Offering integrated logistics solutions

 

Our Correspondent
EMIRATES BUSINESS

Aramex is a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions. Established in 1982 as an express operator, the company rapidly evolved into a global brand recognised for its customised services and innovative multi-product offering. Traded on the NASDAQ from 1997 to 2002, Aramex today is a publicly traded company on the Dubai Financial Market, employing more than 13,900 people in 354 locations across 60 countries and leads a strong alliance network providing global presence, and bringing together 40 independent express companies from around the world. The range of services offered by Aramex includes integrated logistics solutions, international and domestic express delivery, freight forwarding, secure records and information management solutions, and e-services, including e-business solutions and Shop and Ship.
Aramex, recently announced that it has invested US $2.94 million as part of a US $8.5 million Series B funding round with what3words, the multi-award winning addressing platform. This investment comes to further enhance Aramex’s global e-commerce operations. Previous investors, Intel Capital and British funds Force Over Mass and Mustard Seed also contributed to the deal.
what3words is an address system based on a global grid of 57 trillion 3mx3m squares, where each square has a unique pre-assigned 3-word address. The solution helps everyone who needs to find or share a
location— whether they are navigation apps, governments, logistics firms, travel guides or NGOs.
Aramex will use the ‘what3words’ address system in its e-commerce fulfilment operations across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia to further enhance its last-mile delivery solutions. To date, Aramex has already invested in a number of mobile-based start-ups to improve its last-mile delivery solutions, including Grab and Logisure in India, Shippify in South America and CashBasha in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Hussein Hachem, CEO of Aramex, said, “We are pleased to be partnering with what3words. By integrating 3 word addresses into our e-commerce operations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, we are now better able to reach more consumers worldwide, even those in difficult to access locations. The partnership is also perfectly aligned with our commitment to becoming a technology-based enterprise. We are always looking for new and innovative solutions to enhance our operations, and for new opportunities to invest in mobile-based start-ups with last-mile delivery capabilities. We look forward to experiencing the benefits what3words’ addressing system will have on our business.”

Mission
Aramex mission is to be recognised as one of the top five global logistics and express transportation service providers and to enable and facilitate regional
and global trade and
commerce responsibly.

Global Network
Aramex is a founding member and chairs the Global Distribution Alliance (GDA), which brings together over 40 leading express and logistics providers from around the world, each specialising in their own region and together covering the world with the same, unified quality standards and technology of Aramex. The network has more than 12,000 offices, 33,000 vehicles and 66,000 employees serving alliance customers and attending to their business around the clock in more than 240 countries.

Innovation and
Technology
Innovation is deeply ingrained in its corporate culture, and has long been a driving force in the growth of Aramex services. It originally stems from listening to customers and developing new products and services that address market needs. At Aramex, creativity is celebrated and rewarded. Small and big ideas come from all levels of the company to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

Quality
Improving processes, eliminating bottlenecks and increasing efficiency of daily operations is an ongoing cycle in Aramex. The company places high value on maintaining and enhancing quality in every facet of the organisation. Therefore it has designed and implemented a quality management system to ensure a consistent level of high standards at all times, and evaluate these standards regularly and work on technological and process innovations to improve upon them. The Aramex DQMS (Documented Quality Management System), called InfoHub, complies with the requirements of the international standard of ISO 9001:2008 and includes a set of effective systems that measure customer satisfaction in order to ensure continuous service enhancement.

People
At Aramex, it is believed that quality people produce consistently excellent service, and continuously innovate to meet customer needs, which is a cornerstone of its business.
Therefore the company strives to attract and maintain the best talents, while continuously nurturing and offering them opportunities to achieve and innovate.

Corporate Activism
For Aramex, sustainability is a strategy.
Corporate activism then becomes embedded in its business model, and a reflection of how Aramex chooses to exist and operate.
As the first company in the region to report on its sustainable practices, Aramex continues to be accountable for its commitments to all stakeholders. Aramex is keen on continuously practicing its citizenship by being an active partner in development and serving its communities and the environment.
Aramex supports entrepreneurial initiatives, education and youth empowerment, sports and community organising developing models as a way to highlight the importance of human capital, citizenship and activism.

Commitment to
Security – TAPA
As one of the industry’s key security regulatory agencies, the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) has put in place rigorous guidelines and assessment criteria to ensure that every company meets a specified level of security throughout the supply chain.
Aramex has already received TAPA certifications for facilities in Bahrain, Riyadh, Dammam, Beirut, Amman, Amsterdam, and Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, and is moving towards certifying the rest of its facilities in the network.
The company has also received certification for Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) in the Netherlands and Ireland and is working towards acquiring certification for all European countries it operates from.

Aramex Information
Security Policy
Aramex has adopted an information security policy which addresses security issues related to the ownership, integrity and accessibility of information, and in particular, risks associated with the use of computers and networks for storing, transferring and processing information. Aramex has a strong commitment to protecting its critical information assets against unauthorised access and use, theft, modification, destruction and unauthorised disclosure, and regards the protection of information assets as a common responsibility of all staff.
Not finding the right delivery point, for example, is frustrating for consumers, and costs businesses a huge amount in failed deliveries and delays.
The ‘last-mile deliveries” account on average for 28 percent of all delivery costs. According to the UN, 135 countries don’t have an adequate address system.
This puts huge pressure on the logistics industry to find effective and efficient solutions to deliver parcels to consumers.