Dubai, UAE – Standard Chartered announced, on Tuesday, the results of its latest report on the future of trade, entitled “Dealing with an Era Characterized by Structural Uncertainty”. Which ranked the UAE first globally out of 27 markets surveyed in terms of investment plans in digital finance platforms for supply chains.
This classification comes at a time when companies in the UAE are strengthening their focus on the flexibility of supplier networks. Real-time visibility of cash flows, integration of treasury and trade functions.
Investing in digital finance
The study, which included 2,100 senior corporate decision-makers across 27 markets, showed that 69% of companies in the UAE plan to invest in digital finance platforms for supply chains over the next three to five years. This is the highest percentage among all markets surveyed.
The UAE also ranked third globally in investment plans in the real-time vision of cash flows. Which was indicated by 76% of participants, and ranked second in automated payments at 53%.
stock control
This shift is also evident in the approach taken by companies in the UAE to enhance the flexibility of supplier networks. The priority of supplier-focused strategies increased by 26 percentage points compared to the previous year, compared to a global increase of 4.3 percentage points.
Inventory management priority also increased by seven percentage points in the UAE, compared to 2.9 percentage points globally.
Companies in the UAE also point to clear benefits achieved through digitization. 90% reported that digital tools help them respond faster to supply chain disruptions, compared to 83% globally.
85% also reported that digital tools contribute to improving decision-making by enhancing visibility and forecasting of supply chain flows and financial flows. While 87% reported achieving clear and measurable benefits from at least one digital capability.
Building on these gains, enhancing integration between treasury functions and supply chains represents the next stage of this transformation.
44% of companies in the UAE plan to adjust their treasury management strategies over the next three to five years. While 40% intend to increase the use of digital tools and systems.
42% reported partial integration between treasury functions and supply chains, compared to 13% who reported full integration.
Meanwhile, the lack of an integrated end-to-end view across supply chain flows and financial flows was at the forefront of the gaps identified by participants, at 46%.
cut costs
Strengthening this integration is also expected to contribute to achieving a significant reduction in costs. The UAE ranked first globally among the markets surveyed in terms of the percentage of companies that expect digitization to contribute to reducing the costs of coordinating shipments and logistics services by no less than 10%.
It also ranked among the top three in terms of expected reductions in costs of complying with regulatory requirements. Implement payments and settlements, and identify and cooperate with counterparties in foreign markets.
The UAE reflects a broader global shift towards more digital-based trade.
The Future of Trade report includes an illustrative scenario for accelerating digitization, estimating that accelerating the digitization of trade could increase global trade volume by 6.9%. Equivalent to US$2.8 trillion by 2031 compared to the baseline forecast by Oxford Economics.
