Aramco and DHL Supply Chain Are Building Procurement and Logistics Hub

Aramco and DHL Supply Chain are building a procurement and logistics hub in Saudi Arabia.

The new hub will provide integrated procurement and supply chain services to customers in the industrial, energy, chemical and petrochemical sectors, the companies said in a Monday (March 20) press release.

The joint venture aims to be operational in 2025 will focus on Saudi Arabia before expanding across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to the release.

“This partnership brings together two industry leaders, each with long and storied histories,” Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said in the release. “By combining the exceptional energy, chemicals and industrial supply chain ecosystem of Aramco with the world-class shipping and logistics expertise of DHL, we aim to enable the Procurement and Logistics Hub joint venture to serve as a one-stop hub for customers’ supply chain needs.”

PYMNTS research has found that most manufacturers and retailers say digitizing procurement will modernize global supply chains.

The drive to modernize procurement and logistics cuts across industries, according to “Digital Payments: Modernizing Procurement Processes,” a PYMNTS and Corcentric collaboration.

In the case of the Aramco and DHL Supply Chain joint venture, the services will encompass supply chain purchasing, warehouse and inventory management, transportation and reverse logistics, according to the press release.

It aims to facilitate supply chain efficiency and cost benefits by achieving industry best practices, and to help customers reduce their carbon footprint by using more sustainable solutions, the release said.

“By working in partnership with Aramco, we aim to provide regional and multinational businesses from these sectors access to a robust international logistics network, fostering positive economic growth while promoting sustainable activities,” DHL Supply Chain CEO Oscar de Bok said in the release.

Businesses learned from the pandemic-related supply chain disruptions that they need tighter control of key payment processes, particularly procurement, to ride out the next economic disruption, and that digital technology is necessary to achieve and sustain this control, the PYMNTS and Corcentric survey found.

To support these processes, businesses across the board have upped their investments in technologies. Many of those that have been slow to invest now plan to do so.