From deciding on what products to purchase through to accepting payments from customers, ICT is part of everything we do in the company. If I think back six years, I used to have to travel around the world to buy all the arts and craft items needed for AlZamil Stores. I undertook long trips at least five times a year to attend all the major handicraft shows. Handarbaeit & Hobby in Frankfurt, HIA in the US, Stitches in England, exhibitions in Taiwan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, India — there are so many. The exhibitions couldn’t be missed because that’s where we’d see suppliers, learn about new products and place orders.

Now with information technology, I don’t have to travel for business unless I really feel like it. We place all the orders using e-mail or through websites. We transfer the payments to suppliers through e-banking. It has saved enormous expense in tickets, hotels and other travel related costs, which reduced the company’s overhead and has helped me to maintain reasonable prices. My health is better now because I don’t have to cope with jet lag or the exhaustion from strenuous trips.

The documentation of the ordering process is improved thanks to computers. When I would go to a handicraft show and talk with a supplier, I would discuss all my requirements, but sometimes what I’d receive in the order wouldn’t be correct. For instance at a trade show I might place an order where I explained that every item must be packaged in an individual box, stamped with the country of origin. Too often the items would arrive in plastic bags instead and they would be very hard to store and easily damaged. E-mail makes the requirements clear. This is particularly important when it comes to Customs clearance because goods coming into the Kingdom have to meet certain standards and regulations. Now with e-mail I have a record and if a company doesn’t produce and package their products in the specified manner, then it’s not my responsibility to get them through Customs. If there’s any disagreement, I just go back and check the e-mail.

As a small business, I’m the core person. I can’t absent myself from operations for more than a couple of days. There are decisions to be made which only I can make. I’m the buyer, the manager, the marketer. When I’d be away attending trade shows, it created difficulties in the running of the company. Today, I still attend trade show but I do so virtually. I can see almost all the exhibitors at the major handicraft shows through their online portals. The information is there, product by product. The only thing I miss are the very small companies which didn’t invest in creating entries for their products in the exhibition online. Yes, it would be nice to see these, but it’s not crucial to my business.

And even though my company isn’t very large, it has some very big operational issues, which ICT has solved. AlZamil Stores deals in 360,000 different products. In our warehouse we stock 1,200 colors of 8-string thread. How to track such an inventory? How to even find every item?

Before the inventory and warehousing systems were in use, the warehouse manager would make a special mark in a list and on the shelf, and only he would be able to understand what it meant. He could find most items quickly, but nobody else could. If the warehouse manager was out on vacation, the business would be in chaos for a month. Now a child could find products in our warehouse through the automated system.  Every item going into the warehouse is barcoded, preferably by the supplier, and then each product is scanned into the system as it enters and leaves the storage area. This not only keeps us organized but it has given me control of my own stock. People are accountable now. They know that I can see the movement of even the smallest products. The system helps me remember all the products, too. Every item number has a name and digital photo associated with it, so I don’t have to guess what it is. If a customer brings me a sample, I can check and see if we have that exact item. I also know how much stock I have on hand and when new stock is arriving. Certain major suppliers have remote access to our inventory system and they will automatically replenish stock when the supply falls to a certain level, as per our request registered in their system. The inventory system has a reminder feature that alerts me when stock of any item falls below a designated level so I am aware of the situation and can order manually if necessary.

ICT has also helped me to expand our Zamix products business. Zamix products are small electrical, hardware and accessory items that we sell throughout the GCC, mostly in supermarkets. We used to have to pay for print shops to create the labeling for Zamix products, but now we do all that work in-house. Google translator is very helpful in writing clear descriptions and instructions for the products. We use graphics programs to create the artwork for the labels and then, our own sophisticated but easy to operate printing machines allow us to make the labels in the exact quantity and style that we need. It’s all very convenient.

One IT system that I don’t control but that I use extensively is the Kingdom’s e-government system. It has saved me so much in time, effort and money. There’s no need to stand in line. All fees are paid through e-banking. From my office I can process government paperwork and I don’t have so much dependency on facilitators to go to government offices. The Yesser e-services system has made complying with government regulations much easier.

All in all, ICT has made my life more relaxed. Before, I used to work so hard to accomplish tasks, many of them insignificant. Now, I have more time for my family and for myself. Years ago, when my family would travel during the summer vacation, I’d sit here alone. It was too hard to be away for so long. Now I can join them. I can go with my family to great destinations and enjoy my time and my business is still thriving. I used to travel a lot for business. Now I travel a lot for pleasure. Thanks to the ICT I use in my company, I can get more enjoyment from life.

— Faisal S. AlZamil is the  owner of AlZamil Stores