When you consider the new norms and values established in 2020, I don’t doubt that you consider COVID-19 to have been the dictator that defines them; and, it’s certainly the case that the global pandemic has been an influencing factor, but we would be amiss to claim that it is the only one. In fact, the true defining factor of this year has been the genius of human innovation and adaptability ─ especially when it comes to supply chain operations. It’s the collaborative efforts between individual humans at different stages of the supply chain that truly made the difference as the world stood in the looming shadow of adversity.
A man who knows all about that unity through collaboration is Naiyer Hussain, the Supply Chain Director of Aljazierah Home Appliances, manufacturer & retailers of Home Appliances & HVAC equipment ranging from water coolers and heaters to refrigeration units and freezers across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
“Aljazierah was started in 1968 by the late Mohamed bin Abdulaziz Al Rajhi, a visionary entrepreneur. It was the very first factory of its kind in the Middle East to produce home appliances. Today, Aljazierah has nine production facilities for water heaters, water coolers, evaporative coolers, gas cookers, refrigerators, washing machines and plastic components. Our products are well known in Saudi Arabia, and we are now exporting products to almost all of the Middle Eastern markets. We have also expanded into the African markets, through the use of one production factory in Sudan,” Naiyer told Supply Chain Digital.
Although Aljazierah was the first manufacturer of its kind in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, it’s no longer alone in its particular marketplace ─ in fact, it has global competition. To the question of, “what put’s Aljazierah ahead of its competitors”, Naiyer succinctly stated that “the leadership and vision of the CEO, CFO, and Vice President are all vital to Aljazierah’s success in our respective markets, and those three individuals underpin the reason why we’re ahead of the competition, right now. As it stands, we’ve successfully nurtured strong partnerships with both our customers and our suppliers, which ensures that both ends of our businesses supply chain remain on-top. As a company, we also have a tendency to explore options and find multiple solutions to the problems that we may face; we treat each problem as a case study and the executive arm of the organisation put in the hours to brainstorm and come up with probable solutions together, as a team.”
When it comes to the supply chain operation of any organisation with the size and scope of Aljazierah, many industry-leading companies choose to either use one supplier that can provide all of their goods and services, or they go the other route and use several, working in unison. In Aljazierah’s case, Naiyer told us that “we are made up of several interdependent global partners. All our suppliers are highly skilled and professional in their areas. They keep the high value of partnership agreements, and continuously work on product innovation and process optimisation, for the sake of our customers.”
On the subject of COVID-19 ─ the elephant in the room, really ─ it often seemed that Asia, Europe, and the Americas were hit hardest by the virus. Naiyer revealed that “Saudi Arabia also had COVID-19 cases and the government implemented curfews and highly restricted everybody’s movement from March 21st, onwards. Considering the fact that the pandemic had been rife in China since December of last year, Aljazierah was already on high alert with the intention of mitigating any supply chain risks.”
