Smart logistics holds key to enhanced business ties between Dubai and Hamburg

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has released a study on the side-lines of its preparations to host the 5th Dubai Hamburg Business Forum in cooperation with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce at the Chamber premises on March 22.

Being organised under the theme, "Internet of Things: Innovation to Connect", the study focuses on the substantial synergy to share best practices and new technologies in IoT for the Smart Logistics Sector between the business communities of Dubai and Hamburg.

Expectations of value generated by IoT based technologies create business opportunities and synergies between Hamburg and Dubai businesses. Hamburg Port’s ‘smartPORT’ initiative is an example of successful IoT implementation. The installation of road sensors to monitor traffic and wear on bridges is an example of technology that can benefit Dubai businesses, informs the study.

There are many areas where the logistics sector can benefit from IoT such as, in fleet and traffic management, equipment and safety monitoring, tracking and visibility of goods being shipped and warehouse inventory management allowing warehouse managers to track and monitor asset.

IoT is being increasingly adopted, especially by large logistics companies in Dubai, including in port and maritime logistics. For example, active RFID (Radio-frequency identification) tags have been issued to trucks transporting cargo to and from DP World’s Jebel Ali terminal. This application of IoT helps enhance security while speeding up vehicle entry and exit.

Furthermore, large Dubai based logistics companies, for example in port handling, have become increasingly automated leading to increased productivity and these businesses could hold great potential for more IoT type connectivity between machines.

According to the study based on Dubai Statistics Centre data, logistics plays an important and growing role in the economy of UAE and Dubai. The transport, storage and communication sector, produced real GDP value of about AED 52.5 billion and had a share of about 15.5% in Dubai economy in 2014, as compared to a share of around 14.3% in 2011. Maritime and port operations are important to the Dubai Logistics sector.

The uses of IoT are many and include port traffic and port fleet management, information about condition and location of freight. While adoption is increasing, there is much more scope to apply IoT to the logistics sector of Dubai to improve efficiency and create more value.

The future prospects for use of IoT by Dubai logistics businesses is strengthened by the UAE’s high rankings in the World Economic Forum’s, Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 in both logistics and areas of technological readiness. The UAE ranked 8 out of 144 economies in availability of new technologies and 7 out of 144 economies in firm level technology adoption. The UAE also ranked 3 out of 144 countries in quality of port infrastructure.

Today, entering the era of IoT has brought about changes on how companies manage physical assets, how consumers attend to their health and fitness, and how cities operate. IoT technology is expected to have substantial economic impact which urgently requires quantification and further definition as it will not only affect productivity and workspace concepts but deeply impact our daily lives.

The study also states that as Dubai’s logistics sector is expected to experience robust long-term growth, there is strong potential for partnership with businesses from Hamburg in key areas of technology, especially in maritime and port logistics.

The study further reveals that the Dubai logistics sector, a key component of the Dubai economy, is composed of several large and globally important logistics players including Emirates airline, the port of Jebel Ali, DP World, Dubai International Airport, Al Maktoum International Airport and the Dubai Metro. These companies form the backbone of the logistics sector and with large investments, they are poised to grow by leveraging the strategic location of Dubai as an international trading and business hub.

The Hamburg Metropolitan Region is one of Germany’s strongest economic regions and a central trading hub for Northern Europe. It has one of the world’s largest container ports and is an important growth engine for the region. It takes the leading role in Germany in such industries as aviation, logistics, IT, renewable energies and media, while also playing a major global role. Hamburg is the third largest site for the aviation industry worldwide, with major players Airbus and Lufthansa Technik operating large facilities, and more than 30,000 employees in the industry.

Coming under the theme, "Internet of Things: Innovation to Connect", the Dubai Hamburg Business Forum in its 5th session will open up new horizons for fruitful cooperation and joint ventures in four important sectors including Public Sector Solutions for Smart Urban Living, Logistics, Health and Energy and is followed by field visits to emirate’s strategic economic and trade centres for the Hamburg delegation.