Award presented for pioneering the development of a Warehouse Inspection and Ratings Programme as a global first by DMCC as part of its Tradeflow platform offering
DMCC (‘Dubai Multi Commodities Centre’), announced today that its DMCC Tradeflow platform which offers a central, online registry of ownership for commodities in the UAE, has received the Logistics Project of the Year Award at the Supply Chain and Transport Awards 2014 in Dubai.
The Logistics Project of the Year Award recognises logistics projects that have contributed significantly to the industry’s growth and raised the benchmark for excellence in the region. It is open to any company that has completed an innovative project in the past year, other shortlisted nominees included Etihad Rail, RSA Logistics and Dubai Industrial City. DMCC was presented with the award for its pioneering Warehouse Inspection and Ratings Programme developed as a global first by DMCC, part of its Tradeflow platform offering.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC, said:
“Transparency and customer choice are key priorities in order to achieve sustainable growth which is exactly what the DMCC Tradeflow Warehouse Inspection and Ratings programme was designed to deliver for Dubai’s warehousing industry. Receiving the Logistics Project of the Year Award is further testament to DMCC’s commitment to continuously innovate so as to keep Dubai’s economy growing by offering the physical and financial infrastructure required to trade with confidence."
“DMCC’s initiatives are very much aligned to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai’s vision to further drive Dubai’s position as more than just a transfer point between East and West and to see Dubai become the global centre for Finance and Islamic Economy.”
The Warehouse Inspection and Ratings Programme launched in February 2012 with a highly automated system to objectively measure a detailed set of criteria related to the quality offering of warehouses in the UAE. The transparent ratings enable financiers and multi-national banks to assess their underlying storage facility risk, while Islamic banks benefit from Halal inspections and certification of warehouses which offers greater assurance of compliance with Shariah guidelines. The ratings programme also provides a benchmark for the warehousing industry and is leading to an increased standard across warehouses in the region.
For traders seeking warehousing and financing options; the ratings programme provides the opportunity to select higher rated warehouses for storing their goods, which in turn increases the prospects of securing financing from banks under more favourable conditions. Higher rated warehouses attract a greater percentage of the rental market while lower rated warehouses recognise the areas for possible improvement and therefore typically increase their revenues in the longer term.
Since the launch of the DMCC Tradeflow Warehouse Inspection and Ratings programme 17 active warehouse keeper members have joined the platform, registering 23 different warehouse addresses. Ratings have been issued to entities such as RSA Logistics, RHS Logistics, and Steinweg Sharaf.
The Logistics Project of the Year Award follows a string of DMCC’s previous awards across the Islamic finance sector stretching back to 2009 when Barclays Hedge ranked, part of a joint venture between DMCC and finance provider Shariah Capital, in its top 10 funds based on performance for four consecutive years. In 2010 Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC, received the Middle East Investor Award by the Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference 2010 for DMCC’s exceptional performance during 2009; an award which Bin Sulayem dedicated to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In addition, DMCC also scooped Best Fund-of-Fund, Failaka, Islamic Fund Award in 2010; while 2011 and 2012 saw consecutive Mena Fund Managers Outstanding Contribution to Islamic Finance Awards, followed by the Outstanding Contribution to Islamic Finance Award in January 2014.