RAK FZ Authority honored as eLeader by Tejari

Since partnering with Tejari's advanced online Business-to-business (B2B) marketplace in June of 2007, The Ras Al Khaimah Free Zone Authority (RAK FZ) has benefited by being able to offer its thousands of member companies Tejari's innovative online trading platform.

Embracing electronic commerce in this pioneering way has allowed the RAK FZ to provide a higher value service to its member companies due to Tejari's advanced technology, global e-marketplace, and business matchmaking services.

This partnership has greatly boosted business activity and networking among RAK FZ's member companies who now have access to a much wider global business community network.

As a result, they have become top suppliers for U.A.E. governmental organizations that actively use online supply procurement such as: The Dubai Municipality, The Road and Transport Authority, and The Ports Authority.

Due to its outstanding recruitment efforts, The RAK FZ Authority has been honored as an eLeader in the "No Business Left Behind" category.

This award is given by Tejari to top private and public sector trade associations on the Tejari marketplace that have managed to recruit, train and activate their members in the use of eCommerce.

When asked how partnering with Tejari in mid-2007 has changed internal processes at The RAK FZ Authority, Ms. Maryam Al Murshedi, Deputy Director General of RAK FZ LLC, explained that, "Today, if new companies ask me to provide a list of the companies registered with RAK FZ, we advise them to visit our community web portal at RAKTrade.com to see all of the companies online. It saves a lot of time and cuts costs that we used to spend on printing thousands of catalogs which became outdated as soon as they were printed."

She went on to say that, "All companies that now join RAK FZ have the chance to build up their online showroom, showcase 200 products, and support each product with four photos. Interested parties from across the Middle East can then immediately have access to their showrooms and can start placing orders. We provide this kind of cyber facilities to newly-joined companies, as well as additional support to help them develop their regular business."

With respect to what Tejari products or services The RAK FZ Authority would suggest to its member companies, Ms. Al Murshedi responded that initially most new companies took their recommendation to join Tejari's network and build up an online showroom as a marketing tool.

She went on to say that after years of using Tejari's portal, RAK FZ's member companies' trust in the process of online trading has grown, along with orders for their goods and services.

She has personally seen such member companies benefit using the Tejai online trading portal by gaining: greater business success, new trading partners, new markets and a stable order flow.

Ms. Al Murshedi also noted that today's Internet platforms are very friendly and easy to understand, so that even small businesses can afford to receive the benefits of running a proper online showroom.

As far as Tejari's current market penetration with the companies registered with the RAK FZ is concerned, of the more than 3,500 companies who have joined the Free Zone, over 2,560 of them have elected to go online via the Tejari portal, and 260 of them have joined Tejari's online B2B community thus far in 2009 alone.

Also, Ms. Al Murshedi estimated that one can currently find about 6,000 different products on the RAKTrade portal, with more than 400 open auctions. As regards how fast this success was achieved and how she saw the future of online trading via Tejari progressing, Ms. Al Murshedi said, "We built up to this level after only a couple of years, and we expect the speed of our development to be the same in future."

According to Tejari C.E.O., Mr. Suhail Albana, "We laid the foundation for success with the RAK Free Zone and its member companies over the last two years by collaborating to create the RAKTrade business matchmaking service. As a result, thousands more companies can now enjoy the benefits of the innovative Tejari platform and can conduct business transactions over it by buying or selling their products."

"Furthermore, we have even more ambitious goals for 2009 and 2010 since we expect that those companies who are already actively doing business via RAKTrade will transfer the majority of their procurement processes online, and so RAKTrade will gain even greater visibility and trust within the business community. Each business could benefit from the opportunities generated by online showrooms, and they could transact profitable purchases or sales with the support of our superior online business matchmaking service. By using all of the business-related features of the online RAKTrade platform, RAK FZ members will be empowered to source products from our extensive business community of over 220,000 members and can provide their products to buyers across the Middle East region at both low cost and high speed. We are therefore glad to welcome the new members that joined us in 2009, and expect 100% penetration of the RAK FZ membership by 2010," he added.

"Tejari provides a marketplace for sellers to discover untapped business opportunities and buyers to achieve greater market reach, efficiency and savings. Our members have transacted more than $7.5bn over our marketplace to date," he said.

Tejari, the leading online B2B marketplace for emerging markets, is a perfect example of the innovative spirit of Dubai. The company, launched by the Government of Dubai, is one of the most successful units of Dubai World, a holding company that is responsible for much of the emirate's phenomenal economic growth. The online trading portal helps facilitate trade in the Middle East between companies and geographies through the largest buyer network in the region with more than 200,000 members.