strategicinsight
BY PETER BRADLEY, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
knowledge smoothes
way to Middle East trade
The fast-growing
economies of
the Middle East
and North Africa
offer tempting
opportunities
for exporters.
But getting a
foothold in the
CAN YOU AFFORD TO TAKE 20 TO 25 DAYS TO DELIVER A CRITICAL PARTS SHIPment to an overseas customer? Of course you can’t. Neither can Choice Logistics, but that’s
the situation the third-party logistics service provider (3PL) faced.
The problem began when Choice, which specializes in critical parts deliveries, started serving customers in Saudi Arabia from a regional DC in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. As it quickly discovered, shipping goods to that part of the world presents some special complications.
For example, Choice would have to clear a number of hurdles before the items could even
be shipped from the Netherlands, explains Luisella Basso, the company’s director of global
trade compliance. Among other things, it had to provide a certificate of origin for each
product as well as a certificate of conformity for each shipment, showing compliance with
Saudi regulations. On top of that, it had to conduct a physical inspection of every shipment.
That added up to big delays. “The process was taking 21 to 25
days,” Basso says. For Choice, this was unacceptable. “Our business
is mission-critical shipping,” says Michael Notarangeli, the company’s vice president of field operations. “Every job is urgent. This
went against everything we stand for.”
market takes
some doing.
Big potential
Welcome to doing business in the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA), a market that can be as frustrating for
exporters as it is tantalizing. The frustrations, of course,
come from the confusing array of local
and national laws, customs, and regu-
lations. But for companies with
global ambitions, the fast-growing
economies in the region still
have a powerful allure.
