With the GCC region emerging as the hotbed of transformative ideas and an innovation hub, collaboration and technology adoption will be at the heart of solving the next-generation supply chain challenges, said speakers at the recently concluded Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Supply Chain Conference.

Delivering the welcome remarks, Saleh Al-Suwaiti, CEO, FAHSS-TUV and Chairman, Supply Chain Committee, GPCA, called upon the industry to invest in digital technology adoption and accelerate collaboration and cooperation in order to foster more agile and resilient chemical supply chains.

As part of the plenary session, Patrick Hore, Global Vertical Head of Chemicals, Maersk and Ibrahim Bin Dayel, Director, Global SC Solids, SABIC, echoed his sentiment, as they shared insights on their collaboration, the benefits as well as challenges and how they overcame them successfully through a partnership built on trust.

The opening remarks were delivered by Aslam Moola, Commercial & Business Development Director, Vopak ME and Vice-Chair, Supply Chain Committee, GPCA, while Raveen Guliani, VP, Logistics & Trade Development, DP World UAE, led a plenary address on ‘The impact of geopolitics on supply chains’.

Other esteemed speakers at the conference included Turky Bin Suwaidan, Freight Train Operations Director, Saudi Railway Company; Abdulmutalib Ghazai, MSc. P.Eng., Rail Infrastructure Director, Oman-Etihad Rail Co. (OERC); Ahmed Alkatheeri, SVP, Supply Chain Management, Borouge; Tobias Maier, Regional CFO, DHL Global Forwarding, and CEO, Saloodo; Dheeraj Bhatia, Senior Managing Director, Middle East, Hapag Lloyd; and Bassel El Dabbagh, MD – Levant, Egypt & Saudi Arabia, CEVA Logistics, among others.