Recent developments at Hala Supply Chain Services (Hala SCS) have provided a new edge to its role as a player in the logistics sector in Saudi Arabia.

The Al Khobar-based company has been contracted by a major tire manufacturer to design and project manage the construction of a new 15,500 sq m distribution warehouse facility in Jeddah.

And it also recently made significant investments in support and back-up services for its Psion Teklogix product offering.

The tire facility includes a warehouse, offices and a service centre. The warehouse will store in excess of 160,000 units of product, and the storage techniques will include high-rise racking systems, efficient loading, and offloading and a paperless warehouse environment using radio frequency equipment and real-time responses.

The site chosen for the new Jeddah warehouse facility is adjacent to the automotive supplier’s existing warehouse which has important implications for a seamless transition from the old facility to the new state-of-the-art warehouse.

Construction of the facility started earlier this year and expectations are that it will become operational in 2010.

Investment in the Psion division
The recent investment into its Psion division has seen Hala SCS appoint two dedicated managers, who are both experts in the field of mobile computing solutions, for a variety of industries, as well as establish a local repair facility.

Hala SCS was appointed as the official, sole distributor for Psion Teklogix Inc in Saudi Arabia in January 2007 .The appointment added a mobile solutions capability to Hala SCS’ service offerings in the supply chain and logistics industry in the Middle East. Psion Teklogix’s product portfolio contains multiple types of wireless technologies, protocols and architectures, offering innovative and customised hardware and software solutions.
 
Repair facility
Completing the offering of HSCS’ support and back-up services for its Psion division is the introduction of a local repair facility for the efficient servicing of client maintenance contracts. Previously this was undertaken in Dubai, and the establishment of a Saudi-based repair centre speeds up turnaround time for minor repairs, HSCS said.

“When it comes to our mobile solutions offering, our clients can be confident not only in the proven functionality and performance of Psion Teklogix products, but in proven dependability and dedication of HSCS to maintaining our products and services to our clients’ satisfaction,” said managing director Al Saleh.