Decision-makers in Northern Emirates primed to 'succeed with online procurement' as members of Tejari marketplace

Tejari currently has a membership of more than 150 companies in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates that operate as suppliers on its marketplace, serving a range of industry sectors

Businesses from the private sector as well as government departments recently attended a half-day seminar in Sharjah's Millennium Hotel, which discussed the business benefits of online procurement through Tejari, including reduced administration expenses and wider market reach.

To demonstrate firsthand the process of migration to online trading, the Tejari seminar featured detailed case studies from some of the marketplace's UAE-based members. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Tejari's CEO, also provided commentary on Tejari's vision for enabling its members to expand their trading network and reduce procurement costs.

The procurement seminar, tailored for both potential and existing Tejari members, included segments on Tejari's online training offerings as well as the new project collaboration tool, which enables companies to share planning documents in real time via the marketplace.

"Organizations based in the northern Emirates, including those in Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Ras Al Khaimah, can derive significant business benefits by migrating procurement activities online. The manufacturing and agricultural communities in these Emirates have the potential to reduce their paper-based administration and widen their network of suppliers through the Tejari marketplace," noted Tejari's CEO, Sheikha Lubna.

She added, "Industrial concerns producing cement, tiles, pharmaceuticals, and paper products, as well as the ports and logistics companies located in the Northern Emirates, will all find mature and thriving trading networks already established on the Tejari site."

Tarek Niazi, executive director at SmartSquare, who presented at the seminar, said: "The advantages of online trading for businesses are measurable widespread. The differentiating factor about Tejari is that the marketplace has been up and running for a considerable amount of time now, acting as a proof of concept for those benefits."

The recent event, which featured a brief history of the marketplace as well as a live demonstration of its functionality, was met with success as a large gathering of decision-makers from the Northern Emirates attended.

Walid Al Sawalhi who is Head of Contracts at the Department of Health and Medical Services, presented at the Tejari event, commenting, "The Tejari seminar gave us the opportunity to elaborate on just how significant the reductions have been to the Department's procurement costs by eliminating many paper-based administrative expenses. Tejari is not just a technology platform, it is also a professional consultancy that can advise customers on all of their purchasing processes. We've found Tejari to be a business necessity based on the benefits we've received as a member of the marketplace."

Also giving his unique buyer's perspective at the seminar was Mohammed Dafoos Al Muhairy, Senior Manager, Central Administration, National Bank of Dubai, who added: "As well as the reduction in administration, purchasing, and related services costs, provided to all levels, and departments within the bank, Tejari enables users to develop relationships with a vast range of new suppliers, widening the field of procurement opportunities and providing greater transparency in the process."

Providing more information for participants who wanted to know more about Tejari's advantages for suppliers, Saji Oomen, Group IT Manager, Al Batha Trading, stated: "This event gave me the opportunity to share firsthand with attendees just how easy Tejari is to use, and how rapidly members can benefit from trading through the marketplace. We've considerably increased our market reach since we joined Tejari."

More than 150 executives based in the Northern Emirates attended the Tejari seminar, which followed a similarly successful event in Abu Dhabi recently. Increasing the critical mass of buyers and suppliers currently trading on the marketplace is a key priority for Tejari.