Saudi Arabia is powering its supply chain infrastructure amid Vision 2030 ambition

Saudi Arabia is rapidly advancing towards Vision 2030 agenda with large-scale industrial projects and an ever-growing manufacturing base. With the fast industrial expansion, the country demands a supply chain infrastructure that can match the scale and ambition of its national goals.

In conversation with Saad Al Hajri, Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), ASMO, the urgent need for integrated platforms was highlighted; a platform that can streamline procurement, logistics, and inventory management across vast and complex value chains. He also spoke about ASMO’s journey, its expanding partnership with Aramco, and how the company is setting new benchmarks for the Kingdom’s supply chain infrastructure.

Talking about ASMO’s journey, Saad said, “ASMO was established to strengthen supply chain resilience and support Saudi Arabia’s growing energy sector and industrial base. Over the past year, we have focused on translating this vision into action - assuming management of two Aramco-owned warehouses in Riyadh and Jazan, while launching procurement services under general supplies category. These initial steps have laid the foundation for a model that will eventually create a holistic procurement and supply chain network, one capable of delivering full end-to-end visibility and operational efficiency across the Kingdom’s energy and industrial sector.”

With the combined expertise of DHL and Aramco, the company is working towards delivering an end-to-end supply chain model for the energy, chemical and industrial sectors.

“We have added 120 new procurement agreements for Aramco following a successful pilot. This represents a tenfold increase in our engaged supplier base and an introduction of thousands of new material line items. This is a strong indicator of trust in our operational scalability.”

“We are now prioritizing on managing this scale efficiently and preparing for future phases through 2027, which will encompass high-value categories like MRO and project materials.”, he further added.

From an industry perspective, it is important to validate the visibility of shared services model for complex industrial procurement. As demand increases, it is essential to optimize massive, multi-category material flow. Saad emphasized, “Our procurement capability is specifically built to streamline processes, introduce world-class technology like AI and Big Data for predictive analytics, and provide local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with clearer, more efficient access to the supply chain. This ensures value creation remains within the Kingdom.”

Globally, companies are adopting best procurement practices to avoid inventory hoarding and frozen capital. While discussing ASMO’s differentiator, he said, “A holistic and integrated approach is our differentiator and local market knowledge is our key strength. At ASMO, we are combining procurement, inventory management, logistics, and a B2B e-marketplace into a single, unified ecosystem. This minimizes disruptions and delays allowing us to optimize across the entire material lifecycle, from demand planning/sourcing to final delivery.”

“Our unique approach helps reduce complexities, guarantees supply certainty, and gives us the ability to efficiently release working capital otherwise tied in excess inventory.” 

Commenting on the collaboration with Aramco, Saad says, “Aramco's role as the anchor customer has been instrumental, providing the scale and operational complexity necessary to refine our model quickly. This partnership directly serves the Saudi Vision 2030 goal of economic diversification and localization.”

SMEs represent over 99% of all commercial establishments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This data proves the role of SMEs in the growth of the country. They are crucial to strengthening the Kingdom's industrial backbone and logistics infrastructure. “By establishing a highly efficient, technology-driven supply chain platform, we are accelerating the growth of SMEs. Our platform provides the infrastructure required for local suppliers to streamline their operations according to global standards,” Saad said.

Finally, by 2030, our aim is to oversee procurement activity exceeding USD 8 billion. This is central to our vision to become the leading supply chain services provider in Saudi Arabia and the wider region, he concluded.