How Dubai does it

Supply Management,  Apr 26, 2007  by Ellinor, Rebecca

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You've doubtless heard of and perhaps even visited Dubai - the best-known of all the states in the United Arab Emirates. But what do you think of the place?

You probably know about its flash hotels, gold souks and may have seen the photos of Richard Branson standing on "Great Britain" - one of 300 luxury manmade islands off the coast that will form a world map.

But what of its procurement operations? Would you expect this 36-year-old Middle Eastern country to be further ahead or behind the UK? SM went to look for answers and found no single label applies.

As you will find in this special issue, the country, and particularly Dubai - which inevitably receives more attention - is a place of complexities and some contradictions.

While construction developments are delivered in double-quick time, for example, other projects suffer from a sometimes sluggish supply base. Buyers suspect some suppliers feel that with demand outstripping supply they can be lackadaisical about making certain deliveries or meetings on time.

High demand items, such as food (the UAE produces very little) or scaffolding, present challenges for procurement, testing their relationship-building and negotiations skills to the limit. And UAE buyers must make most purchases via third parties which can increase workload and bureaucracy.

Yet buyers in the country do have some advantages over UK counterparts. Its geographical position means it is closer to and therefore perhaps more comfortable sourcing from Asian giants such as India and China. And many, even small, purchasing departments have multinational teams able to converse in a variety of languages and appreciate an array of cultural nuances.

However, while there are differences between the UK and UAE, there are also similarities. Procurement in the Emirates is working to raise its profile to attract graduates and make its mark within business. So some things are not so different after all.

Rebecca Ellinor, Features editor

rebecca.ellinor@supplymanagement.com

Copyright Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Apr 26, 2007
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