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Tahir Ali on Driving Supply Chain Excellence at Al-Futtaim Marks & Spencer
With a foundation in engineering and a career built across some of the Middle East’s most complex logistics networks, Tahir Ali has carved out a reputation as a results-driven supply chain leader. Now serving as Head of Supply Chain for Al-Futtaim’s Marks & Spencer division, he oversees a multifaceted operation spanning perishables, fashion, and beauty products across seven regional markets. From implementing advanced digital tools and sustainable sourcing strategies to leading acquisition integrations and elevating supplier performance, Tahir is reshaping how retail supply chains deliver agility, compliance, and customer value in today’s fastmoving landscape. In this interview, he shares insights into his leadership journey, the transformation underway at M&S, and the future of supply chain talent in the UAE.
Career Journey
Can you share your career journey and what led you to the role of Head of Supply Chain for Al Futtaim’s Marks & Spencer division? What experiences have most shaped your leadership philosophy in supply chain management?
My journey to becoming Head of Supply Chain at Al-Futtaim Marks & Spencer has been one of deliberate progression across increasingly complex supply chain landscapes. I began my career as a Graduate Engineer in India, gaining early exposure to ERP systems and multi-site inventory management. This technical foundation shaped my systems-thinking approach.
The pivotal moment came after completing my Master’s in Supply Chain Management, when I joined Landmark Group in the UAE as a Management Trainee. Rapidly progressing to Warehouse Manager, I led operations in a 60,000 sqm facility with 8,000 FEUs in annual throughput and a workforce of over 300. This experience deepened my operational understanding and introduced me to the transformative potential of technology through Oracle WMS implementation and last-mile fleet optimisation.
Subsequently, at Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, I managed logistics for luxury retail, where maintaining a 99.98% inventory accuracy rate reinforced the critical role of precision in building customer trust. At Al-Futtaim Marks & Spencer, I’ve expanded this knowledge regionally — navigating MENA operations during the pandemic and leading the KSA acquisition integration. My leadership philosophy centres on operational excellence, team empowerment through accountability, and strategic agility. Our recent improvements in e-commerce fulfilment and spoilage reduction stem directly from this team-driven, outcomes-focused culture.
Supply Chain’s Role in Retail Excellence
Supply chain is critical in retail for delivering product availability and customer satisfaction. How does your team ensure that Al Futtaim’s M&S stores consistently meet customer expectations in the UAE region?
Ensuring consistent product availability and customer satisfaction across M&S UAE stores requires precision, agility, and collaboration.
We take a holistic approach where every team member understands their role within the broader supply chain ecosystem. We emphasise ownership, cross-functional awareness, and a continuous learning mindset. This empowers our teams to proactively identify bottlenecks and maintain high service levels.
Our core focus areas include real-time inventory visibility, last-mile delivery excellence, and compliance with local standards. We also maintain strong supplier partnerships through regular performance reviews and joint demand planning, which enhances upstream reliability and reduces variability.
By continuously refining these processes, we consistently deliver the product quality, availability, and service standards that M&S customers in the UAE expect and trust.
Sustainable Procurement Practices
Al Futtaim has set ambitious net‑positive targets by 2040 and enforces sustainable procurement processes. How is your team embedding sustainability in sourcing and supplier selection for M&S products?
We work closely with M&S as part of their Plan A sustainability framework, embedding environmental responsibility into every aspect of our operations. Several key initiatives reflect our commitment to reducing waste, emissions, and resource consumption across the supply chain.
In terms of waste reduction and circularity, we’ve implemented recycling for all plastic hangers, introduced reusable totes, dollies, and pallet covers, and now use biodegradable shrink wrap for exports. These steps help reduce single-use plastics and promote more circular packaging systems. We’ve also made significant infrastructure upgrades. All our facilities underwent a full LED retrofit in 2019, and in 2022 we installed solar panels at our regional distribution centre. We continue to invest in energy-efficient systems across our network to reduce our operational footprint.
To reduce transport-related emissions, we’ve introduced smart product routing to minimise travel distances, prioritised local sourcing of food products, and are piloting the electrification of our lastmile delivery fleet.
Sustainability is also embedded into our supplier selection process. We apply ESG metrics, carbon scoring, and ethical compliance standards to every supplier review. All RFPs include sustainability scorecards alongside commercial KPIs, ensuring that every procurement decision aligns with our long-term environmental goals and supports Al Futtaim’s 2040 net-positive vision.
Supplier Engagement & Accountability
What strategies do you use to build transparent and cooperative relationships with your suppliers, ensuring they meet ethical, quality, and environmental standards—particularly in light of COP28 collaborative goals?
Our supplier engagement model is built on transparency, collaboration, and shared accountability — fully aligned with the climate commitments of COP28.
We conduct quarterly supplier performance reviews using integrated scorecards that cover ethical, quality, and environmental metrics alongside cost and service. This approach fosters continuous dialogue and improvement, moving us away from reactive correction and toward proactive, longterm development.
We prioritise long-term strategic agreements over short-term transactions. These contracts embed environmental requirements and create mutual incentives for innovation, such as fuel-efficient logistics planning with our airline partners for fresh food imports.
Understanding that suppliers vary in their capabilities, we provide support through best practice sharing, technical guidance, and collaborative planning. This shifts the dynamic from simple compliance monitoring to co-creating value, helping us build a more resilient, responsible, and future-ready supplier ecosystem.
Digitalisation in Supply Chain
Al Futtaim has embraced AI, analytics, and digital tools, led by their digital transformation agenda. How is your M&S supply chain leveraging digital technologies to boost efficiency, visibility, and responsiveness?
Our digital transformation has significantly enhanced supply chain responsiveness, visibility, and efficiency. One of our key milestones was the successful deployment of an advanced Warehouse Management System (WMS), implemented in collaboration with our Regional Distribution Centre partner. This upgrade tripled our operational capacity while providing vital scalability for future growth.
RFID integration has been especially transformative, offering real-time visibility and achieving 100% warehouse accuracy. It has effectively eliminated traditional blind spots and enabled the development of an intelligent, responsive supply chain.
We also utilise digital analytics tools that provide granular insights into cost drivers, service levels, and productivity, allowing for evidence-based decision-making. Our fleet tracking system monitors a large volume of shipments — including temperature-sensitive goods — ensuring SLA adherence and enabling proactive issue resolution.
Looking ahead, we are exploring AI to further optimise operations — from predictive demand planning and AI-driven warehouse layout design to automated invoice reconciliation. These technologies are set to redefine efficiency benchmarks across our supply chain in the years to come.
Inventory & Demand Forecasting
How does your team leverage demand forecasting tools and inventory optimisation techniques to balance stock availability and cost efficiency, especially given seasonal fluctuations and consumer trends in the UAE?
Balancing inventory levels and cost efficiency in the dynamic UAE retail environment requires a datainformed, locally tailored approach. We utilise advanced demand forecasting tools that integrate historical sales data, promotional calendars, and macroeconomic indicators.
Our models are specifically adapted to account for UAE-specific seasonality — including Ramadan, Eid, and major shopping festivals — enabling proactive and accurate inventory planning.
We also leverage real-time demand sensing and AI-enabled planning tools to mitigate risk and minimise obsolescence. Our cost model supports responsiveness without overstocking, giving us the agility to manage both peak demand periods and quieter trading cycles with efficiency.
Risk & Resilience Strategy
Global supply chains are prone to disruptions. How does Al Futtaim’s M&S supply chain identify and mitigate risks, such as logistical bottlenecks, geopolitical changes, or supplier instability, to ensure continuity?
Our risk mitigation strategy is built on redundancy, agility, and proactive intelligence. We maintain diversified sourcing and logistics networks to minimise dependency on any single geography. Our close partnership with Al-Futtaim Logistics (AFL) enables tailored freight solutions and proactive risk management. AFL’s deep understanding of our brand ensures continuity, even in the face of regional disruptions.
We also conduct early financial assessments of our suppliers to identify signs of instability before they impact operations. For perishables, we maintain multiple carrier contracts and backup capacity plans to safeguard cold chain integrity during transit shocks.
Geographic diversification, flexible contract clauses, and dual-sourcing strategies are all part of our broader approach, enabling us to respond quickly and decisively in times of crisis.
Advanced Finance Models
Al Futtaim Retail has introduced GCC’s first sustainable supply‑chain finance programme. Is Al Futtaim’s M&S division exploring similar financial mechanisms (e.g., sustainability ‑ linked finance) to incentivise supplier sustainability?
While Al-Futtaim Retail has pioneered the region’s first sustainable supply chain finance programme, our approach at M&S is currently rooted in a partnership-based model to support supplier sustainability. We prioritise capacity-building and collaboration over purely financial incentives. By sharing expertise, providing planning support, and aligning on environmental goals, we empower suppliers to adopt sustainable practices more effectively. Looking ahead, we are exploring ways to integrate sustainability-linked financing frameworks into our supplier scorecards, complementing our existing engagement model and further incentivising responsible sourcing.
Challenges in FMCG Retail Supply Chains
What unique challenges do you face in managing a complex FMCG ‑ style retail supply chain under M&S (e.g., handling perishables, fashion cycles), and how do you leverage Al Futtaim’s regional capabilities to address these?
Managing the M&S supply chain in the UAE involves balancing the complexity of perishables, fashion cycles, and regulatory diversity. Perishables require robust cold chain infrastructure, strict traceability, and rapid replenishment. We leverage Al-Futtaim’s advanced regional capabilities, including temperature-controlled logistics and strong compliance expertise to ensure product quality and minimise spoilage. Fashion retail brings seasonal volatility, rapid trend shifts, and forecasting complexity. Our adaptive warehousing and demand planning systems enable agility, reducing the risk of markdowns and missed cycles.
In beauty and personal care, we navigate diverse regulatory requirements across the region, from allergen labelling to ingredient approvals. Our regulatory affairs team, in coordination with regional labs, ensures compliance with GCC, Halal, and FDA standards. Operating across seven markets, we maintain 100% compliance by embedding regulatory planning early in our supply chain design process.
“Managing the M&S supply chain in the UAE involves balancing the complexity of perishables, fashion cycles, and regulatory diversity”
Future Trends & Advice for Talent
What supply chain trends (e.g., omnichannel fulfilment, sustainability, blockchain) do you see shaping the future of retail logistics? And what advice would you give to professionals looking to grow in supply chain leadership, especially in the UAE?
Key trends reshaping retail logistics include AI-powered forecasting, omnichannel fulfilment, microdistribution hubs, and ESG-driven sourcing models.
AI is enabling real-time decision-making, predictive maintenance, and optimised route planning. Omnichannel strategies now demand decentralised inventory and flexible delivery models to meet rising customer expectations.
My advice to future supply chain leaders is to master emerging technologies by building fluency in AI, analytics, and automation tools. It’s important to stay geopolitically informed, understanding trade policies and regional disruptions that impact sourcing and logistics. Leaders should think strategically, focusing not just on cost, but also on resilience, speed, and customer experience. Cross-functional skills are also essential, as successful leaders must be able to navigate seamlessly between operations, finance, and commercial teams.
In a market like the UAE — at the crossroads of East and West — those who combine global outlooks with local execution will lead the next generation of supply chain innovation.
Al-Futtaim Group is a leading diversified family-business based in Dubai, operating across more than 20 countries and employing over 40,000 people. Al-Futtaim +1 With a portfolio spanning automotive, retail, real-estate, health, finance, and education, the Group partners with globally admired brands to deliver exceptional customer experiences and drive innovation and sustainable growth.
Tahir Ali Head of Supply Chain - M&S Middle East, N Africa