JEDDAH — Materials Handling Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s dedicated exhibition and conference for the warehousing, intra-logistics, and supply chain industries, will now take place in 2022, the show’s organizers announced. The 3rd edition of the biennial trade fair was originally scheduled to run in November 2020, but will now take place from Nov. 22-24, 2022, at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events. The move comes as Saudi Arabia continues to implement appropriate health and safety measures within its borders to contain the spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the new dates widely supported by industry stakeholders. Materials Handling Saudi Arabia is organized by Saudi-based ACE Group under license by Dubai-headquartered Messe Frankfurt Middle East, which organizes Materials Handling Middle East, the region’s flagship warehousing and intra-logistics trade fair. “This was a difficult decision, but ultimately the correct one under the current circumstances, and we know Materials Handling Saudi Arabia will be hugely successful when it returns in 2022,” commented Nish Liyanage, Materials Handling Saudi Arabia’s Event Director. “For now, we understand the importance of knowledge sharing and uncovering global supply chain trends, particularly during these unprecedented times. To that end, we launched our Materials Handling webinar series, which has so far proven to be very popular. “Our live webinars cover pertinent topics such as forecasting future warehousing demand and covid-19’s impact on the global supply chain. We’re rolling out a lively program in the coming months to ensure our customers are regularly informed and connected,” added Liyanage. Saudi Arabia’s materials handling, logistics, and warehousing market was estimated to be worth more than $16 billion in 2019, comprising 34 percent of the Middle East market, according to analysts 6WResearch. The Kingdom also established its National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) to pursue its goal of becoming a global industry leader. “Saudi Arabia is considered the largest market in materials handling and logistics sector, with 19 airports throughout the Kingdom, the largest seaport in the Middle East, and other major industrial projects that all are potential stakeholders of this sector,” said Zahoor Siddique, ACE Group’s vice president. “The NIDLP launched in 2019 as part of the Vision 2030 is to inject US$ 36 billion over the next decade — a positive indication of the expanding scope of this industry,” Siddique elaborated. Materials Handling Saudi Arabia will also feature Scalex, a two-day conference designed to focus on building resilience and excellence into supply chain and logistics operations and processes in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Materials Handling Middle East, also a biennial exhibition that alternates between its Saudi counterpart, will next take place in 2021 in Dubai. Its 10th edition in 2019 featured 100 exhibitors from 15 countries, while attracting 3,886 visitors from 55 countries — a 12 percent increase over the previous edition in 2017. — SG