Hani AlSaigh, Executive at a leading Saudi Company and Board member of the Saudi Procurement and Supply Chain Society, explores how Saudi Arabia is professionalising procurement, driving local content and embracing AI and sustainability as part of its national transformation…
Saudi Arabia’s procurement landscape is undergoing a bold, strategic transformation. As part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, organisations are moving beyond traditional, transactional procurement models towards building a function that is more mature, capable and adds strategic value. It is a reflection of the Kingdom’s ambition to redefine how organisations create value, while driving local content and sustainability.
Hani AlSaigh, has been central to this shift. With over 27 years of leadership in procurement and supply chain, Hani is known for driving procurement transformation, sustainability, and local content. An Electrical Engineering graduate from King Saud University and an FCIPS member with CIPS, he is also a board member of Saudi Procurement and Supply chain society. Hani has led significant strategic initiatives to elevate procurement presence and awareness in the market and frequently contributes as a speaker at high-level forums. His work as a respected industry thought leader dedicated to advancing operational excellence and national development goals reinforces his commitment to Vision 2030.
Three pillars of success
We start off our conversation by asking Hani about the elements of a successful procurement transformation. “Every transformation rests on three pillars: policy, people, and technology,” AlSaigh responds. “Policies must be agile and outcome-driven; people must be empowered through capability; and technology must be fully leveraged to unlock transparency and value.” In practice, this has meant overhauling operating models, assessing team capabilities and embedding digital systems. “We found many organisations had invested in top ERP systems, but were using them like email,” he laughs. “We had to create awareness and redesign processes to ensure systems enable transparency, speed and value.”