Hellmann Worldwide Logistics LLC discusses freight forwarding in Saudi
By Lars Nielsen, managing director, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Saudi Arabia
1. What are the latest developments in the freight forwarding sector in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is going through a development shift to diversify its economy. In line with 2030 vision, the freight forwarding sector is undergoing significant restructuring which has created an impact on all parties in the chain. The restructuring ranges from better enforcement of regulatory requirements to heavy investments into infrastructure .
The country hopes to tap on its strategic location and become a trading hub that connects Asia, Europe and Africa.
At Hellmann we are tuned in on our customer’s needs through our holistic approach which adds value to the overall efficiency and profitability of our customers’ bottom line.
2. What are the challenges facing the freight forwarding sector in Saudi and how can they be overcome?
Some of the key challenges this sector will be facing in the years to come are undoubtedly knowledge transfer, technology and access to qualified workforce. Saudi Arabia needs automation solutions to reduce time and cost with importing and exporting.
At Hellmann Saudi Arabia, our understanding of customer needs combined with industry’s best practice, enables us to work closely with government entities who ask Hellmann to provide our view on the future Logistics landscape within the Kingdom.
This is a great example of how collaboration between industry associations, government entities and multinational companies, such as Hellmann, will prove decisive for a successful knowledge transfer. In Saudi Arabia, it’s a must to have Saudisation as the country is set to take a giant leap in very short period of time. We have more than 40% Saudi nationals working in Hellmann and adapting to our Hellmann culture.
3. What milestone freight forwarding sector moments have happened in Saudi during the last 12 months?
First and foremost, the changes in customs procedures have had an immediate and significant impact on the import business in Saudi Arabia.
Albeit the reduced free time at entry points Hellmann has been able to pass on remarkable cost savings solutions to our customers through optimised clearance and delivery processes enabled by the changes in customs. Furthermore, it’s worth mentioning the regulatory changes in the road freight sector which has opened up the door to international standards of safety and traceability and this fills a gap which we benefit greatly from in our various industry verticals - especially within the healthcare transportation sector.
The road freight segment has long been very volatile and in 2020 and we expect to see a further consolidation bringing about a multitude of positive changes and increased stability.
4. How is Saudi’s freight forwarding making its sector more environmentally friendly?
The QHSE department are heavily involved and passionate about reducing our carbon footprint.
This goes down to great details such as using LED bulbs, double sided printing, placing recycling bins around our facilities and placing awareness posters around our warehouses and offices.
Hellmann is currently in the process of working with its suppliers to ensure environmental compliance.
This ensures that all of Hellman’s business partners are promoting an environmental atmosphere and are reducing their carbon footprint.
Combining these efforts with our Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) within the organisation, Hellmann strives to provide sustainable and comprehensive logistics solutions to our customers.
CIP is a management philosophy that focuses on frequent simple activities to create lean processes and people engagement, which helps develop innovative processes and leadership capability internally to provide a sustainable working relationship with our customers and ensures a transparent and stable supply chain for them.
The interaction of these principles leads to increased quality, stable supply chain, increased efficiency, cost effective and offer better solutions through people engagement.