New Technologies Required to Mitigate Supply Chain Risks

Middle East businesses must develop their capabilities and embrace new technologies to take advantage of a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to tackle increasing threats to the global supply chain.

This is the opinion of several industry experts who are set to convene in Dubai at the Procurement and Supply Chain MENA Summit on 30 October.

Sam Abchampong, Head of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) MENA, Dirk Karl, MTN Group Executive and CPO, and Maha Bouzeid, VP Head of Sourcing in the MEA region for Ericsson, are among the line-up of respected industry figures who will be participating in the Summit.

While all agree that the Middle East is relatively well-placed to weather the worst excesses of key issues such as protectionism and global trade wars, Achampong warns that more needs to be done to ensure the right tools and capabilities are in place for companies to deliver industry best practice.

“Technology itself is an enabler rather than a risk,” he says. “However, the lack of readiness to deploy the correct systems and solutions, as well as a shortage of talent with the relevant skills to be able to operate and add value in today’s business environment, is a risk.”

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While the region’s proactive approach to technology puts it in a strong position to adopt the latest solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain, Achampong believes training and development must be prioritised.

MTN’s Dirk Karl agrees that technology has a major role to play in strengthening supply chain management in the Middle East: “There is a lot of investment into cognitive technologies in the UAE and exposure to some of the best conferences centred around technologies such as AI and machine learning.

“So we are well positioned to implement these to increase visibility and gain new levels of understanding using data to predict supply chain disruptions and put mitigation measures in place to reduce risk.”

According to Ericsson’s Maha Bouzeid, companies in the UAE can also draw on the benefits of the country’s safe and stable working environment.

Procurement & Supply Chain MENA, in partnership with CIPS MENA, will gather heads of procurement & supply chain to share big picture, business-led strategies on how not only to guarantee supply during industry flux, but become a key value driver, innovator and business partner for any organisation.

With over 200+ senior delegates, 50+ superstar speakers and six topic tracks, the event provides a day of real-life experiences and actionable use-cases for any budget.

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