Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Mar 05, 2026

KPMG: Rethinking value creation to support local content in Saudi Arabia

A strong supply chain network is a key enabler for a country’s resilience and ability to provide for its local needs while playing a significant role in the global supply chain linkages.
The global supply chain disruption witnessed as result of the pandemic has challenged this resilience from multiple fronts. Managing business continuity during disruptive times became a primary concern for many organizations. This can be achieved by developing greater resilience through the build-up of a world-class digitally enabled supply chain.

A new KPMG publication delves into Saudi Arabia’s transformation phase and the opportunities ahead for the country to leapfrog other countries to establish data-driven local supply chains. “Leveraging data to establish local supply chains, a new publication by KPMG, takes learnings from best practices from other resource-rich countries that strived to diversify their economies and build up domestic manufacturing industries.

As such, the Kingdom has already developed a sector strategy to improve supply chain efficiencies to increase locally sourced products and services, as well as adopt Industrial Revolution 4.0 technologies.

Currently, manufactured parts in the Kingdom constitute less than 10% of the annual spending on spare parts. Over the next decade, the country plans to spend more than SAR 1 trillion purchasing industrial equipment and spare parts, excluding military. These investments are predominantly set to be spent overseas (75%) with limited value-add to the local economy – this presents an opportunity for a significant localization of the supply chain for industrial products.

The Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources (MIM) has embarked on a journey to boost the localization efforts in the industrial sector. These efforts are driven by Vision 2030 and the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), with a primary focus on the energy, mining, industry, and logistics sectors.

The Kingdom’s efforts are driven by two key areas of focus: developing local content and implementing concepts of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. As global supply chains become more complex and continue to be sensitive to disruption, it makes sense to call for national agendas and development of local content.

The strategic directions to boost promising sectors in Saudi Arabia have been set out by NIDLP. In its assessment, NIDLP identified 15+ sectors in the Kingdom that would need screening to define priorities and ensure maximum value generation via localization.

Prioritizing sectors would require an initial assessment of their maturity within the Kingdom and region, using a set of selected assessment parameters such as share of GDP contribution, demand (local, regional, global), capacity to attract foreign direct investment, barriers to entry, capacity to generate employment, sales, and exports.

In addition, the sectors in focus should also be aligned with the objectives of Vision 2030, which defines mining and energy sectors among its top priority sectors.

Saudi Arabia has also established a Local Supply Chain Development Initiative (LSCDI) to provide an information platform and tools that lead to the establishment of local supply chains that are integrated, sustainable, and expected to facilitate the development of locally integrated industries.

Once implemented and operational, the LSCDI will help raise awareness of local supply chains – structure, gaps, database, supporting industrial network, and increasing visibility of SMEs. Open government best practices have been leveraged by Saudi Arabia to help enhance transparency and competitiveness in government procurement.

With an aim to transform Saudi Arabia into a leading industrial powerhouse and international logistics hub, the latest venture came from the NEOM project, with the announcement of Oxagon, which is set to become a leading modern manufacturing and industrial research and development (R&D) facility.

Close coordination among entities concerning policies and actions will allow LSCDI to achieve its commitment to supporting local supply chains in the Kingdom. With the MIM spearheading the initiative, it will be the National Industrial Information Center’s (NIIC) role to lead and orchestrate the coordination of data and information among all the entities to promote localization.

Local content policies are commonly used in resource-rich countries with varied goals and degrees of success. Investments in supply chain infrastructure, a strong local value chain and an integrated industrial ecosystem allow policymakers to have a holistic understanding of the parts that need to be put together to develop a successful program instead of focusing on incentivizing single products and services.

Saudi Arabia has the potential to pave its path to becoming a global powerhouse in the manufacturing sector and support its goal of building a resilient future.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Iran Says Its Strikes Target Only U.S. Military Assets and Denies Attacking Saudi Arabia
Drone Strike Hits U.S. Embassy in Riyadh as Middle East Conflict Escalates
Tom Brady’s Saudi Flag Football Event May Shift to U.S. as Middle East Conflict Disrupts Plans
Iran War Strikes Saudi Arabia at a Critical Moment for Its Economic Transformation
Saudi Cabinet Declares Kingdom Will Take All Necessary Measures to Defend National Security
United States Urges Citizens to Leave Fourteen Middle Eastern Countries as Iran War Escalates
Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura Refinery Targeted Again in Second Drone Attack Within Two Days
Saudi Pro League Orders Clubs to Continue Fixtures Despite Rising Middle East Conflict
Trump Pursues Major Civil Nuclear Agreement With Saudi Arabia Amid Regional Turmoil
Mass Drone Attacks Strike Gulf States as Iran Conflict Spreads Across Region
No Verified Confirmation of Ronaldo Departure Linked to Iran Conflict or AFC Suspension
No Verified Evidence of Israeli Intelligence Arrests in Qatar or Saudi Arabia
Drone Attack Forces Temporary Shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s Largest Oil Refinery
Israel Intensifies Air Campaign in Tehran as Iran Expands Regional Retaliation
Iranian Strikes Escalate Middle East Conflict, Drawing Saudi Arabia Closer to Wider War
No Verified Confirmation of Drone Strike on King Fahd Causeway Amid Regional Tensions
No Verified Evidence Saudi Crown Prince Is Seeking to Weaken Israel Amid Regional Tensions
Reports Emerge of Drone Strike Near US Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Americans Told to Shelter
Saudi Arabia Weighs Strategic Options as Tensions With Iran Intensify
Iran Expands Strikes on Saudi and Qatari Infrastructure, Opening a New Front in Gulf Conflict
Western Navies Sound Alarm as Russian Shadow Tankers Transit NATO Waters in Defiance of Sanctions
U.S. Embassy in Riyadh Struck by Drones Amid Escalating Iran Conflict
Imola Emerges as Standby Venue if Bahrain or Saudi Arabia Grands Prix Are Cancelled
Uncertainty Clouds $24 Billion Gulf Investment Linked to Paramount–WBD Deal
Middle East Strikes Disrupt Qatar LNG, Saudi Refining and Israeli Energy Fields
Gulf States Signal Possible Collective Action Over Iran’s Escalating Strikes
Saudi Arabia Summons Iranian Ambassador After Cross-Border Attacks
Saudi Arabia Intercepts Drones Targeting Ras Tanura Oil Refinery as Conflict Escalates
Saudi Arabia Clarifies It Supported Diplomacy With Iran, Not Military Escalation
Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Confer on Escalating Iran Crisis
Drone Strike Forces Shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s Largest Oil Refinery
Saudi Arabia Signals Harder Line on Iran as Regional Conflict Deepens
Strikes in Qatar and Saudi Arabia Pull Energy Infrastructure Deeper Into Expanding Middle East Conflict
U.S. and Israel Intensify Strikes on Iran as Conflict Expands to Lebanon and Gulf States
Violent Pro-Iranian Protesters Storm U.S. Consulate in Karachi
Missile Debris Sparks Fires at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port Near Palm Jumeirah
Iran Strikes U.S. Fifth Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain Amid Wider Gulf Retaliation
Emerging Saudi–Turkish Alignment Draws Attention as Potential Strategic Challenge for Israel
Saudi Arabia Unveils $100 Billion Technology Investment Fund to Accelerate Post-Oil Diversification
US Lawmakers Question White House Consideration of Saudi Nuclear Enrichment Framework
Saudi Arabia Reaffirms Firm Commitment to Two-State Solution in Renewed Diplomatic Push
Saudi Arabia Launches Central Kitchen in Gaza to Deliver 24,000 Meals a Day
Saudi Arabia Announces $346 Million Support Package for Yemen in Renewed Humanitarian Push
Saudi Investors Increase US Equity Exposure Amid Domestic Market Weakness
Saudi Arabia Unveils Major Desert Gas Development in Strategic Shift Toward Diversified Energy Growth
Satellite Images Indicate Increased Aircraft Presence at Saudi Airbase Hosting US Forces
Telephone Diplomacy Sparks Tensions Between Two Key US Allies After Trump Intervention
Asian LPG Prices Surge After Damage Forces Saudi Aramco Export Disruptions
Saudi Arabia Unveils $100 Billion AI Infrastructure Fund to Challenge US and China
Saudi Stocks Close Lower as Tadawul All Share Index Falls 1.28 Percent
×