How Saudi Xerox is Redefining Resilience in a Volatile Market
In an exclusive interview with ME Printer, Mehmet Sezer, General Manager of Saudi Xerox, explains how digital transformation can help print businesses navigate a brave yet uncertain world.
Recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have once again put pressure on regional trade and logistics. How have these developments impacted the Saudi print market in practical terms?
When you look at the current landscape, the most practical impact we’re seeing is a definitive shift toward operational sovereignty. The regional situation has reinforced the importance of strategic self-reliance. In practical terms, the Saudi print market is experiencing a shift toward more domestic sourcing and a preference for partners with a strong, local physical presence.
With disruptions affecting shipping routes, material availability, and costs, what have been the most immediate challenges for print service providers in Saudi Arabia over the past months?
The reality on the ground for print service providers has been a struggle with predictability. When shipping routes are disrupted, your lead times become moving targets, and your freight costs fluctuate overnight and it impacts on the insurance premium. The immediate challenge hasn’t just been the cost—it’s been the planning. It has forced a move away from ‘Just-in-Time’ inventory toward a more buffered approach shifting from expansion to optimization: doing more with the resources currently on the ground without interruption.
In such an unpredictable environment, how critical has disaster recovery planning become for print businesses, and are companies in the Kingdom adequately prepared for sudden disruptions?
I think we’ve reached a point where disaster recovery is no longer a luxury, rather it’s a business mandate. In the Kingdom, awareness is high, but the transition to being “’fully prepared’ is still a work in progress. It isn’t enough to just have a backup of your data anymore; you need a workflow that is flexible enough the moment a physical disruption occurs. Disaster recovery is transitioning from a tick in box compliance to a core operational requirement. I believe, it will be every company’s core plan since the covid era.
Have recent events accelerated the shift toward more resilient business models—such as localized production, digital workflows, or reduced dependency on complex supply chains?
There is a much stronger appetite now for digital workflows that reduce manual touchpoints and localized printing models that bypass complex shipping routes. Resilience is becoming the primary metric for success, often outweighing pure cost-efficiency. The main area of focus is towards digital transformation, localization and predictive maintenance. The shift toward digital workflows isn’t just about efficiency anymore. It’s more of a survival strategy that reduces the dependency on physical output.
From your perspective, how have customer priorities in Saudi Arabia evolved during this period of uncertainty? Are businesses investing differently compared to before?
My current perspective has changed when it comes to conversing with customers. They no longer ask about the speed of our machines, rather – they’re more concerned about their data security and continuous reliability as a trusted partner.
Looking ahead, do you believe the Saudi market is entering a phase of stability, or should the industry prepare for continued volatility—and how can companies best position themselves for both scenarios?
The Saudi market is ever dynamic in nature in alignment with the Vision 20230 directives and at Saudi Xerox, we believe the best way to position for this is through our ‘Phygital’ approach—seamlessly integrating physical infrastructure with digital agility. By bridging these two worlds, companies can maintain the reliability of physical output while leveraging the flexibility of digital workflows. As we continue our transformation journey from a traditional print business into a leading IT Services and Digital Solutions provider, strengthening our leadership capabilities is a key priority. We aim to be a one stop shop for our trusted partners and customers. You shall be seeing the launch of our unique IT Solutions & Services as an official launch during LEAP / Deep Fest later this year.
Ahmed Abu Al-Ula in a live demonstration with the Saudi delegation
“It is an exciting momentum of exchanges on strategic topics shaping the future—from AI and workflow automation to data security and sustainability. Xerox’s end-to-end ecosystem is designed to boost productivity and deliver measurable ROI to our valuable and longstanding government and enterprise clients alike” added Ahmed Abualola, head of Government Sales at Saudi Xerox
The visit reaffirmed that innovation and partnership remain the cornerstones of Saudi Xerox’s ongoing contribution to Vision 2030 by continuing to drive innovation and shape the future of digital transformation in the Kingdom.
