Expo Dubai 2020 and Its Impact on The Logistics Industry

Set on the theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, Dubai expo 2020 is expected to witness the World’s largest gathering of people to share innovative ideas and, to celebrate human creativity and imagination. The first Expo took place in London, England in 1851 following every 5 years since, with the main focus on Human development and technological innovation. The three pillars on which the theme of the Expo 2020 Dubai stands are: Opportunity, Mobility, and Sustainability.

Which will give a chance to different organizations and companies to come on a single platform. Present their ideas projects to solve and address the World’s most pressing challenges. Companies and industries from all across the World will be putting forward their products and designs which could revolutionize fields like education, governance, transportation, logistics, digital connectivity, climate change, resources, etc. offering ways to shape a better future.

How Big is it Going to Be?

Owing to Dubai’s strategically important position which connects East to the West, Expo 2020 Dubai will beat the previous expos in terms of the number of visitors and the number of participating companies. The Expo 2020 Dubai, the biggest of its kind in the Arab World is offering an unimaginable number of opportunities not just for big organizations but also for SMEs to take advantage by accessing new and emerging markets, collaborating with new partners, reaching new audiences, etc.

For the first time ever, an Expo of this scale is being held in the UAE. As per the latest information, until now, more than 26,000 companies from 150 countries have already signed up to participate in this global event. In a few months, more countries are hoped to be involved, and UAE will be welcoming millions of visitors from all the age groups and, this number of people is predicted even to exceed the number of visitors at the Olympics.

The city will be receiving a considerable amount of goods and supplies daily during the Expo, which is set to start on the 20th of October 2020 and will run till April 2021. There will be a need for a smooth movement of the entire setups and goods to Dubai. The companies from the guest countries will need professional logistics assistance to move their setup to Dubai.

Logistics Industry as the Chief Player In Dubai EXPO

The Expo 2020 Dubai event has already given rise to a number of business opportunities on various levels for different sectors. According to the experts, the sector of logistics will be the prime gainer. As Dubai provides access to Arab and African markets, the city has one of the World’s busiest international airports and is already considered as the top international transport and logistics hub.

Logistics will play a major role in making the Expo 2020 Dubai a success. Logistics sector in the UAE by this time has been acting as a major contributor to the UAE economy. The UAE Ministry of Economy published ‘The Annual Economic Report, 2018’ which states that the logistics and distribution industry is responsible for 5.4 percent of 1.42 trillion DH economy of the UAE.

The leading business newspapers have also agreed that the Expo 2020 Dubai will boost the logistics and the supply chain sector in Dubai and, will make it possible for UAE to become a worldwide forerunner in the logistics sector. The logistics industry which ranks third in World will witness boom due to the Expo because billions of dollars are being spent by the UAE government on the infrastructure and logistics services to prepare for the major event. According to analysts, the Expo 2020 will be a very crucial moment for the UAE logistics industry. It will not only improve and transform the economy of Dubai but also among other Gulf Economies, which will result in economic integration and cooperation in the region.

Modernizing Logistics

Innovation and integration of technology will become necessary to make the Expo successful. Analysts are of the view that to promote the logistics sector, the UAE government has worked on tiny details. In order to facilitate the various industries including healthcare, aviation, science, etc. the logistics corridors of the Jebel Ali and Dubai South are built in the fashion to attract the different companies to establish their regional logistics hub.

These corridors can permit the efficient use of air-sea transportation. And the industries and organizations can benefit from these platforms. Dubai International airport is currently the World’s sixth busiest when it comes to cargo traffic and Jabel Ali port the ninth biggest container port undergoing further expansion.

Dubai is not only maintaining but is improvising the infrastructure and is making itself ready for the future to hold its top place in transportation and logistics. Talking about the modernization of the logistics industry, an analyst said “One of the purposes of the Expo is to give the World a glimpse of what tomorrow is going to look like so our opportunity is to show the World what logistics of the future will look like. Whether it is drones, 3D or blockchain, we are looking to figure out how we can apply it to the Expo,”

The growth in the UAE’s Distribution and Logistics sectors will be driven by the online sale and e-commerce sector, top industry officials are of the view that the number of consumers preferring online shopping has been increasing every day. Online purchases offer a broader frame of choices to attract customers, along with that the competitiveness of price and the perks of home delivery always draw customer’s attention.

According to a report by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the two sectors of Logistics and Transportation are rising at a great speed in UAE. The approximate rate of development is 7.9 percent per year. It is hoped that until the year 2023 these sectors will become the engine for the growth of the UAE economy.

Dharmesh Rustagi, Head of Logistics Operations at AMS and SSL, said: “The throughput of non-containerized cargo Jebel Ali Port has been experiencing a steady upward movement with demand being driven by Expo 2020.”

Why Choose Logistics Partners

For the promotion of Logistics and Supply Chain industry in the UAE and to improve the overall standards of all industries on end to end supply chain, the logistics companies offer the best services as

1. They work on proper planning:

The most important thing in logistics is the efficient planning of the whole process. It involves various steps from certifying and securing the goods to storage facilitation and delivery of the products. Other than that, the things that need to be taken into consideration include the management of time and everything linked to transportation, the data related to costs and money involved, etc. Planning makes the work more efficient and also saves time. 

2. Work through Automation

Technology is playing a major role in modern logistic. Replacing the manual intervention with technological management of the process eliminates the chances of any sorts of errors a man could make and also saves a lot of time. Integration of the latest software in the business makes the output more efficient. Blockchains in the supply chains help in navigating the movement of the goods and raw materials right from the supplier to the end-customer. They also save the data and any changes made in that to make the whole process transparent.

3. Offer Value-Added Services

These services play one of the important roles in the logistics industry as the customer behavior and requirements are changing, these operations are expanding. It makes sure that the overall supply chain is working efficiently by looking after every little detail such as the time and frequency of delivery, management of warehouses and overall the customer’s satisfaction. These services include:

• Labeling
• Packaging
• Tracking
• Kitting
• Bundling
• Inventory Management
• Quality Check

4. Offer Modern Warehouse Management

The operations under this management depend on the type of goods. Some of the products need refrigeration facilities while some need properly moist controlled environment. The management needs to make sure that there is minimum wastage of goods. Under the Smart Dubai Initiative, LogiGate Warehousing was launched providing the users with an opportunity to manage the process of warehousing online. The integration of technology increases supply chain visibility.

5. Choose Efficient Transportation

Dubai Trade has launched the Smart Dubai Initiative which has introduced LogiTransport presenting modern and efficient means of transportation. With the emerging technology in the transport industry, autonomous vehicles, driverless trucks are also grabbing World’s attention. Considering all efforts being made to hold this mega event Expo 2020, it seems to fascinate a number of trade organizations with the bundles of opportunities for the logistic companies working to bring the latest changes in their system to meet the challenging demands of the future of new trade lines.