Dubai World Central: Background, Structure, and Model - Case Study Example

Dubai World Central Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 DWC background, structure and model 4 DWC background 4 Structure of DWC 5 Business model 7 Supply chain elements, practices and their roles 8 Reference List 11 Introduction Dubai World Central (DWC) is a new development project, which is currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is an economic zone for the future, incorporating the latest of technologies so as to support a number of corporate entities and residential areas. The facility will also include activities related to aviation, logistics, humanitarian, tourism and other commercial ventures. It will house the Al Maktoum International Airport, which is said to become the world’s largest cargo and passenger hub. The entire Dubai World Central will be set up around this world class airport and will be operational from 2015. It would be a one stop destination for the people, whereby the facility can provide residential and all other city related requirements in the same area. This project will emerge as a futuristic mini city (Zawya, 2007). The entire facility’s master plan has been created based on the concept of extreme forward thinking. It is a part of Dubai Strategic Plan 2015. Broadway Malyan, a leading architectural, urbanism and integrated design practice, has partnered with DWC to create this world class urban city that will be equipped with the most recent and innovative technological solutions. This will be a state-of-the-art facility with new offerings that are completely different from those existing in other economic zones of Dubai and around the world. This would act as a global city that aims to be sustainable as well as progressive. The facility will explore innovative solutions in architecture with least impact on the environment. The designers for this plan will include individuals who have played a key role in developing other major cities around the world such as, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and others. The project is currently developed with the objective of catering to all commercial needs till the year 2050 and beyond. The different segments will offer complete lifestyle solutions and facilities for the inhabitants. The commercial city will become the nerve cell of DWC, catering to all the markets of Dubai and the Middle East. The commercial district will be a hub for the media and creative firms, including office spaces, luxury boutiques and showrooms. The residential area will house sports and leisure clubs. The enterprise and commercial city within DWC will support a number of banking and financial industries. The city shall be connected with the rest of UAE through rail, where DWC will be one of the main stations for the Emirates Express Train set to be developed in future. The aim of DWC is to develop a perfect environment so as to cater to business and commercial needs as well as set new standards for sustainable urban development (Zawya, 2007). DWC background, structure and model DWC background Strategic Location- Dubai plays an important role in connecting the east and the west, facilitating the flow of goods and services. Furthermore, the strategic location of DWC plays a key role in development of MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asian) markets. The development of DWC will further strengthen the logistics industry of Dubai. The Jebel Ali Port that is located near to DWC will serve as a gateway for supply chain development of the facility. The port can be connected with Al Maktoum International Airport located within DWC. This facilitates the flow of goods from sea to air and vice-versa. Hence, a strategic supply chain network can be implemented. DWC aims to serve as a multimodal logistics platform providing good connectivity, speed and efficiency. Some of the leading logistics businesses such as, Aramex and Panalpina, are taking advantage of DWC’s strategic location and high-tech facilities in order to expand and grow their businesses. Airport City- The development of business in the present world depends on speedy connectivity and delivery. Nearly a half of global trade relies upon air transportation. Airports have become a catalyst for economic development as they facilitate development of a large urban economy centered on them. The Al Maktoum International Airport will have an annual capacity of 160 million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo. Global aviation- The aviation industry in Middle East has emerged greatly in the past years. This industry houses powerful players such as, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Emirates and so on. These airlines help to connect Dubai and DWC with rest of the world. The record breaking ambitious plans of DWC requires the support of a highly developed airport, which can support flow of goods and facilitate transportation. Growth of this airport will further help in development of institutions and industries related to the aviation industry, including educational institutions and manufacturing concerns (Dubai World Central, 2014A). Structure of DWC The entire area of DWC will be subdivided into the following prominent regions: Dubai World Central Logistics City Dubai World Central Enterprise Park Dubai World Central Commercial City Dubai World Central Aviation City Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport Dubai World Central Staff Village Dubai World Central Golf City Figure: Dubai World Central Layout (Source: Dubai World Central, 2014B). The master plan for the city includes eight important districts: aviation, logistics, Al Maktoum International Airport, commercial, humanitarian, residential, leisure and exhibition. The centerpiece of this plan is the Al Maktoum International Airport, around which the whole city has been planned. The humanitarian, logistics and aviation districts enjoy close proximity to the port. The commercial, residential and leisure districts offer accommodation, office and entertainment options to the dwellers of DWC. The structure of DWC has been strategically designed in order to develop easy flow of goods from any part of DWC to the airport. Moreover, aviation being the prime industry that DWC aims to serve; the logistics network has been especially built to fulfill this need. DWC is closely located to the heart of the city with world class golf courses, shopping centers and five star hotels. The commercial and enterprise areas have been especially developed to support growth of numerous industries such as, banking, financial institutions, manufacturing hubs, service industries and so on (Dubai World Central, 2014B). Business model DWC has been strategically planned to cater to a variety of industries. Some of the prime industries to be developed in this region are: Aerospace hub- The aviation district has been the prime focus of DWC. This has been developed in such a manner that it caters to all needs of a successful and state-of-the-art aviation industry. The hub will be equipped with firms operating in the aviation and aerospace industry. Additionally, Al Maktoum International Airport will support the supply chain development in DWC and its surrounding areas. Many aerospace companies are choosing the Middle East as a prime location for their firms due to rapidly developing Asian markets (Dubai World Central, 2014C). Logistics district- DWC will help in development of numerous logistics based industries. Location of DWC is highly strategic due to its proximity with Jebel Ali Port. Hence, industries located at DWC can enjoy facilities of the closely located port as well as the airport. This also further paves way to devise well-integrated supply chain solutions for different firms located at DWC (Dubai World Central, 2014D). Other industries- DWC also lays emphasis on development of industries such as, banking and finance, manufacturing and services related industries. Firms in these industries can benefit from the presence of a high tech airport and port nearby. Travelling and developing connectivity with other business locations will become quite feasible. This feature may attract a number of firms and industries to DWC. The city will also witness development of a number of media and entertainment related firms (Zawya, 2007). Supply chain elements, practices and their roles The key logistics elements followed by DWC and that which also supports industries located within it are discussed as follows (Christopher, 2013): Demand Management- A proper supply chain should produce a certain level of output whereby it can successfully cater to demand existing for the product. Hence, DWC has strategically developed the city so that all areas within the zone are adequately covered with industries and firms and no part of DWC is left vacant. This ensures that availability of space is fully utilized. To ensure this, developers of DWC had forecasted and analyzed the extent of area that is needed to be allocated for each district. Deals were settled with many companies who were likely to set up their firms in DWC. By analyzing total demand for the industrial area for developing different industries, plan for the city was made (Casemore and Co. Incorporated, 2013). Communication- The most important factor for any logistics platform is to successfully implement a good communication network. This involves development of easy transport facilities, close proximity to ports, well-integrated network of transferring information and so on. Since most of the firms located at DWC will be international firms, it will be necessary to develop options that facilitate a good network of communication across the globe. The primary support in this aspect arises from Al Maktoum International Airport and the Jebel Ali Port. Both of them will facilitate easy communication and flow of goods. Globalization has led to development of a global market. Hence, getting adequate and correct information on time becomes extremely important. DWC will be equipped with state-of-the-art information network that supports this requirement. Development of information management sector, therefore, is also considered by DWC. Furthermore, where traveling and transport is a part of communication, DWC successfully serves through its airport and Jebel Ali Port (Linton, 2014). Integration- DWC paves way for the industries located within it to easily integrate and develop a well established supply chain. For this DWC has been linked well with the port and provides its own internal airport. The main aspect this facility aims to fulfill is to reduce the cost of transportation. Goods can easily be taken to the port or the airport without the wastage of much time and also as soon as they are produced. This paves way for efficiency in lead time and timely delivery of goods. A good network of communication also helps to integrate the logistics chain by communicating timely information regarding production and distribution. All these aspects can be provided well with strategic design and development of DWC (Ivanov and Sokolov, 2009). Leverage- Guaranteed future growth is one of the most important means of developing leverage. Leverage comes from reduction of costs and continuous improvement of services. Both these aspects are well considered by DWC. Its location and well developed network of transport and communication helps to reduce costs to a great extend. On the other hand, it is also important to consider that most of the companies operating at DWC are high growth firms and will suitably contribute towards the development of the zone as a whole (Shah, 2009). Efficiency- The growth of firms also depends on efficiency of operations. Hence, a supply chain system should incorporate skilled employees and efficient technology. In order to fulfill this requirement DWC will house a number of training institutions that will cater to the talent needs of various firms. Similarly DWC will also develop a number of technology based institutions to cater to the immense technical needs of different firms so as to improve efficiency of operations. Efficiency in different activities can also be achieved through well integrated designs. This feature has also been covered successfully by DWC by developing a highly innovative and efficiency embedded plan of set up. Innovation- A good supply chain strategy must cater to innovative needs. Innovation is the improvement in output achieved through new methods and technologies of production. DWC aims to be highly innovative in its structure and functioning. It is designed in a manner so that high level of efficiency is achieved by creating very less impact on the environment. Hence, it is based on the aspect of sustainable growth. Industries of present and the future give high importance to this aspect. DWC developers have made sure that the facility emerges to be one of the most innovative destinations to conduct business. A highly innovative business zone also supports growth of supply chain systems (Arlbjorn, 2010). Reference List Arlbjorn, J. S., 2010. Supply Chain Management. Massachusetts: Academica. Casemore and Co. Incorporated, 2013. The 6 elements of supply chain strategy. [online] Available at: [Accessed March 24 2014]. Christopher, M., 2013. Logistics and Supply Chain Management. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Dubai World Central, 2014A. About DWC. [online] Available at: [Accessed March 24 2014]. Dubai World Central, 2014B. Project Details. [online] Available at: [Accessed March 24 2014]. Dubai World Central, 2014C. Next generation aerospace hub. [online] Available at: [Accessed March 24 2014]. Dubai World Central, 2014D. Strategic Location for innovative logistics. [online] Available at: [Accessed March 24 2014]. Ivanov, D. and Sokolov, B., 2009. Adaptive Supply Chain Management. New York: Springer. Linton, I., 2014. What are the four elements of Supply Chain Management? [online] Available at: [Accessed March 24 2014]. Shah, J., 2009, Supply Chain Management: Texts and cases. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Zawya, 2007. Dubai World Central Commercial City gets world class urban design. [online] Available at: [Accessed March 24 2014]. Read More