The demands being placed on procurement functions have changed radically in the past decade, as a rising tide of digitalisation meets a new, more challenging landscape defined by geopolitical instability, supply chain disruption, and the climate crisis. In very few places is this truer than Masdar City, a ground-breaking sustainable urban community and a world-class business free zone and technology hub in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Sustainability and economic development
Masdar City’s position as both a pioneering sustainable urban development and a hub for economic activity and cutting edge technology has posed a series of unique procurement challenges since the project’s announcement in 2006, from material acquisition and eco-friendly design to meeting the specific needs of the economic, scientific, and aerospace organisations with facilities located there. The city is home to one of the world’s largest clusters of LEED-certified buildings, and buildings within its borders are constructed with sustainability in mind first and foremost — accounting for factors like sunrise direction, shade, and windflow to encourage natural ventilation between buildings.
Masdar City also introduced the Middle East’s first autonomous vehicles through a public procurement program, which have been operating for over 12 years with zero major incidents.
The long-term goal is to make Masdar City a “15-minute city,” where everything is within a short walk or electric vehicle ride. As a result, the city is attracting major global tenants like G42, M42, IRENA (International Renewable Energy Authority), and FANR (Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation). Educational institutions like Mohamed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence have also located themselves within Masdar City, making the city an emerging hub for biotech, space tech, and green tech.
Overseeing the procurement process for this unique sustainable development is Suwaid Al Badi, Masdar City’s Head of Procurement and Contracts. In the same way that Masdar City is challenging notions of what is possible when it comes to sustainable development in a region that averages fewer than 200mm of rain in a year and frequently sees temperatures in excess of 35 Degrees Celsius, Al Badi has challenged himself to elevate the procurement process for Masdar City.
“I handle all the purchasing requirements for Masdar City, but I’ve challenged myself to elevate the procurement function by making it more digitalised. I developed a system—though it already existed on the market, I added many custom modules. It streamlines the entire procurement cycle, from publishing RFPs to signing contracts via DocuSign. Everything, including tendering committee voting, contract routing, approvals, and document uploads, is integrated into one system,” he explains.
This month, CPO Strategy sat down with Al Badi to talk procurement transformation, sustainability, and AI in Masdar City.
Universal challenges in a unique context
It’s undeniably been a difficult few years for procurement and supply chain teams around the world. From the COVID-19 pandemic and disruptions to two of the world’s busiest shipping routes, to geopolitical tensions and over 60 countries heading to the polls this year alone, the signs point to the world entering a new age of perpetual disruption, where a lack of normality is the new normal.
For Masdar City, Al Badi notes that the challenges he and his team face “to a degree the same to what any procurement professional would expect to be dealing with in the current climate. However, for us, a major challenge is uncertainty and developing the speed and agility to deal with the unknown.” One of the challenges his team is discussing within procurement is “how quickly we can issue an RFP—our goal is to publish the RFP within less than 10 minutes,” using technologies like generative artificial intelligence (AI) and process automation.
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