Logistics firm Flow, part of the Ghassan Ahmed Alsulaiman Group, plans to start a new Omni-channel and e-commerce centre for Ikea Saudi Arabia in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).

The new facility, tailor-designed to service Ikea’s e-commerce and pay-and-go requirements, will be launched in two phases to meet the growing needs of customers.

The first phase will be operational in February 2017 where a total of 1,800 orders per day may be picked, packed and dispatched. The second phase will handle up to 5,000 orders a day in two shifts with the possibility of increasing capacity further with 24-hour operation.

Frank Courtney, CEO at Flow, said at a groundbreaking ceremony in KAEC: “We are very honoured to be partnering with Ikea for this exciting new project, where we have designed a facility that specifically meets their unique needs.”

Courtney said the realisation had dawned over the past year that there is a lack of professional facilities and logistics infrastructure in the kingdom to support e-commerce and Ikea’s Pay & Go businesses that possess large-scale volumes.

“We at Flow have developed our services to meet the growing requirement for reliable, cost-effective e-commerce fulfilment and contract logistics and we are ready to fill this gap in the market,” he added.

Saud Alsulaiman, CEO at Ikea Saudi Arabia, said: “We have high hopes for this new facility and believe that Flow is very capable in providing us with the distinctive solutions we need to meet our market requirements, and help us achieve our Omni-channel retailing goals.

“As we continue to grow in the kingdom, we are constantly developing new channels to meet our customers’ desires and the launch of this new project highlights our commitment to improving customer service and providing a better everyday life for the many.”

Fahd Al Rasheed, managing director and CEO of King Abdullah Economic City, welcomed Flow to the list of investors in KAEC.