Faisal Alatig is the CEO of channels by stc, with over 21 years of experience in the Telecommunications, Information technology, Marketing, and Strategic Management. Alatig has held a number of leadership positions inside stc group and channels by stc. Before becoming the CEO of channels in March 2021, Alatig served as the Vice President of Strategy and Category Management, where he managed more than a SAR17bn ($4.5bn) revenue of telecom and non-telecom for consumers and businesses portfolios in channels KSA and its subsidiaries in the Gulf. He has also chaired over the Bahrain and Oman channels’ executive committees.
Prior to that, he held the position of the Vice President of Strategic Management, where he led the development of a long-term strategy based on the technological and consumer trends, corporate performance, the competitive and regulatory environment. During his tenure as CEO of channels by stc, the company has expanded, added new partners, and became the preferred distributor and sales arm for mega brands.
Alatig has received his Master’s in Business Administration and Management from King Saud University and his Bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals.
In this interview, we will highlight the company’s journey, technology, expansion, and more.
Could you tell us more about the success of the company and your prominent leadership?
channels by stc has grown and will continue to grow in the future, as a result of the valued contributions made by our skilled human resources. Team members that work seamlessly to accomplish the goals of the company’s strategies while providing them with the space to flourish. As our distinguished workforce elevates our business towards broader horizons.
channels by stc is the sales and distribution arm of stc group and one of the leading companies in the field of sales and distribution in the nications sector with a wide regional network operating in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. Known as the preferred partner of choice for major companies in the region by introducing a package of diversified services and solutions.
As a professional and trustworthy business enabler, we managed to build strategic partnerships with key players in the industry both for consumer and enterprise products and services with stc Bahrain, stc Kuwait, Omantel, Salam Mobile and more operators and MNVOs, we go beyond telecommunications, including but not limited to Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo, ASUS, Microsoft, Amazon, Foodics, and many more.
In the past several years, we have made a commitment to continue being the partner of choice in the industry. To this end, we consistently work to reach our customers by improving operational efficiency and the quality of our services. We are proud to say that today channels by stc serves more than 15 million customers and operates over 70,000 points of sale with more than 137 distribution hubs.
What are channels by stc’s main market drivers and your expansion plans for the foreseeable future?
We became aware of the need to react quickly and adapt to market needs and partners requirements as the digital transformation accelerated by increasing marketing research, keeping up with the rapidly changing technological trends, and putting a greater emphasis on satisfying the needs of our primary growth drivers.
Being a member of a family brand within the stc group enabled us to reach a wider range of partners with solid relationships. Moreover, we diversified our product lines that we offer to our consumers that include TVs, PCs, tablets, wearable technologies, speakers, and many more. We also provide our B2B customers with a variety of products that will help them grow their business such as Sunmi, Dahua, Aruba, and many more. In addition to the company’s last mile delivery services.
channels by stc is renowned for being a forward-thinking organisation that is constantly seeking to explore and develop new business streams by persistently keeping up with the most recent technological advancements and overcoming present obstacles. We continue capitalising on growth prospects locally and regionally to expand market share and establish a dominant position in important growth markets. We do this with a clear strategic roadmap and a diverse product portfolio that meets the requirements of our clients.
We release new solutions, products, and services in response to the market needs. Of course, there are other considerations we make when entering a new market in addition to studying the demand for our goods and services such as the economic situation in the region or country we are looking to join.
What are some of the challenges the company has faced, and how did you overcome those obstacles?
In channels, we believe that with every challenge lies great growth opportunities. The pandemic has provided a great opportunity to increase global commerce, and we frequently see innovation emerge from these times of disruption. We were prepared at channels as we had a detailed plan for business endurance and mitigating risks. Our digital and IT infrastructures were ready along with our operations and on-ground teams as they have worked readily and smoothly. Through our use of this chance, we reached our clients through our last mile delivery service (dal) by providing our products and services. In order to speed up the ordering and delivery procedures, we also used cutting-edge solutions which helped us get a greater market share and establish ourselves as important players in the industry.
Can you tell us more about the last mile delivery service and how do you see this service expanding?
channels by stc, was able to directly provide the last mile delivery service through “dal”, giving us and our partners a competitive advantage. Our aim was to revolutionise the last mile delivery, and give our delivery agents a secure and developed application to ease managing the service. “dal” came from the Arabic word “dalilah,” which means someone who knows the way and leads others. This state-of-the-art technology not only offers partners a more seamless experience with flexible delivery but also contributes to the expansion of the retail, banking, and health sectors by providing detailed information at every stage and enabling partners to monitor and track in real-time.
More than 128 Saudi cities are served by “dal” with more than 16,000 professional Saudi agents. The majority of deliveries occur on the same day, with over 10 million orders delivered successfully and a 98 percent client satisfaction rate.
We were able to consistently improve “dal” while keeping the highest degree of flexibility to ensure that it was more than just a platform. Additionally, we added high-level technologies that enable delivery partners to communicate instantly via chats and receive informative notifications. By allocating delivery requests to agents based on location and destination, these capabilities provide a rapid and efficient delivery process.
dal has earned recognition from major clients and organisations for providing a customer-centric platform and excelling in delivering exceptional performance in the last mile delivery solutions. Our commitment to reducing lead times through a multi-model strategy and last-mile delivery has been crucial to our success in the industry.
How does channels by stc contribute to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2023 and the visitor’s seasonality?
We continue to work toward Saudi Arabia’s aim of boosting other economic resources by increasing the contribution of the tourism industry each year. channels by stc has introduced a selection of special deals and offerings that are intended to benefit visitors who are coming for tourism, leisure, work, or pilgrims and as we have leveraged during the seasonal festivals, mega sports events, and Hajj and Umrah. In order to meet their demand for SIMs and devices, while also assigning highly skilled employees who can speak more than 11 languages.
We are continuously preparing for this growth by enhancing the environment for innovation, broadening our services, training our employees, and advancing the logistics value chain. At the same time, we keep an eye on the regional and global markets to enable the institutional and operational capabilities to steer them and take advantage of the finest merger, partnership, and expansion opportunities.