Huawei, a leading global ICT solutions provider, has opened its first logistics facility in the Middle East, to serve as a supply-chain hub reinforcing the company’s future project deliveries across the region.

Located in Dubai, UAE, the center will initially be focused on serving Huawei’s customers in the telecommunications sector, with plans already in place for a phase-two expansion that will include a focus on Huawei’s smartphone business before the end of 2013.

The new hub underscores the strategic significance of the Middle East to Huawei’s global operational network, which today serves customers in over 140 countries worldwide.

“A strong industry chain is essential to the survival of any sector,” said Shi Yaohong, president of Huawei Middle East.

“We further believe that closely cooperating with our suppliers and our customers is essential to building Huawei’s competitive edge in the Middle East.

“This latest logistics hub demonstrates how we aim to extend our footprint as a local company in the Middle East & Africa and to build a business ecosystem in which all participants jointly create value and share the benefits.”

Huawei executives said that the hub will enable the company to significantly shorten deliveries by around 30 days for ocean shipments and address urgent delivery requests from its regional customers.

The new warehouse space will also give Huawei a more flexible supply chain by being able to locally house major equipment orders from across the globe, in turn consolidating project deliveries to Huawei’s regional telecom customers.

The company has further teamed up with top logistics service provider Danzas in providing the most efficient logistics services into Dubai from anywhere in the world.

Lodged in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone, the supply-chain hub is set to advance alongside Huawei’s wider business ambitions for the MEA region. While the first phase of operations covers the GCC and Pakistan, the next phase of development—on track for completion before the end of 2013—will extend the center’s geographic reach into Africa including nations such as Kenya, Tanzania and other African countries.

Over the next three years the company has already announced plans to invest an additional $20 million or more in the facility’s expansion.

That extension will not only be into new geographic markets, but also cover a greater diversity of Huawei’s end-to-end solutions portfolios.

According to company executives, the current emphasis will be on serving telecom operators as a one-stop shop where Huawei can delivery requests for technology such as wireless and microwave equipment. As part of its phase two expansion, the company will start sourcing additional technology such as data center solutions, switch routers, and Huawei consumer devices.

“In working with Huawei, we knew that their global supply centers are a unique component of their strategy to provide industry leaders with reliable and consistent service anytime, anywhere,” noted Samer Kaissi, Danzas Dubai country manager.

“By offering a local supply source, greater resource flexibility, and rapid response capabilities, Huawei will be better able to meet the future demands of the Middle East’s rapidly growing ICT sector,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service