Bahrain will soon have a new logistics, warehousing and supply chain facility, fruit of a joint venture between Bahrain-based Jawad Business Group (JBG), a major wholesaler and distributor of fast-moving consumer goods, and The Public Warehousing Company (PWC) of Kuwait.
The 50:50 enterprise called PWC Global Logistics Bahrain has been described by the partners as the first of its kind in the Upper Gulf. The warehouse is coming up in the Mameer Industrial Area on land of 19,325 sq m leased from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
JBG chairman Faisal Jawad announced the formation of the new company at the group's headquarters in Manama.
The new facility is expected to serve the logistics needs of local Bahraini and Eastern Saudi Province businesses. "More importantly, both PWC Global Logistics Bahrain and PWC Kuwait will be in a position to provide regional supply chain solutions with regional visibility and control," a statement issued on behalf of the new venture said.
PWC, formed in 1979, provides supply chain, e-commerce, customs, price research and decision-support solutions to private and public sector entities worldwide. The company is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of $350 million.
According to the statement, the Bahrain facility, to be completed by next February, will be equipped with the latest in storage technology for maximising space utilisation and operational efficiency. It will have a very narrow aisle and high-bay racking system and utilise sophisticated material handling equipment to handle goods up to 14m storage height and a total racking storage capacity of 42,000 c m with 16,000 cu m allocated for frozen and chilled items and 26,000 cu m for dry/ambient items in an air conditioned environment.
"This wholly integrated logistics and warehouse management facility will offer truly world-class features," the statement said. The features were listed as a one-stop supply chain solution; full control of the inventory through the Internet; full online real-time stock visibility; lower costs by paying for only what is used and converting the company's fixed logistics costs into a variable cost; online delivery instructions; state-of-the-art warehouse management systems from EXE Technologies; online reports on stock history and balances among other things and aggregation of suppliers and retailers under one roof.
The warehouse is to create more than 100 jobs, a majority of which will be taken up by Bahrainis. Staff training will take place at PWC's Kuwait facility.
"The joint venture is a clear demonstration of the close relationship between Bahrain and Kuwait and paves the way for providing seamless supply chain services in an environment where trade barriers are being eliminated," the statement said.
The Jawad Business Group will be the first customer of PWC Global Logistics and outsource its full warehousing and distribution requirements to the joint venture. In return, the group will realise a state-of-the-art logistics operation at a lower cost, JBG said.
Consumer products from some of the world's leading manufacturers form more than a third of Jawad's turnover.
Jawad's history goes back to 1960 when Hassan Mohammed Jawad, a Bahraini businessman, founded Jawad Cold Stores as a small grocery store and shipping agency. It was not long before agency rights to represent many of the world's market-leading brands were acquired. In a few years, Jawad had set up the largest supermarket on the island, followed by two more in quick succession. A significant milestone was reached in the 1980s with further diversification into fast food and fashion when three Dairy Queen restaurants and a major BhS store were opened in Bahrain.
In the 1990s, Jawad expanded its business interests to other GCC states. Among these were Shoe City in Dubai, the largest Shoe City in the Gulf, and Dairy Queen in Doha, the franchise's largest outlet in the world.
The group's diverse operations include a well-established supermarket in Bahrain and seven Gulf locations of the Dairy Queen Restaurant as well as several other franchises for fast food lines in Bahrain, the Gulf and the Middle East. These include The Taco Maker, J Brenner's Great Wraps, Gorin's Ice Cream, Round Table Pizza and Magic Work.
Currently, the company has warehousing facilities at Mina Salman. A fleet of dry- and freezer-goods delivery vehicles distribute key agency products to more than 750 retail stores, hotels and restaurants throughout Bahrain.
The Kuwaiti partner in the joint venture, PWC, has, in addition to its substantial logistics operations, controlling interests in Inspection & Control Services Company (ICS), a provider of destination customs and price-research solutions, and Pricesaroundthe World.com (PAW), a US-based provider of price research and classification services for automated decision support applications.
PWC Global Logistics, a company division, is a world-class, full-scale solutions provider. The services include complete supply chain solutions ranging from port clearance to warehousing, distribution and other value-added services. The division has control of a 17m high warehouse of more than 20,000 sq m in area with more than 60,000 cu m in storage space.
The backbone of the facilities is the Exceed warehouse management system, which controls all incoming and outgoing goods. The warehousing facilities are licensed as customs-bonded areas. The company runs a trade financing service that allows customers to obtain bank facilities and loans secured against their goods without blocking their capital.
PWC was privatised in June of 1997 and has a shareholding base comprising approximately 20,000 investors, including prominent private and public sector investors such as the National Real Estate Company (owners of the Free Trade Concession) and the Public Institute for Social Security, the pension arm of the Kuwaiti government.
