A new chapter has begun in the history of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). The company’s supply chain management project, called EMDAD, which radically changed the face of its global supply chain, has come to a close with the successful implementation of newly designed customer-focused solutions.

EMDAD, which in Arabic means “supply,” began its implementation phase around three years ago. The resulting new supply chain systems have offered a solid foundation to fast-track SABIC’s ambitious growth plans as well as those of its customers.

“EMDAD is delivering quality and speed for SABIC customers in all corners of the world. Our customers are already experiencing improved responsiveness, world class service levels, increased availability, reduced lead-times and enhanced reliability,” said Saleh Al-Shabnan, vice president, Global Supply Chain Center of Excellence.

Some of the changes that SABIC made to its logistics under the EMDAD project included implementation of portside logistics facilities in Jubail and Yanbu; building of a new terminal for truck management in Jubail; streamlining of the flow of products with bar-coding and electronic gate systems; and working with the Royal Commission to create dedicated haulage roads in Jubail and Yanbu.

Homood Al-Tuwaijri, SABIC executive vice president (corporate control) and chairman of EMDAD Executive Steering Committee, thanked all those involved in the project, and highlighted the significant knowledge transfer that has taken place across the organization. “EMDAD has trained over 1,100 SABIC employees providing over 37,000 man hours of training in over 400 sessions,” he said. “These are quite astounding figures and the results obtained speak for themselves.”

Al-Tuwaijri also pointed out the benefits that EMDAD has generated for SABIC, which include significant enhancements in supply chain and customer service, new streamlined business processes, state-of-the-art IT solutions, optimized logistics infrastructures, organizational capabilities and performance management.

Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC vice chairman and CEO, said this closing event was a new beginning for SABIC. “The journey does not stop here and will now continue with our new Global Supply Chain Center of Excellence, which aims to ensure that FANAR and EMDAD are consistently applied across SABIC. This will begin a new chapter in SABIC’s future that will make us even better prepared to meet our customers’ growth requirements and will help us power their ambitions.”

Source: Arab News