According the the statement, through leveraging DB Schenker’s global experience in specialised freight forwarding solutions across multiple industries, the partnership will seek to boost Aramex’s capabilities and offerings in the region, including, but not limited to, the aerospace, defense, infrastructure, and healthcare industries. Conversely, by teaming up with Aramex and capitalising on its expertise in the region, DB Schenker is said to be able to expand its presence more comprehensively in Abu Dhabi, a strategic and growing trade and logistics hub in the MEA region, according to Aramex.
Othman Aljeda, Chief Executive Officer of Aramex, commented on the MoU, “This is a very exciting strategic partnership that has the potential to unlock more value for existing customers while also enabling us to realize our commercial and diversification goals. Over the several years, we have been strategically focused on enhancing our core freight forwarding business through investment in technologies and expanding on the ground operations with the intention of enhancing our capabilities, capturing greater market share in core markets and diversifying our customer base by penetrating new industry verticals. By joining forces with DB Schenker, a global logistics company we regard as truly complementary to ours in the region, we will accelerate the realization of our goals in the freight forwarding business. Our alliance will enable Aramex to become a stronger, more competitive player in the sea and air freight forwarding services in Abu Dhabi and other core markets. While we are working on the partnership agreement and will update the market in due course on our final agreement, on behalf of the Aramex team, I look forward to working alongside the DB Schenker team.”
Christopher Smith, Chief Executive Officer of DB Schenker, Middle East & Africa, said, “At DB Schenker, we recognize the immense opportunities emanating from Abu Dhabi and the MEA region. We believe our alliance with Aramex was a natural choice given their history, expertise, knowledge, and extensive network in the region. I am confident that together, we will be able to grow our footprint in Abu Dhabi and the wider MEA region. We are excited about this expansion plan, and we look forward to realizing synergies and scaling our operations in the region to serve our existing major accounts and new potential clients more comprehensively.”
Traditionally Aramex’s freight forwarding business was largely focused on the cyclical Oil & Gas (O&G) sector, stated the company. While Aramex will reportedly continue to serve this sector, the energy industry has witnessed lower levels of activities in recent years, which inevitably had a knock-on effect on Aramex’s freight forwarding business. However, in 2020 the healthcare, pharmaceuticals and FMCG segment helped offset some of the weakness from O&G. Going forward, the company aims to continue to strengthen its freight forwarding capabilities through strategic partnerships, investment in technologies and hiring and upskilling the necessary talent.
