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December 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 13 December 2008
How did the industry do in 2008?
David Christmas is Regional MD, Middle East, DHL Exel Supply Chain
This has been an exciting, invigorating, successful, albeit sometimes challenging year for most players in the Middle East logistics industry.
Growth has continued at a pace, and most companies have witnessed a double digit increase in volumes; whether through organic growth with present customers or new growth as more and more companies requiring logistics services enter the region.
November 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 12 November 2008
Never forget the hubs that connect us all
Tom Ronell is the CEO of Istithmar World Aviation Holdings
Once upon a time, going to the airport was a special experience. The airport was a place of dreams and flights of fantasy – both literally and figuratively. It was a place of excitement: people embarking upon new adventures, others arriving to the cheers of their families and friends.
October 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 11 October 2008
Making your presence felt in a cutthroat industry
Manya Pamnani is the Director of Advisory & Consulting of Horwath Mak, Auditors & Business Consultants
Globalisation and recent developments in technology coupled with growth in ecommerce has brought about unprecedented
expansions in logistics, giving companies a pivotal role to play in providing the link in the customer supply chain as volumes of online purchases increase.
September 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 10 September 2008
Cranes, construction and more cranes
Thanks to the continuing boom in its economy, the UAE has now seemingly become one major construction site. And the ripple effect of the construction phenomena has extended to project cargo.
In freight terms, project cargo means the movement of goods that are too big or too wide for a standard container. Traditionally, project cargo dealt with moving heavy equipment for the oil and gas sector. Now, although still considered a niche market, project cargo has grown from strength to strength in this part of the world, mainly because of the increased demand brought about by the diversity of projects.
July 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 9 July/Aug 2008
Current aggressive behaviour between insurance companies in the industry has driven insurance rates to an all time low, thus companies are struggling to break even
Sea freight volumes have heavily increased in the region, primarily due to containerisation, a tremendous improvement in logistics and transport and now the great demand for fuel and project cargo to facilitate Dubai’s construction boom. In the first quarter of 2007 alone, 8,431 vessels called into Dubai ports and a total of 34,052 by the end of the year, with a value of AED679 million (US$185 million) worth of cargo movement in foreign trade including free zone and custom warehouse trade.
June 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 8 June 2008
The healthcare business is a mature industry providing a variety of products and services such as medical consumables, pharmaceuticals, catering, laundry, waste management, home-care products, information technology, vehicle fleet management and general supplies to their customers. Analysis of the healthcare industry indicates that the supply management system is one of the potential areas where cost reductions are highly possible since the healthcare industry has historically viewed itself as being operationally different from other businesses.
May 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 7 May 2008
Some experts have said that a strong risk management process can decrease problems on a project by as much as 80 or 90 per cent. In combination with solid project management practices — having a well-defined scope, incorporating input from the appropriate stakeholders, following a good change
April 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 6 April 2008
As freight forwarding has moved into the 21st century, there has been much confusion about its legal roles and responsibilities. The sector offers a vast range of value-added services to customers who could hold the service provider accountable as the carrier. The typical role of a freight forwarder is that of an
March 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 5 March 2008
This is an age-old conundrum in management- do happy workers perform better?
Decades of research and empirical evidence have been unable to establish a strong link between psychological well being, intrinsic job satisfaction and manager’s performance.
Recently,using a unique methodology, fresh empirical evidence and a definitive analysis of previous theory and research, researchers have started supporting the original ‘happy productive worker’ thesis.
February 1st, 2008 — Guest Column, Issue 4 February 2008
Business Process Reengineering, or BPR, is changing the way companies conduct their core businesses by ‘revising’ the business process using Information Technology as a key enabler.
By and large, many business organisations today tend to assign individual employees focused tasks. The summation of such tasks is then taken into consideration by the management team to determine the resultant impact on business performance.
