Ross: Professional approach.
The influx of more international companies to Qatar that have been attracted by continuous economic growth related to infrastructure and construction preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup is among the challenges faced by the warehousing and logistics sector.
And among these challenges is the availability of “good” warehousing, according to Shayne Ross, who is Contract Logistics sales manager for Gulf Warehousing Company.
“If you’re talking of good warehousing, there is a big shortage in Qatar,” Ross pointed out to Gulf Times at the sidelines of a meeting between Qatar Chamber (QC) and the Arab-Italian Chamber of Commerce held on Wednesday.
One of the products that have complex storage requirements is food, one of the major commodities that Ross manages in their warehouses. “Food is a very delicate subject. You can’t just store food because you have to consider many factors like temperature, among many things,” Ross stressed.
He emphasised that, to be competitive in the market, warehousing and logistics companies should be professional enough to offer varied services such as a secured open yard, indoor storage (with or without air conditioning or climate control), and storage for chilled, frozen food, and other perishable items. “I would be wrong to say that the rest of Qatar doesn’t have warehouses. There are [other] facilities but what you offer in a warehouse is what matters,” he said.
Ross noted that warehousing “is not just a real estate activity” but rather a management strategy and possessing the knowledge to deal with customers’ needs “in a professional manner.”
Aside from food, Ross said warehousing companies should also have expertise in paper storage for records management purposes and in storing hazardous chemicals from the oil and gas industry.
He noted that their warehouse at the Logistics Village of Qatar, which was established in 2010, has a storage space of 1mn square metres but only has less than 20% of storage capacity today, which is suggested by the continuous requirements for storage and logistics services by local and international companies.
He also noted that there is an abundance of project-related activities in the construction sector that require short-term needs.
Among Gulf Warehousing’s longtime clients are Qatar Airways and several oil and gas companies that require storage of “HazMat” or hazardous materials, particularly at their Ras Laffan warehouse. “Chemical storage requirements and the quantity is never huge; oil and gas companies would like to bring the quantities down but the frequency [of storing chemicals] is a lot more,” he said.
Ross said the boom in the building of hotels and other tourism-related construction has opened opportunities for “short-term, project-related” activities that have “big requirements.”
These include various merchandise like furniture, fittings, tiles, ceramics, and other interior products for the airport and hotels that are brought in by Italian companies, Ross said.
“We realised from the market that it might not be possible for some companies to take long-term leases or give a commitment for a certain number of years. Not everyone is willing to tie themselves down for an annual commitment, so we have a lot of customers that also require short-term services,” he said.