Amazon has opened a fulfilment centre in Riyadh to support the country’s rising entrepreneurship culture and rapid development of SMEs.
The enhanced capacity will help independent sellers to scale their businesses online.
CEO of the National Industrial Development and Logistics Programme (NIDLP), Suliman Almazroua, said: “Saudi Arabia has made remarkable progress in developing world-class infrastructure and business-enabling policies that aim to place the Kingdom at the forefront of investor attractiveness.
“Amazon’s expansion supports Saudi Arabia’s logistics sector – one of NIDLP’s four key sectors – bringing the latest innovations and technologies in e-commerce operations to the country. The new Fulfillment Center in Riyadh will further unlock the value of the Kingdom’s resources by empowering local startups and entrepreneurs with improved global connectivity and access to new markets.”
The facility spans 390,000 square feet across five floors – approximately the size of five football fields. The centre will be able to store more than nine million products, enabling Amazon to store more products.
Country manager of Amazon Saudi Arabia, Abdo Chlala, said: “Our expansion and investment in our network underscores our commitment to delivering an enhanced shopping experience for customers, providing Saudi businesses with greater access to Amazon’s expertise in fulfilment, reliable countrywide delivery and customer service, and unlocking opportunities for local talent.
“Led by a diverse cohort of talented Saudi nationals in managerial positions, we expect this Fulfillment Center to support the Kingdom’s digital economy goals.”
The company has been working closely with Monsha’at, Saudi Arabia’s general authority for SMEs, to empower this segment of the economy, with an aim to host 40,000 Saudi sellers by 2025 on Amazon.sa.
Deputy governor of Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organisation (SASO), Saud bin Rashid Al-Askar, said: “As Saudi Arabia progresses towards sustainable development in tandem with regional and international markets, we affirm the company’s keenness, in cooperation with other sectors, to ensure consumer safety by conforming its products received through e-commerce.
“We are happy to see Amazon’s expansion in the Kingdom as the company continues its efforts to bring global standards and processes to the e-commerce sector in Saudi Arabia.”
The new fulfilment centre incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning elements.
Director of operations for Amazon Mena, Prashant Saran, said: “Technology is at the heart of our operations, and with the opening of our most advanced fulfilment centre in Saudi Arabia, we are all set to bring an enhanced fulfilment offering to Saudi sellers. At Amazon, we relentlessly innovate on behalf of our customers and continue to strengthen our operations with state-of-the-art technology and global processes and programs in order to ensure a fast, convenient and reliable shopping experience.”
