the labour arbitrage advantage that fuelled decades of investment in offshore production. The cost of humanoid robots is comparatively lower now which means companies with processes capable of being automated such as consumer
electronics can opt to move supply chains closer to home without raising costs significantly. Expanding boundaries For the last 30 years, manufacturing companies have wrung out supply chain costs by disaggregating the various steps of the value chain, concentrating each step with a limited number of companies and geographies to improve economies of scale. As a result, most leadership teams lack sufficient supply chain visibility to assess their geopolitical and geographical risks. Before investing in a new supply chain strategy, successful leadership teams evaluate their supplier and contract manufacturer risk according to two factors: the country where goods are produced and the supplier’s headquarters location.
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PENNED | CREATING STRONGER BONDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN
Two key factors that determine geopolitical supply chain risk are the supplier’s headquarters and its manufacturing location. Once leaders understand their risk exposure, they start building resilience into their value chains in a two-step process. First, they quickly add flexibility to the supply of finished goods and high-risk subcomponents where possible, to limit immediate risks and satisfy customers. Second, they take a strategic approach to rethinking the value chain from end to end. That includes deciding the pace of change and periodically reviewing decisions based on external conditions and internal capabilities. Here are three steps that can help companies pioneer the shift to supply chain resilience:
Boost resilience Supply chain flexibility is becoming an increasingly important concept for gaining competitive advantages. The first priority in making supply chains shockproof is increasing flexibility for supplying finished goods and high-risk subcomponents. This would open the possibility for companies to respond to short term changes in demand and supply situations as well as structural shifts in the environment of the supply chain on an immediate basis. Not many countries have the capacity and infrastructure to handle all the volume, so manufacturers often have to piece together a solution across multiple neighbouring countries. For many companies, aligning a new production location with demand can deliver significant benefits, particularly in industries where demand is rising even through the downturn, including MedTech and certain consumer products.
than their peers. The investment to build and maintain these capabilities varies, depending on a company’s need for responsiveness and efficiency, as well as the level of industry competition. This is why the roadmap for resilient supply chains must be linked to a company’s long-term business strategy. For example, a high-growth business that has high margins and short product life cycles, and is dependent on components coming from widely distributed sources such as high-end cell phones, will require a different type of supply chain resilience than a hypercompetitive lowmargin business, such as clothing or toys, which relies on imported finished goods. Geopolitical volatility and market turbulence will transform supply chain management in the coming decade. Leadership teams that invest in strategies to increase supply resilience will simultaneously create a new source of competitive advantage.
Reworking network strategies For each value chain, leadership teams need to properly balance risk and resilience at the lowest total landed cost. This includes decisions on single vs. multiple sourcing, where to manufacture at each stage of assembly, and proximity to customers. They also need to determine whether to produce in-house or outsource, taking into account variables such as national incentives and declining manufacturing costs. Successful companies revisit their value chain choices regularly, especially in turbulent times.
FOR MANY COMPANIES, ALIGNING A NEW PRODUCTION LOCATION WITH DEMAND CAN DELIVER SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS, PARTICULARLY IN INDUSTRIES WHERE DEMAND IS RISING EVEN THROUGH THE DOWNTURN, INCLUDING MEDTECH AND CERTAIN CONSUMER PRODUCTS.
Balancing cost and risk Resilience does not eclipse every consideration. As leadership teams start to understand where they need flexibility, they face important trade-offs on cost. Investing in too much flexibility can render a company uncompetitive. As they look to reshape supply chains for the future, successful companies determine how much resilience they need, where it matters most, and what they can afford. Resilient and flexible supply chains can be a powerful defensive hedge, but also a source of competitive advantage. Leaders make the most of options such as capacity buffers, digital infrastructure and nimble teams to react faster and more efficiently
LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 17
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COVER STORY
POWERING FORWARD BRIAN WOODSIDE
THE GROUP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AT AL MASAOOD GROUP AIMS TO NOURISH BUSINESS VITALITY BY OPENING DOORS TO NEW IDEAS
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POWERING FORWARD | BRIAN WOODSIDE
“I am passionate about taking part in moving the Group towards an even stronger position. In this process, I try to instill the spirit of empowerment and innovation.”
LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 19
COVER STORY
AL MASAOOD is one of the leading trading families of Abu
Dhabi with a rich diversity of companies and businesses in Abu Dhabi, elsewhere in the UAE and further afield. They were the first company to be registered by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. Al Masaood Group has been involved in the commercial development of Abu Dhabi, mirroring the Government’s development path with some key ‘firsts’ such as delivering to the country its first gas turbine and developing the UAE’s first desalination plant. The Group is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year and has expansion on its horizon. This is a time where Al Masaood celebrates the legacy and good will it built in its home market, Abu Dhabi and the Western Emirates. The Group will continue to be a pioneer and leverage on its position as one of the country’s more reputable companies that helping to develop and enrich the local economy working closely with both the private and the public sector.
Over the last decade or more, Al Masaood has developed into a highly diversified and dynamic organisation. With a significant market share in the automotive sector, Al Masaood’s diversified portfolio also includes substantial interests in many other sectors including engineering, power, oil and gas, property and retail. Logistics News ME sat down with Brian Woodside, Group Chief Financial Officer of Al Masaood Group, to discuss his overall role and how the internal logistics for Al Masaood will play a key role in the company’s ambitious plans to expand and diversify. Brian Woodside joined the Al Masaood Group in January 2018 as Group Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Committee. He is a British national with over 35 years of experience in business and finance, with around half of this time spent in the Middle East. He began his career in the UK with Price Waterhouse as an auditor and tax consultant before moving into industry in 1990. He subsequently worked in London for a global consulting engineering group before moving to the Middle East. His experience is now diverse across different sectors, forms of organisation and geographies. His focus for the Group is to initiate restructuring, develop governance/risk management structures and implement system and policy improvements. Taking Al Masaood Group Forward “I am trying to use my career experiences to help move the Group forward towards greater success and an even stronger position in our markets. The Group has grown over the past 50 years and the future looks most promising. We spent more than two years reengineering substantial parts of the business and in particular finding business and corporate services leaders who could then build their own first class management teams who could implement group policies and standard operating procedures. We have tried to instill a spirit of empowerment and innovation and nourish business vitality by opening doors to new ideas – for me, the biggest inhibitor to progress is not making decisions and not being prepared to take a risk.”
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POWERING FORWARD | BRIAN WOODSIDE
“WE NEED TO BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO BET ON OURSELVES AND CONTINUE GROWING. THESE ARE TIMES OF SAFE KEEPING; THESE ARE TIMES OF EXPANSION.” Re-Imagining Al Masood’s Internal Logistics Operations “Post joining the Group and after I had seen the span of operations, it seemed to me that the internal logistics and supply chain management of the Group needed to be re-imagined. There were apparent opportunities across our key business areas such as automotive, retail, power and manufacturing whereby each business unit was approaching management on a decentralized basis. And at a wider group level there was again no joined up operational management for our other logistical movements including, people, administration, cash, and the like”. “Whilst I am not a logistics or supply chain expert, I have a dominant career experience in the built environ-
ment where just-in-time delivery (and removal) of plant, employee resources and materials are critical to the efficiency of the operational business model. With margins so thin in the sector, any inefficiency is magnified. When designed a managed expertly, it can create a business differentiator on cost”. “As part a broader group-wide operational overhead and expenses strip down initiative, we launched a sub-project to complete a holistic review of Group logistics and supply chain management. Recognising, that we did not have the appropriate in-house expert to drive the review, we carried out an international search to find a consultant to work with us and re-strategize our internal operations.
The review process of course required the collation of substantial and diverse data. But the work has progressed as planned and the first opportunities and results are now emerging. The magnitude of the potential savings has surprised us and believe that over 12 months, we can entirely reshape all aspects of our logistics operations and achieve significant financial benefits”. “The Group is fortunate in that the Founders invested in the business infrastructure for their then current requirements, but also had the vision to consider future needs. Many times, what they built was dimensionally oversized for the business at the time, but now years later, we can continue to grow in the world-class facilities they built”. >>> LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 21
COVER STORY
Al Masaood Celebrating 50 years “To me the mark of 50 years is like half time, it is not about winning only, it’s about hopes, fears, making come backs and getting through rough times. It is about rallying and making our own way if even when one is not apparently there”. “Over 50 years, the innumerous dayto-day decisions and actions of our Founders created the goodwill of the Al Masaood name that we leverage off today. This goodwill is a precious asset and we must ensure it is protected”. “These are testing times, but we need to be brave enough to bet on ourselves and continue growing. These are times of safe keeping; these are times of expansion. A level of risk must always be tolerated and not over assessed. The people of the UAE know a little something about this, they started from nothing, they pulled together, and pushed through.”
Biggest Lessons Learnt in 2020 “I would say Having the right teams in place and having them empowered. Al Masaood has always been ahead of its time. In 2017, the Group ventured into a significant management and operational transformation and brought to its leadership team specialist individuals. It also undertook extensive leadership and management training for its middle management teams. When the Pandemic hit, the executive created a project anticipated in three phases. Corporate services and operations took responsibility and moved quickly to overcome any obstacles coming their way. Team boundaries quickly dissolved, and our staff worked seamlessly together used lateral thinking and did not get caught up in a planning fetish. Rather they assessed what resources were available and took direct action to make facilities safe for employees and customers and to keep
“WITH ALL WHAT WE HAD TO REACT TO AND HANDLE, THE GROUP CLOSED THE YEAR ON A POSITIVE NOTE WITH SOME BUSINESS REPORTING A NOTABLE INCREASE IN THEIR MARKET SHARE.”
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the maximum permitted commercial operations engaged. What was also learnt, was that increasing pressure on the decision-making process itself, increased efficiency”. Abu Dhabi Market & Outlook in 2021 “My personal expectation is that the price of commodities including oil will continue to rise in 2021. And I am therefore expecting this will unlock more confidence and interest in the Abu Dhabi market and we will experience a recovery on a solid foundation. With this backdrop in mind, everyone has full faith in the government of the UAE leading its markets back out of the Pandemic. If there is one country that knows how to do it right, it would be the UAE”. “Our Power Division has been experiencing very healthy growth and this business is at the core of our further diversification plans; new projects are arising from strong inward investment into the UAE. We also see a positive and steady growth in our commercial vehicles and manufacturing businesses and will ensure our automotive arm continues to capture more market share and maintain its leading position as defying the sector regional trends”.
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INTERVIEW
VALUABLE/BRAND IN CONVERSATION WITH
H.E. DR. SULTAN AHMED AL JABER CEO, ADNOC GROUP What role does technology play in the ADNOC brand and your reputation among key stakeholders? Technology plays a key role in enabling us to maximize greater value from our assets and resources to reliably and responsibly deliver energy supplies to our global customers. This was apparent last year as we navigated volatile market conditions following the Covid-19 pandemic and responded with agility and strength to the challenges we faced. In the same vein, technology is at the core of our environmental performance, a driving force of our ESG position and, as a national oil company, our contributions to the UAE’s sustainable development agenda.
decision-making, and lay the foundation for our long-term growth. Our commitment to our values as well as our focus on producing the world’s most cost-efficient and carbon-efficient barrels will ensure we continue to sustainably deliver energy to the world and drive value to the UAE for decades to come. They will also enable us to drive deeper connections and resonate with our partners, communities and stakeholders, increase ADNOC’s brand equity and strengthen our brand proposition.
How has the response to this tough year (Covid-19, oil price volatility) helped differentiate the ADNOC brand and business? Our recognition as the most valuable brand in the UAE for the third consecutive year and our ranking among the top ten brands in the oil and gas industry is testament to the efforts of my colleagues at ADNOC throughout 2020. We delivered strong operational and financial performance as a result of our resilience and the fact that we are benefiting from the transformation we started over four years ago at the direction of the UAE Leadership. Over this period, we have focused on improving our performance, strengthening our agility, and reinforcing efficiency throughout our business. Most importantly, we have focused on reducing our costs and this will continue to be the case. Looking forward, what dimensions and strengths of the ADNOC brand will enable long term sustainable growth? The ADNOC brand is defined by our values of being collaborative, efficient, progressive, respectful, and responsible, which are underpinned by an unwavering focus on protecting health, safety and the environment (HSE). These attributes inspire the way we do business, guide our 24 | LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021
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VALUABLE BRAND | H.E. DR. SULTAN AHMED AL JABER, CEO, ADNOC GROUP
“Technology is at the core of our environmental performance, a driving force of our ESG position and, as a national oil company, our contributions to the UAE’s sustainable development agenda.”
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LNME
TECHNOLOGY
Mohammad Shihab, Managing Director, Maersk Saudi Arabia
NEW TRENDS TO DRIVE THE TECH SECTOR IN 2021 Damo Academy, Alibaba Group’s research initiative, shares its forecast of the top 10 principal trends that will shape the tech industry for the year
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echnology is constantly evolving offering better solutions with the passing of time. As we progress into the new year, fresh ideas hit the market from the application of third-generation semiconductor materials, AIdriven R&D of medicines and vaccines, to automatic optimisation of data management system and data intelligencepowered agriculture. Technology breakthroughs are expected to accelerate and
make impacts across all sectors in the economy and the society at large. Third-gen semiconductor materials These products represented by gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), boast high temperature resistance, high breakdown voltage, high frequency, high power, and high radiation resistance. In recent years, breakthroughs in material growth and device fabrication have helped reduce
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the costs of third-generation semiconductor materials. In the Middle East, countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have already started deploying 5G networks. Quantum error correction and quantum computing In 2020, investors worldwide flocked to the quantum computing field, related technologies and ecosystems thrived, and numerous quantum computing platforms rose to prominence. In 2021, this trend will
garner further attention from all corners of society. Quantum computing must deliver enough value to make it worthwhile. The mission in the ‘postquantum-supremacy’ era must be aligned across the industry: to tackle critical scientific and engineering problems through collaborative innovation and to pave the way for quantum error correction and practical utility, two milestones in quantum computing. Carbon materials to boost growth of flex circuits Flexible electronics deliver stable performance even after mechanical deformations such as bending, folding, and stretching. They are favoured in wearable devices, electronic skins, and flexible screens. In the past, flexible materials were simply not flexible enough or could not compete with rigid WWW.CBNME.COM
NEW TRENDS TO DRIVE THE TECH SECTOR IN 2021
silicon-based materials. In recent years, ground-breaking developments in carbonbased materials have allowed flexible electronics to go far beyond their previous capabilities. AI accelerates R&D of medicines and vaccines Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been widely adopted to interpret medical images and manage medical records while its application in vaccine development and the clinical research of drugs is still in the pilot stage. As new AI algorithms are emerging and computing power is reaching new heights, this technology will make it easier to complete R&D of medicines and vaccines that were previously very time-consuming and costly. Brain-computer interface technology This tech is essential for new-generation human-machine interactions and collaborative intelligence between humans and machines. It is the pillar and driving force of neuroengineering. It analyses how the human brain works from a higher dimension. A brain-computer interface forms a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. It acquires, analyses, and translates brains signals to control machines. In the future, brain-computer interface technology will help control robotic arms more precisely than ever before and help patients who are fully conscious but cannot speak or move to overcome their physical limitations.
Data processing to become autonomous The rapid development of cloud computing and exponential growth in the amount of data have posed daunting challenges to computing task processing, storage cost control, and cluster management during traditional data processing. AI and machine learning will be adopted in a variety of fields, such as intelligent cold/ hot data separation, anomaly detection, intelligent modeling, resource scheduling, parameter tuning, stress testing data generation, and index recommendation. Cloud technologies will reshape IT systems Long product development cycles and low R&D efficiency in traditional software development have long been a source of pain. Cloud-native architectures featuring distribution, scalability, and flexibility look to be the cure. They allow enterprises to utilise and manage their heterogeneous hardware devices and cloud computing resources more effectively. Cloud-native methodologies, tool sets, best practices, products, and techniques allow developers to focus only on creating new applications. Agriculture will be powered by data intelligence New-generation digital technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and cloud computing, are being applied to the agriculture industry throughout the production process to retail. New-
Cloud-native methodologies, tool sets, best practices, products, and techniques allow developers to focus only on creating new applications. generation sensors help obtain real-time farmland data. Big data analytics and AI expedite the processing of large amounts of agricultural data. Agricultural practitioners can monitor crops, implement precision breeding, and allocate environmental resources on demand. In addition, technologies such as 5G, IoT, and blockchain are utilised to control and trace the transportation of agricultural products, ensuring their safety and reliable delivery. Industrial intelligence grows leaps and bounds Industrial intelligence has been mainly used to meet partial requirements because its implementation is costly and complicated. After the outbreak of COVID-19, the remarkable resilience of the digital economy drew great attention from enterprises, digital technologies developed and spread rapidly, and more investments were injected into the construction of new infrastructure. These factors helped build a picture in which we can see industrial intelligence leap from single-point implementation to industry-wide implementation. It will make an impact on a large scale, applying to the supply chain, production, asset management, logistics, and sales. Future cities to depend on intelligent operations centres Smart city initiatives were first launched a decade ago and have sparked a significant improvement in city governance through digital technologies. When coping with the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of smart cities faced challenges. This is why intelligent operations centres are widely accepted and deployed to maximise the usage of data resources and promote global, fine-grained, and real-time governance and public services. By keeping ‘digital twins’ of cities, intelligent operations centres consider each city as a unified system and deliver city-wide services capabilities. LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 27
LNME
INTERVIEW
AHEAD OF THE CURVE Ramez Hamdan
The Managing Director- Industrial Equipment at Al-Futtaim Automotive shares his insight on the company’s way forward in the face of the pandemic
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AHEAD OF THE CURVE | RAMEZ HAMDAN, AL-FUTTAIM AUTOMOTIVE
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ith supply-chains hit by the ongoing crisis, Al Futtaim Commercial Vehicles (CV) has had their fair share of challenges as well as successes. There has been a high demand for deliveries of goods in the country, and this has helped Al Futtaim CV maintain its business, while combating the disruptions. Robust plans are in place as the region normalises operations, providing a relief across all sectors. Tell us what Al Futtaim CV goals and objectives are heading into 2021? The pandemic has disrupted the way businesses operate. Now more than ever, there is a need to continually adapt and overcome the challenges presented by the ever-changing business environment whether it is COVID-19 or any other circumstances that may become evident. That being said, for 2021 our main goal and objective is to steadily satisfy our customers’ demands by overcoming challenges whether it be a global pandemic or any other local or global circumstance and continue to offer market-leading support and a superior product experience. In the face of COVID-19, has Al Futtaim CV been forced to revisit its strategies for adaptability? To ensure customer service continuity and delivery of the same standards of aftersales, we at Al-Futtaim Commercial Vehicles had to redeploy our associates, putting more people on our mobile service vans to ensure our customers receive our support on time. During the movement restrictions, we were able to deliver parts to our customers twice a day thereby ensuring critical logistics functions continued without any delay or disruptions, especially that the majority of our customers fall into the vital FMCG, logistics, e-commerce and water distribution industries. The commercial vehicles sector has realised much success in the period. How has Al Futtaim CV thrived during the pandemic? The ongoing pandemic has disrupted supply chains worldwide and the GCC markets are striving to overcome grueling
challenges. In the UAE, governmental authorities have facilitated and ensured the business continuity and reach of essential industries which have enabled Al-Futtaim CV to deliver uninterrupted services. We put a massive focus on specific sectors including FMCG, logistics, water and food distribution, e-commerce and other high-demand critical industries ensuring proper support from our sales, after-sales and parts teams. During the lockdown period, we had the highest sales for HINO trucks in a single month in the UAE. Which market in the GCC do you see potential when it comes to sales? The UAE market remains a front-runner for sales activities, as well as Saudi-Arabia and Oman. However, our scope of operations is limited to the UAE. Can you give us a market overview in Dubai and what are the positive signs you see heading into 2021? Dubai enjoys a dynamic, fast-paced and competitive business environment/market and there are strong indicators of improvement heading into this year as conditions normalise and businesses across all sectors aim to recover from the effects of last year. We had a strong 2020 and remain positive for 2021. We have established solid plans and solutions to meet our custom-
“We put a massive focus on specific sectors including FMCG, logistics, water and food distribution, e-commerce and other highdemand critical industries ensuring proper support from our sales, after-sales and parts teams.” ers’ growing demand through sales and after-sales activities, complete with dynamic financing options and strong aftersales campaigns and support. What are the key trends you see going forward into 2021 that would be innovative in the CV industry? Looking ahead to 2021 and beyond it is clear that buying behavior is shifting rapidly towards online ordering of goods and services and the demand for fulfillment by the commercial vehicles sector is heightened as a second or perhaps third leg of deliveries is added to supply goods and services door-to-door. Another growing trend is the shift towards alternative energy solutions and we expect the introduction of more electricpowered commercial vehicles in the near future.” LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021 | 29
LNME
TRADE
TRADE & INVESTMENT 2021 MIDDLE EAST FORECAST BY JOE HEPWORTH, DIRECTOR, OCO GLOBAL, AND FOUNDER OF THE BRITISH CENTRES FOR BUSINESS (BCB)
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or all the challenges that currently exist in making predictions for the year ahead, I don’t envy those who were doing the same exercise a year ago, given what’s transpired since (much as they’d have been able to claim Force Majeure). Based on where we are now, in the latter stages of the whole Covid-19 episode and with the signal advances in vaccination progress in November & December however, I do think that we can make some relatively confident calls on the year ahead in terms of the foreign direct investment and international trade landscape for the Middle East. 30 | LOGISTICS NEWS ME | FEBRUARY 2021
The first and most obvious thing to suggest is that it will be a good year, taken in isolation. The effect of Covid19 in 2020 and the impact it has had on trade and investment (estimated to be down by 40% versus 2019) was such that even very modest growth would look good in relative terms. As such, don’t be fooled by year-on-year figures - for anyone who’s reporting them in 2021 - a more accurate benchmark would be 2019 or 2018 figures, but do expect a return to growth, albeit from a much lower base. The flurry of activity between the UAE and Israel that’s marked the last few months looks set to continue into 2021. It’s likely to change in nature however, with more substance replacing the initial excitement, as tangible deals start to be struck. Based on the work we’ve been doing with Israeli companies, the main focus at this stage looks to be on establishing trade links – finding agents, distributors & commercial partners – ahead of potential inward FDI projects over the next few years once the market has been proven. WWW.CBNME.COM
2021 FORECAST FOR TRADE & INVESTMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
THE RECENT RAFT OF NEW LAWS ANNOUNCED IN THE UAE REGARDING BOTH CORPORATE LEGISLATION (100% OWNERSHIP ETC.) AND SOCIAL CHANGES FOR EXPATS, FURTHER ENHANCES THE UAE’S POSITION AS THE ‘GO TO’ MENA LOCATION FOR FOREIGN COMPANIES LOOKING TO ESTABLISH A REGIONAL PRESENCE. Should other GCC countries beyond Bahrain and the UAE also agree peace terms with Israel, a similar commercial dividend would be reaped across the whole region. The UAE would stand to benefit the most from this as it would bring its regional hub status into full play for Israeli companies, and this in turn would be a significant stimulus for inward investment from Israel. Of course, geopolitics continues to have a massive impact on trade and investment, and the thawing of other regional relationships would have a similar impact, whilst we also wait to see how the new rulers of Kuwait and Oman will shape their respective national approaches post-Covid. International politics also has a large influence and all eyes are on the new Biden administration in the USA to see how it will engage with the Middle East, and Iran in particular.
America’s relationship with China is likely to impact the region. As a result of Covid, we’re already seeing multinational companies look at reshoring or near-shoring key supply chain nodes to reduce the reliance on China. We see the Middle East as a likely winner from this pattern with its relative proximity to key demand markets in India, Africa and Europe. Add in the continued USAChina tensions – and we don’t expect a material thaw under Biden in the short term – and the Middle East looks to play an important role as a ‘neutral’ region relatively unscathed by bilateral trade wars, which is obviously positive for trade and investment here. The region also stands to benefit from continued disruption of the uncertain-
ties around the Brexit trade deal, with UK companies in particular looking for benign regions to trade with. The recent raft of new laws announced in the UAE regarding both corporate legislation (100% ownership etc.) and social changes for expats, further enhances the UAE’s position as the ‘go to’ MENA location for foreign companies looking to establish a regional presence. Related to this, one of the biggest trends for 2021, in the UAE in particular, is likely to be wholesale corporate restructuring amongst multi-nationals already present here as they look to realign and take advantage of the new rules emerging in Q1. This will most likely see a consolidation of sites and trade licenses and a flight to value, with the winners being those jurisdictions – emirates or free zones – who appreciate this and can offer something more than an office or warehouse lease. A look at 2021 wouldn’t be complete without considering the importance of Expo 2020 Dubai as a vital celebration of the UAE in its golden jubilee year. The Middle East’s first ever mega-event moment in the sun and, by October 2021 I hope, the global lodestar for post-CV19 recovery. Whilst Expo isn’t a trade show, it’s still the ultimate forum for countries to showcase their best features – technology, culture, innovation, ecology and more - so expect this to be done with fervent pride, and for the UAE to benefit as the host of an event that’s now even more important than was originally intended.
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LNME
FLEET MANAGEMENT
SMART CREDENTIALS
FARNEK LAUNCHES IN-HOUSE SMART FLEET MANAGEMENT SOLUTION Custom-built by Farnek’s technology team, the innovative, sustainable and cost-effective initiative underscores the FM company’s smart and green credentials, by optimising its fleet performance and serving its customers more efficiently
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eading UAE-based smart and green facilities management (FM) company Farnek has launched an in-house smart fleet management solution that will not only optimise the performance of its transport fleet, but also improve service delivery to its customers. The solution, which covers Farnek’s entire transport fleet of more than 300 buses, vans and cars across the UAE, was built by its in-house technology division, which after a lengthy process of research and development, has simply and ingeniously adopted and adapted
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the latest smart technology to produce a homemade solution. “This bespoke telematics system has been developed in-house by our own IT engineers, using proven technology and is a Cloud and mobility-based platform. Our fleet is now powered by IoT telematic sensors connected with Google Maps for route optimisation with our drivers, fleet, service schedule and of course our customers, front of mind,” said Javeria Aijaz, Director Technology & Innovation, Farnek. Using Farnek’s live administrative portal, operational staff at its logistics
centre compare vehicle inventory with the current and scheduled demand and issue instructions to the drivers (each vehicle is fitted with a dedicated smart phone loaded with an app). The drivers log in, accept the notification based on a QR code sent to the smart phone in the vehicle and start their journey. The app automatically calculates and compares the estimated and actual journey times and presents the driver with Google Maps-based navigation, to show the most timeefficient route to take. “All vehicles are integrated with an IoT WWW.CBNME.COM
SMART CREDENTIALS | FARNEK LAUNCHES IN-HOUSE SMART FLEET MANAGEMENT SOLUTION
sensor that essentially tracks the vehicle and monitors ignition status, sends idling notifications and speeding alerts, all in real time, which all contribute positively towards our drivers’ performance,” commented Markus Oberlin, CEO, Farnek. “Moreover, if for example we have two buses with a capacity of 30 seats each travelling to the same destination, if available, we can switch to one 60-seater bus. Furthermore, by downloading the app, customers can also track the vehicle themselves and at the end of their shifts, our own employees will be able to see where the bus is and how long they will have to wait,” commented Oberlin. “Overall, this improves safety, saves fuel, cuts our CO2 emissions as well as reducing wear and tear on the vehicle, prolonging the operational life of our transport fleet,” added Oberlin. The operational dashboard can also generate incident reports, organise new transport schedules, search for the nearest and most relevant available vehicle, corelating with customer demand. A whole host of reports can also be
generated by the system as well, from vehicle assignment and utilisation to monthly expense reports. There’s also a driver’s module holding driving documents and records of any previous incidents or violations. “Through cross referencing, these reports can identify vehicles that are
maybe not performing particularly well and could require some sort of repair or maintenance. Also, we can share fuelefficiency figures with individual drivers, which will encourage them to drive more carefully and not to leave engines idling for long periods of time,” stated Aijaz.
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LNME
TRUCKS
RENAULT TRUCKS ENOC’S NEWEST ‘PARTNER OF CHOICE’ Major fleet deal sees ENOC take delivery of eight new C 380 Tractor Heads from Renault Trucks
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nergy value chain firm, ENOC Group, has taken delivery of eight new C 380 Renault Trucks models, which will be used to deliver fuel to the Group’s service stations across the UAE. All vehicles are supplied through United Diesel, Renault Trucks’ authorised distributor for Dubai and Northern Emirates. The purchase of the new trucks will enhance the Group’s existing fleet. Renault Trucks and United Diesel will deliver after-sales support to ENOC, including 24/7 support, driver and technician training, and a comprehensive repairs and maintenance contract. The Renault Trucks C 380 Tractor Head 6×2 with rear liftable axle offers superior driver comfort, exceptional
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reliability and optimal fuel efficiency, making it ideal for regional and longhaul applications. It is equipped with a range of features ensuring a high level of safety, for the driver as well as for other road users. The cab of the C 380 is built around the driver. All controls are at the driver’s fingertips, while there is also a 7’’ HD LCD information display and seats with fitted red seat belts designed by Recaro. The design of the windshield and side mirrors guarantee clear visibility around the cab with minimum blind spots, essential for helping keep other road users safe. Other safety features include an automatic parking brake, EBS (Electronic Braking System), ESC (Electronic Stability Control) to help maintain
route stability control in difficult conditions, and AEBS (Advanced Emergency Braking System), which uses a radar unit and a camera to detect an imminent risk of collision. The LDWS (Lane Departure Warning System) alerts the driver when it detects the vehicle is unintentionally deviating beyond the lane markings, so they can react in time to avoid an accident. The C 380 is equipped with a fuelefficient DXI 11 Euro 5 engine and Optidriver gearbox, which combine to help minimise fuel consumption and reduce operating costs. The trucks are also fitted with CALS (Centralised Automatic Lubrication System), to ensure maximum uptime and lower service and repair costs. H.E Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO of ENOC, said: “We pride ourselves on our robust retail network and our capabilities in ensuring an uninterrupted supply of fuel to meet our customers’ demand for fuel. Working with reliable partners such as Renault Trucks and United Diesel will without a doubt allow us to enhance our operational efficiency and adhere to best HSE and industry practices.” WWW.CBNME.COM
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