While slowdown in growth, decline in volume, and shrinking customer base dominated the issues surrounding the logistics industry in the year gone by, the UAEs logistics sector did reasonably well compared to the crisis the global logistics industry went through last year.
Industry players believe the new year is further seeing signs of renewed market stabilisation in the UAE. The icing on the cake is the recent World Bank report ranking the UAE at 24th place globally in terms of efficiency of customs clearance processes, quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure, ease of arranging competitively priced shipments, and competence and quality of logistics services.
However, even if the UAEs logistics and supply chain sector remained ahead of the curve despite the global slowdown, there are still issues that need to be addressed, believe industry players.
Emirates Business posed two questions before five major logistics firms of the region to delve more into the issue – what are the key challenges facing the logistics and supply chain sector in the UAE, and what are their expectations and resolutions for 2010. Everyone agreed: its time to accept the market realities and move on.
The respondents were Gregory Olsen, Country CEO for Agility Dubai; Hussein Hachem, CEO-Gulf, Aramex; Shamsudeen Ahmed, Regional Director, Middle East, Ceva Logistics, Dubai; Tom Nauwelaerts, Head of Logistics, Al Futtaim Logistics, Dubai; and Brent Pearson, Managing Partner, Centre Point Logistics, Dubai.
Gregory Olsen
A big challenge to the industry in the UAE and the Gulf is the environment and infrastructure. The region suffers harsh temperatures and we are conscious of the effect our operations have on the environment, with the need to transport goods by truck over long distances, so we are constantly updating and refining our ways to combat this. With planned developments in the infrastructure of the region, we see the potential for growth rising.
For our industry, the economic downturn could be seen as a blessing in disguise, as it gave the regional logistics industry time to pause and breathe. Doubts about whether the sector could survive without the fast-paced growth it had experienced was unfounded. Rather than survive, the sector consolidated. The compelling fundamentals – Middle East and specifically the UAE due to its strategic location is the key meeting point, straddling major cross-roads of Asia, Europe, Asia and Africa, while offering excellent accessibility by air, land and sea – have remained and will not change.
In January this year, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage announced that regulations were being finalized for the much-anticipated visas that will, for the first time, allow foreig
Complementary, not competitive — this ethos must be etched into the global energy playbook. Sleeves must be pulled up to ensure that the BP Outlook’s forecast of a 49 per cent increase in energy cons
Saudi Arabia's economy is entering a post-oil era in which the kingdom's mega-cities, a number of which are under construction, will provide the country's future growth, Riyadh officials told CNBC on
Please wait...
