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Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Thani told Gulf Times that a shared-service model operated by his company is allowing small and medium-sized enterprises in Qatar to tap enterprise-grade logistics without shouldering the costs or complexities of owning their own infrastructure. The WareOne chief executive outlined three core barriers that have historically limited SME scalability in the sector during the Saturday interview. Logistics providers typically sell services in large fixed blocks such as full warehouses or year-long contracts that suit larger firms far better than businesses handling only a few hundred orders monthly.
Fragmentation across separate vendors for storage, transport, customs and delivery creates further complications, al-Thani explained to the newspaper. “When something goes wrong between them, nobody takes responsibility. The owner does,” he said, adding that the expertise required to coordinate such networks often exceeds the capacity of small teams. WareOne maintains its own fulfilment centre dedicated to intricate e-commerce operations while relying on a partner network for storage, freight and delivery throughout Qatar and the GCC.
Clients receive a single contract, unified visibility across their supply chain and a dedicated accountable team under the arrangement, according to al-Thani. Businesses integrate directly with their Shopify stores or marketplace accounts, choose delivery commitments and pay according to actual usage by cubic metre, per order or per delivery. The setup enables SME owners to direct their attention toward product sales and business development while the platform handles the operational logistics.
The company assesses its effect on SME performance through indicators that extend past simple cost reductions, al-Thani stated in the interview. These encompass on-time delivery rates, order accuracy levels, the breadth of sales channels and markets a business can enter without extra hiring, and the ability to endure peak trading seasons when many smaller firms falter. “The best sign of our work is not what a customer saves. It is what they try next,” he told Gulf Times.
An unnamed Qatari brand expanded more than four times in only a few months after shifting to the WareOne platform, al-Thani reported. The company simultaneously sold through several channels and required product-level fulfilment, uniform delivery promises, varied payment options and brand-matching service standards on each. WareOne incorporated the brand’s orders, inventory and deliveries into one connected system at its fulfilment centre.
Qatar’s SMEs form a cornerstone of economic diversification efforts, with the Qatar Development Bank noting their role in non-oil sectors and job creation across the private economy. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has hosted forums linking SMEs with digital solution providers to accelerate technology adoption and resilience. Such initiatives coincide with rising e-commerce activity that has increased demand for adaptable logistics solutions in the local market.
A Mordor Intelligence sector outlook has projected the broader GCC cold-chain and logistics market to register consistent annual growth through the decade, fuelled by expanding commercial supply chains and e-commerce volumes. WareOne’s asset-light model, which leverages partnerships rather than extensive owned assets, fits within this shift toward flexible services that reduce barriers for smaller operators. “Logistics should help a good business grow. It should not hold it back,” al-Thani added.
