The National Association of Freight and Logistics UAE (NAFL), one of the Arabian Gulf’s oldest and most active associations, has signed a landmark MoU with Fives Smart Automation Solutions (Fives SAS) to propel growth and automation across the UAE’s e-commerce and logistics sectors.
Conceived to explore sector-wide opportunities to improve and automate the logistics industry and support the UAE’s burgeoning e-commerce growth, the MoU was signed by Nadia Abdul Aziz, President, NAFL and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Chair of the Customs and Trade Facilitation Commission UAE, and Umer Saleem, Business Development and Sales – MENA, SE Asia and Turkey, Fives SAS. Massimiliano Fochetti, Global EVP Sales and Marketing, Fives SAS, was also in attendance.
Mutual cooperation
“This MoU will foster mutual cooperation in various areas to support the logistics industry, capture opportunities, and work closer with government entities to further automate the logistics and e-commerce industry,” stated Aziz. “By harnessing the global expertise of NAFL and Fives SAS, we look forward to productive progress and hastening widespread adoption of technologically advanced methods which will ensure the UAE’s competitive advantage in our focus sectors,” she added.
Worth more than AED 220bn (US$ 60bn), the UAE logistics market contributes more than 13 per cent of the country’s GDP. The development of the logistics ecosystem through digital and infrastructure investment is a key focus in current initiatives designed to sustain the nation’s economic growth, with advantegeous government policies paving the way for the UAE to be a truly global logistic hub.
Local engagement
“After successfully executing several smart projects in the region, Fives Smart Automation Solutions appreciates how local customers understand the importance and benefits of smart automation, a trend which has been fast-tracked due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” affirmed Fochetti. “Aligned with our ambitious growth target, we are ready to cater to our local customers’ needs as a strategic partner for NAFL in the UAE,” he continued.
With more than two centuries of experience, Fives is an industrial engineering group which designs and manufactures machines, process equipment and production lines for the world’s largest manufacturers.
Operating across various sectors, from aerospace and automotive to oil and gas, Fives SAS will support NAFL’s 400-plus corporate members who include global conglomerates as well as large and medium national organisations. The cooperation will look to enhance and facilitate the work of NAFL members and support digitalisation processes.
The MoU also outlines further collaboration designed to utilise Fives’ experience in automated sorting and intralogistics robotic solutions to improve NAFL members’ efficiencies, assist global market knowledge and robotic expertise, and aid Emiratisation and local recruitment initiatives.
Paris-headquartered Fives Smart Automation Solutions (Fives SAS) is a division of Fives, the industrial engineering group founded more than 200 years ago and designs and manufactures machines, process equipment and production lines for some of the world’s largest manufacturers.
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