< PreviousBRAND VIEW | TRISTAR 10APRIL - MAY 2021 | LOGISTICS MIDDLE EASTwww.logisticsmiddleeast.com Tristar is a leading global inte- grated energy logistics busi- ness serving the downstream oil and gas industry. It has a presence in 21 countries and territories across three continents. Tristar employs around 2,500 people and has over 2,000 road transport assets and 35 maritime vessels. It also operates 69 fuel farms and over 100 remote fuel sites. Out of the 35 maritime vessels, six of them are equipped with Tier III engines which are designed to reduce emissions and operate in an eco-friendly way – very much in line with Tristar’s mission to being a ‘business for purpose’. With a reputation for quality, built over two decades of operations and a commitment to safety and operational excellence, Tristar is a partner of choice for national and international oil ma- jors, and intergovernmental organisa- tions. The company’s vision is to be a global- ly recognised energy logistics company offering best in class services, without compromising its core values and com- mitment to manage its business to the highest health, safety, environmental Tristar Group recently announced its intention to float on the Dubai Financial Market. But its market strategy will remained focused on its key principle of being ‘a business for purpose’. Here’s what you need to know about organisation. GET TO KNOW: TRISTAR GROUP and compliance standards. Its mission is to develop and retain a qualified workforce to offer pre-emi- nent customer service, grow sharehold- er value and to place being a business for purpose on equal priority as being a business for profit. Tristar’s four business segments: • Fuels: End-to-end fuel supplies and services in remote areas and to commercial customers. • Road Transport and Warehousing: Fuel and aviation bridging services, HAZMAT goods handling, ware- housing and distribution, and trans- port of cryogenics and gases. • Maritime Logistics: Ship owning and chartering, offshore bunkering services, marine supply services, inland coastal shipping services and project management. • Fuel Farms: Operation and manage- ment of fuel farms in the African, Asia-Pacific and North America re- gions for a wide range of petroleum products such as jet fuel, gasoline, gasoil, LPG, chemicals, crude, and fuel oil. 2021 Outlook Tristar’s outlook for 2021 remains posi- tive. The company has developed an integrated, customer centric business model. All expansion plans, whether organic or by acquisition, will have its end customers’ interests in mind. The company will continue to deepen and widen its service offerings, as well as strengthen its position in the GCC and Africa and enter new markets across the Middle East and South and East Asia. Economic diversification has been on the agenda of GCC governments for a long time, and Tristar is starting to see the benefits. The rising contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP, in addition to infrastructure development, the emer- gence of new free trade zones, industrial parks and increased trade cooperation in the region will lead to a positive outlook for the industry. Tristar is insulated against competi- tion in any one segment of the logistics market due to its diversified and resilient business model. In addition, the com- pany is integrating new technologies to increase efficiencies, including Smart Ship Technology for its maritime logis- tics business, which will predict tidal movements to plot vessels’ routes with the ultimate goal of saving fuel costs and reducing carbon emissions. Predictive analysis tools for vessels are also being considered to avoid costly vessel break- down and off hires. Tristar Group CEO, Eugene Mayne, says: “We have set ourselves an ambi- tious growth plan for 2021 and have had a good start to the year, renewing a con- tract with one of our major customers in Saudi Arabia, SABIC. We will continue to develop and pursue organic growth opportunities within our existing base of blue-chip customers and will also look to crystallize other pipeline projects that are under discussion. Overall, we expect 2021 to be a year of transforma- tion for our group as we look to position ourselves for the future.” FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: Lindsey Alba Commercial Manager T: +971 4 444 3524 GSM: +971 55 764 2566 Email: lindsey.alba@itp.com FOR NOMINATION ENQUIRIES: Joe Peskett Editor Tel: +971 4 444 3305 Email: joe.peskett@itp.com FOR EVENT ENQUIRIES: Ebonie Platfoot Events Manager Tel: +971 4 444 3689 Email: ebonie.platfoot@itp.com SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 15TH ANNUAL AVIATION BUSINESS AWARDS #AVBAWARDS TUE SD A Y 2 ND NO VEMBER 2021. DUB AI, U A E A VIA TIONBU SINE S SME. COM/ A W ARD S AWARDS 2021 CELEBRATING INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENTLOGISTICS AWARDS 2021 | GALLERY 12APRIL - MAY 2021 | LOGISTICS MIDDLE EASTwww.logisticsmiddleeast.comGALLERY | LOGISTICS AWARDS 2021 13LOGISTICS MIDDLE EAST | APRIL - MAY 2021www.logisticsmiddleeast.comREPORT | SAUDI ARABIA 14APRIL - MAY 2021 | LOGISTICS MIDDLE EASTwww.logisticsmiddleeast.com Saudi Arabia in recent months has experimented with various carrot and stick approaches to attracting the world’s largest multinationals and their headquarters. Perhaps one area for the Kingdom to focus more on is its position as a logistical hub and portal to the entire GCC region. After all, any company serious about exporting will prioritise supply chain strategy. Saudi certainly has plenty to sell already where logistics is concerned, but the Kingdom now is in a better position than ever to pitch to large European and US entities targeting growth in the Middle East region. Most organisations will build future ex- pansion plans into their decision making when choosing a logistics hub to set up camp. Saudi of course has plenty of space for expansion. But it also helps to part- ner with hubs that are able to facilitate Logistics Middle East explores what multinationals are looking for in logistics hubs and why Saudi Arabia may be the enabler and the key for majors looking to unlock the potential of the Gulf region – and beyond. SPECIAL REPORT: UNLOCKING THE GULF long-term growth by providing reliable infrastructure, quality warehousing and the necessary licenses and logistics sup- port services required. Several logistics hubs and zones have popped up in Saudi over the last decade. And you only have to look at the launch of the Eastern Gateway Bonded Zone (EGBZ) recently to see that the Kingdom is serious about making itself into the ul- timate, well, gateway. Another hub which seems to be grabbing the headlines more and more recently is LogiPoint, which is situated the other side of Saudi to EGBZ on the Red Sea in Jeddah. There, the hub focuses on offering logistics services, real estate, development and the enablement of things like FMCG, e-commerce and fulfilment, on a long-term basis. Most of its lease contracts are fixed for a stable period of 15 to 20 years in fact. Most multinationals expanding into the Middle East region want to trade in multiple countries across the area even as far as India and Africa. Saudi Arabia’s huge land mass means the Kingdom is dot- ted with a number of well-placed spring- boards into various markets in the MENA region and beyond. LogiPoint, for instance, is positioning itself as a growth partner not just for the Saudi market but for the wider Gulf region and Africa, for exam- ple. The most successful gateways in the Gulf over the next decade will be the ones that invest in the kind of lease contracts, facilities, services and infrastructure in multiple markets to make the lives of cli- ents easier. They key is to be able to say to would-be clients: ‘Here are your fixed costs, you focus on your core operations and leave the logistical headaches to us’. This kind of narrative is all the more im- portant when targeting companies new to the region. Those unfamiliar with how the Middle East region works may be over- whelmed by the challenge of piercing a SAUDI ARABIA | REPORT 15LOGISTICS MIDDLE EAST | APRIL - MAY 2021www.logisticsmiddleeast.com market entirely different to Europe or the US. And so making the set-up process as pain-free as possible while enabling long- term growth is a crucial selling point for hubs in the GCC. While Saudi is setting itself up to be- come a preferred point-of-entry into the MENA region, there is no reason why hubs in the Kingdom cannot work alongside and complement those in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. That is because Saudi Arabia – thanks to its geographical position – can be a springboard into markets outside of the GCC, including countries like Pakistan and in southwest Asia. Perhaps hubs in Saudi can even start capitalising on the logistical muscle of their neighbours in the UAE. Certainly, businesses in the US and Europe looking at the Middle East will be attracted to hubs able to work with a net- work of logistics providers and epicentres around the region. After all, companies don’t necessarily want to relocate around the Gulf region, they want to optimise the infrastructure already here. That way, exporters can access traditionally tough markets in areas where transport infra- structure may be vastly underdeveloped. This kind of proposition is of particular interest to Chinese firms targeting the growing but admittedly economically and politically unstable African market. The kind of stability that Saudi hubs can offer right now is perhaps their golden ticket to securing new tenants considering the volatility of world markets in the wake of the pandemic. Another key point for Saudi’s hubs to consider is the e-commerce boom sparked by the pandemic in 2020. The domestic Saudi e-com market is increasingly lucra- tive for the likes of Amazon, which has a base in LogiPoint’s project at Jeddah Islamic Port. Geographically, LogiPoint is developing a project that is positioned near key road arteries at south Jeddah al- lowing the hub to cover the entire south of the Kingdom in around six hours, which is arguably an underdeveloped area in terms of warehousing and facilities. This kind of coverage, combined with the bonded zone, allows companies like Amazon to complete their fulfilment locally and then distribute rapidly to the rest of Saudi. Customers now demand delivery quicker than ever before so it’s paramount that organisations like LogiPoint utilise their locations as much as possible. Unsurprisingly, LogiPoint is seeking to expand into more areas in Saudi Arabia, offering even greater coverage and quicker delivery. The group already has a logistics park in Riyadh comprising 400,000 square metres with room to expand. Jazan and Dammam are also on the cards, which would open up LogiPoint’s clients to underdeveloped areas in the Gulf while allowing organisations to keep their bases in Saudi. In the Kingdom, companies know that their facilities and costs are guaran- teed and business is done in a manner and ‘language’ they are used to, it could be argued. It is, according to LogiPoint and its peers, all about the added value. All in all, the connectivity, facilities, in- frastructure, ports and developments in Saudi makes the Kingdom an attractive logistics base. There is still a fair way to go until the country becomes anything like a perfect gateway. But the will is there and Saudi customs authorities and lawmakers are increasingly supportive of the domestic logistics sector. Simply, it is a matter of time. And with Vision 2030 in full swing, Saudi Arabia and hubs like EGBZ and LogiPoint could well become the keys to unlocking the Gulf – and be- yond – earlier than previously thought possible. COVER STORY 17LOGISTICS MIDDLE EAST | APRIL - MAY 2021www.logisticsmiddleeast.com KING OF ECOM Ronaldo Mouchawar, Amazon VP for MENA region, speaks to Logistics Middle East about the e-commerce giant’s supply chain strategy as it looks to double- down in Saudi Arabia amid a surge in demand sparked by the pandemic.COVER STORY 18APRIL - MAY 2021 | LOGISTICS MIDDLE EASTwww.logisticsmiddleeast.com Few people know the Mid- dle East e-commerce sec- tor better than Ronaldo Mouchawar, who is con- sidered a giant on the re- gion’s business circuit. The Syrian entrepreneur co-founded Souq.com more than 15 years back and now heads up Amazon in the MENA region following its acquisition of Mouchawar’s Gulf-based e-commerce outfit in 2017. So when the pandemic hit in early 2020, Mouchawar, as the tip of the e-commerce spearhead in the Gulf, felt a degree of social responsibility to help people cope while staying at home. When Arab countries began locking down in mid-March, people went online to buy groceries and anything and everything to stay entertained. It fell upon the likes of Mouchawar and supply chain experts to allow people and businesses to retreat indoors and wait out the storm. “We had to quickly get organised around serving customers that we have and the community that we’re in, be it businesses, be it sellers,” Mouchawar tells Logistics Middle East. He describes how demand for categories such as groceries, studying prod- ucts, toys and sports equipment rocketed during the first few weeks of the pandemic. The boom was as much an opportunity for Amazon and its seller partners to drive change as it was a challenge to adapt. “Our number one priority quickly turned to safety, making sure we’re able to safely deliver. We saw contactless delivery as being something that we needed to evolve quickly in the region. We wanted to make sure that we develop e-payment methods. So as the shift happened to e-payment, as these categories become the daily ‘need type’ of categories, we definitely saw a shift and kind of a new norm.” Amazon’s size means it is in a fortunate position to be able to drive change and invent on behalf of its customers. Mouchawar at the height of the pandemic in summer 2020 launched Amazon.sa to start the process of helping the Saudi e- commerce market to develop. He comments: “All of us know that Saudi has a large re- tail market, highly connected user-base and very young de- mographic of customer. There was more of us understanding what we need to do locally and the logis- tic infrastructure that we need to put in place. We added warehouses and many delivery networks to make sure for many of our customers we’re able to deliver in a day or two.” The keystone for Amazon’s expansion in the GCC region is the localisation of its services for local populations. The need for Arabisation is less in the expat-rich UAE compared to Saudi Arabia, for exam- ple, but it would not have been possible to copy and paste Amazon’s US or European model into any GCC nation. Websites need Arabic content and delivery addresses must be localised. Naturally, the move to localise services has drawn local challenges specific to individual markets, including supply chain obstacles. To ensure the company can react to country-specific challenges, Mouchawar says Amazon.sa has its own supply chain network in Saudi Arabia which relies on a number of “close partners” and third party providers. “Really the service is two tiers,” he ex- plains. “We’re able to deliver within a day to most of the big cities in Saudi. In Riyadh and Jeddah, we actually do same day delivery. And then for the rest of the kingdom, it’s three- to-five-day delivery. But Prime also has an international angle to it. So we are able to ship all Prime-eligible orders over SAR 200 from the UAE to Saudi for free in as quickly as two business days, and from the US into Saudi for free in as quickly as seven business days. So it is a holistic offering, making sure that what customers want quickly, for example groceries, are available within a day or two for the majority of Saudi Prime customers. We also know the Saudi customers always like to shop from global sites and a global selection, so it was important to make sure that products and categories from Amazon. com as well as Amazon.ae in the UAE were also available for these customers.” 6 Number of ful- fillment centres Amazon has in KSACOVER STORY 19LOGISTICS MIDDLE EAST | APRIL - MAY 2021www.logisticsmiddleeast.com WE ALSO KNOW THE SAUDI CUSTOMERS ALWAYS LIKE TO SHOP FROM GLOBAL SITES AND A GLOBAL SELECTION, SO IT WAS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PRODUCTS AND CATEGORIES FROM AMAZON.COM AS WELL AS AMAZON.AE IN THE UAE WERE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR THESE CUSTOMERS” “IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, MY MAIN FOCUS HAS BEEN ON LOCALISING AMAZON, FOR EXAMPLE CASH ON DELIVERY IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO OFFER LOCALLY. BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THE SERVICE LOGISTICALLY … HAS THE RIGHT NETWORK ON THE GROUND, THE RIGHT DELIVERY” With so many customers in the Gulf – not just in Saudi – wanting to access interna- tional products and markets via Amazon, it is important for the organisation to build multiple hubs and entry points across the Middle East. The organisation already has a fairly large footprint. It is also improv- ing delivery speeds across the kingdom by adding capacity in its network. In 2020, Amazon hired 3,400 new permanent and seasonal employees to supplement its work- force. Mouchawar confirms that the group is planning to expand in Saudi and link the kingdom with the rest of the GCC region. “For me, I see young entrepreneurs, many small businesses that are fairly digi- tally savvy. So there’s no real barrier for businesses using Amazon infrastructure, like through the Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) programme, to be able to scale their customer base and their businesses. I can see Saudi businesses easily linking to the global Amazon fulfilment network. FBA and Prime are available in many, many countries. We now have over 150 million Prime members globally so they can defi- nitely tap into that customer base as well.” Increasingly some of Europe’s and the US’s largest majors are setting up distribu- tion hubs in Saudi to act as gateways into GCC markets. Amazon’s Prime model relies on having products as close to customers as possible. Mouchawar wants Prime to be a same- or next-day delivery service in the Gulf so it makes sense to build multiple bases in Saudi where Amazon can con- veniently access GCC neighbours as well as end-users in the kingdom’s various cities. He comments: “We continue to double- down [in Saudi]. We’ve added thousands of employees in the country. I feel it’s an important market. It’s known that in the GCC, the Saudi retail segment is quite high. We have a large customer base there from the Souq days. Now we have a large Prime member base that’s growing. “In the last three years, my main focus has been on localising Amazon, for exam- ple cash on delivery is something that we wanted to offer locally. But also making sure the service logistically … has the right net- work on the ground, the right delivery, even with our third-party partners like Saudi Post to make sure that we are all working together to serve the Saudi customer. One of the challenges in rolling out the Amazon model across the developing Saudi market has been the kingdom’s addressing system, which is an obstacle faced by e- commerce firms across the Middle East. Addressing is an element that by defini- tion has to be localised if customers are to Next >