During the Logistics Forum 2021 in the Asharqia Chamber:
Agreement on the principles of partnership, localization, and automation in the logistics sector
Al-Jubeir: Great efforts to develop the logistics sector aim to establish and improve logistics areas
Al-Rumaih: A new system for regulating the movement of foreign trucks
In the first dialogue session, which was held under the title (Logistics Areas), and moderated by Abdullah bin Ali Almajdouie, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Almajdouie Company, during which His Excellency the Secretary of the Eastern Region, Eng. Fahd bin Muhammad Al-Jubeir, and His Excellency the President of the Public Transport Authority, Dr. Rumaih bin Muhammad Al-Rumaih, were reviewed. Several projects were implemented by the Secretariat and the Commission to develop the performance of the logistic sector in the Eastern Province. The issue of partnership, whether between government sectors with each other, or partnership with the private sector, was emphasized.
His Excellency Eng. Al-Jubeir explained that the secretariat is making great efforts with its partners, governmental institutions, and the private sector, to develop the logistic sector, based on the National Industrial Development and Logistics Services Program, which aims to establish and improve private logistic areas, rehabilitate economic cities, and improve local, regional and international connectivity for trade and transport networks. He noted the most important features of the eastern region that qualify it to play this role, including its containment of three secretariats, borders with 7 countries and therefore international roads, and several seaports.
For his part, His Excellency Dr. Rumaih Al-Rumaih said that the general strategy for transport and logistics, which was adopted four months ago, has main indicators, most notably raising the level of service performance from 55th in the world to reach the level of the top ten countries during 2030 and increasing air traffic to a fourfold level and reaching to 300 million passengers per year, and raising the level of the logistics sector’s contribution to development from 6% to 10%
Al-Rumaih stressed the issue of developing the organizational structure, automating procedures, partnering with the private sector, and keenness to combat pollution and reduce the phenomenon of cover-up. Revealing a new system on the way to activation to regulate the movement of foreign trucks, to support the real carriers.
He pointed out that the authority is working to rely on national competencies, and to overcome the shortage in this field, by providing training channels and specialized institutes in the activities of ports, aviation, and railways, the latest of which is the Logistics Academy.
In the second dialogue session, entitled (Enhancing the Comparative Advantages of the Eastern Region), during which Omar bin Talal Hariri, President of the General Authority of Ports, Deputy Governor of the General Authority for Zakat, Tax and Customs to facilitate trade and customer experience, Abdul Rahman bin Suleiman Al-Thukair, and Undersecretary for Logistics Services at the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Louay bin Omar Mashaabi, and the session’s dialogues were chaired and moderated by Fawaz bin Khalid Al Bawardi, a member of the Logistics Committee of the Asharqia Chamber, as the focus was on the image of the future at the logistical level.
Hariri said that the level of trade through Saudi ports is increasing to a degree that can be said to be the highest in history, and our local markets are also growing and will increase if the field is opened for tourism, and ports and roads in their current form can accommodate more, and there are no challenges ahead in the issue of infrastructure, and even The free zones that are lacking at present will take their place in the market in the coming years.
He pointed out to work on several files, most notably the separation between legislation and employment, as we seek to bypass the traditional employment situation and search instead to find solutions and services with added value at a lower cost, and we seek to develop the absorptive capacity, and investments amounting to 9 billion riyals were monitored, and we saw a remarkable improvement in the two years The past two days, as 72 international and local companies will work on our new contracts and will invest about 2 billion riyals, and we are seriously working on a new approach to digital transformation so that all our operations are "automated".
As for Al-Thukair, he explained that our infrastructure is strong, and the legislation is proceeding positively, but all this may not succeed if the procedures are not easy, and this is what has been achieved. We differentiate between the committed and the non-committed.
Louay Mashabi said that the logistics sector is redefining itself at the global level, as the issue is no longer land, sea, or air transportation, as there are no clear boundaries between them, as it is possible to merge and catch up with logistic activity, and the logistic areas are manifold and their roles are different, including transportation, clearance, and re-export, so we strive To find a single reference for logistics, and we have presented in this field several products, most notably the establishment of the Logistics Services Agency of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, which works to unify the license, as we have 150 commercial activities related to logistics, which will be merged into 80 activities, and 30 international and local companies have shown willingness To work in warehouse management, customs clearance, transportation locally, etc., and you do not need an independent commercial registry.
He explained the importance of everyone's cooperation to improve services, stressing the aspirations to cooperate with companies specialized in logistics services, as we have weaknesses in specialized warehouses.
In the third and final session moderated by the head of the Logistics Committee, Rakan bin Abdulrahman Al-Otaishan, the Vice President of Procurement and Supply Chain Management at Aramco, Eng. Muhammad bin Ayed Al-Shamri said that the most significant challenge facing the sector is the lack of young talent in the field of supply chains, in addition to the scarcity of specialized institutes and universities that can attract these Talents, referring to Aramco, and to address some of the challenges in the logistics sector, it has designed a center to monitor supply chains so that it can monitor and evaluate work and also make decisions to intervene if necessary.
Al-Shammari pointed to a platform launched by the company to follow up on importers, especially in customs clearance, pointing out that the challenges that you can see can therefore be addressed.
The CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program “Nedlab” Suleiman bin Khaled Al-Mazrou said that the period that coincided with the Corona pandemic did not affect the Kingdom as it is proceeding according to a clear and ambitious vision that includes initiatives and plans, but on the contrary, we were able to expedite and implement our initiatives during the pandemic, stressing that the officials In the program, they annually review all the works to make sure that they are on the right track.
Al-Mazrou said that the Logistics Partnership Council holds a monthly meeting to review the work of the program and its initiatives so that it can evaluate them.
For his part, the CEO of the Saudi Company for Electronic Information Exchange "Tadawul", Abdulaziz bin Abdulwahab Al-Shamsi, stated that the company has full conviction and belief in the necessity of forming partnerships with the private sector, saying that no party can work alone, but rather in partnership to benefit from its services and capabilities in any field.
In conclusion, the CEO of the MSC Group of Companies, Sorn Toft, said that the issue of partnerships has become very important and the Kingdom must attract partnerships with the competent authorities so that it can reach high levels of service provision, especially in the systems of controlling shipments and knowing their sources and destinations.
