Author: midstar

To Valued Business Partners,

 

As the year 2021 approaches its final days before being tucked away in our professional and personal memoirs, I avail myself with pleasure and privilege to wish you and all your loved ones abundance of excellent health, joy and safety for the new year and beyond.

2021 has been yet another year of steady achievements, trials and tribulations. Midstar management and employees, nonetheless, held steadfast and persevered to meet its targets and obligations impeccably well.

Professional, operational and client relationship synergies intertwined immaculately to elevate Midstar above troubled waters and sail into safer shores.

Midstar goals and aspirations remain ambitious going forward. We shall endeavour to be on the lookout for risk mitigated opportunities and diligent geographical mapping for growth, where  and whenever feasible.

As we kick off 2022 with renewed optimism, the pandemic chameleons to wreak havoc on human norms of living and mobility. It is therefore imperative that we proceed into the new year with cautious hope and preparedness.

We ought to never lose sight of our precious and celebrated “Core Values & Principles” that have propelled us thus far.

Our cherished business partners have known and come to expect from Midstar professional & honest business conduct, transparency and dependability, trust in commitment to obligations, confidence in adherence to compliance and due diligence; ultimately leading to reciprocated goodwill and respect.

Once again, I reiterate my unwavering support to you all and assure you of corporate management appreciation of your every worthy initiative and distinguished achievement.

 

Good luck, God bless and warmest regards,

Walid Ali Mohamed Saeed

Managing Director, Midstar

Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Their mission is to build a better world by helping organizations become a great place to work for all. Midstar Management foresaw in this a great opportunity to validate its own employee experience and teamed up with “Great Place To Work” to conduct the survey & evaluation and was certified as a Great Place to Work.

 

The list recognizes leading companies in the UAE which have promoted a culture of elevated trust and distinguished performance, as attested by improved business results and employee engagement.

 

Midstar was certified as a Great Place To Work this year, 2021, a source of pride and honor indeed. The great part of such achievement is that management is duly appraised by feedback from the staff. In an auxiliary survey, Great Place to Work collected knowledge directly from people in various positions in the company, not just from high-level personnel. Today, 91% of our employees agree that Midstar is a great place to work.

 

As Great Place to Work® themselves puts it, getting certified helps to leverage your brand and is the first step towards understanding how your employee experience stacks up and getting recognized for the great workplace you’ve built.

 

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Midstar has achieved this certification by virtue of gaining employee satisfaction. This recognition is a testament to our commitment in creating a progressive, fair and flexible environment and it’s important as it highlights that we’re an employee-validated workplace. It shows that what we’re exerting the maximum effort for our people and our community.

 

Recognized as a Great Place to Work® not only attracts our current employees, but also a motivating factor for our future employees and customers to understand the values that Midstar represents. According to our feedback in the Trust Index© survey, 98% of our employees agree that the management is approachable, easy to talk to and trusts employees to do their jobs, while 96% of employees feel they are treated equally regardless of gender.

 

We are proud of our entire employee base that works so hard to bring our values to life every day.

 

Thank you to all of our dedicated employees for the commitment and dedication you bring to Midstar!

 

Commenting on this special occasion, Ibrahim Mougharbel, Managing Director, Great Place To Work Middle East: “We congratulate Midstar to be certified as a Great Place to Work® in the UAE and for excelling in all five dimensions of the Great Place to Work® Model – Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride and Camaraderie, this is an outstanding international milestone in these tough times, Midstar team and leadership proved to be true heroes.”

Dear Valued Business Partners,

There is no better time to strengthen our partnership bond, inspire each other and share our mutual success than the year-end.

2020 was a year humanity faced an avalanche in the form of global pandemic that changed the way we live and conduct business. The Agri commodity industry, which Midstar is proudly affiliated to, nonetheless was steadfast in expeditiously adopting to such drastic changes and lockdown restrictions with admirable versatility and resilience.

Our vital industry, by functional design and humanistic virtue, is tasked with feeding the world. This meant transcending operational obstacles and logistical quagmires to handle and navigate uninterrupted quality grains from originations to destinations across continents with minimum hindrance.

Together, we rose to the relentless challenges unabated and exacted performance par excellence, unabashedly. Midstar success in achieving a handsome and wholesome turnover tonnage is largely attributed to the loyalty and trust of our valued customers, capability and integrity of our reputable suppliers/freighters, professionalism and efficiency of our cherished financial & operational service providers. Credit also is duly accorded to our & your talented and dedicated workforce.

As we look forward to a post pandemic world, we eagerly welcome the new year 2021 with cautious hope and positive aspiration. We shall commit the necessary resources, human and capital, to consolidate and expand our business going forward, with all of you in mind and deed. Midstar Shipping has thus been added to our stars of companies to complement our business and offer its services and regional expertise to serve the Agri commodity industry in chartering, shipping and freight operations.

We have great faith that humanity shall overcome and prevail. Midstar wholeheartedly values your  clientele and patronage. Our mutual trust and cooperation will further nurture our business endeavours and shared interests. Together, we shall ride the waves, calm or stormy, into safer shores.

My best wishes to you for 2021 and beyond.

Sincerely,

Walid Ali Mohamed Saeed

Managing Director, Midstar

The COVID-19 outbreak has significantly impacted entities, disrupting their operational, financial, risk management and internal control systems. At the same time, the global financial markets and prices of several commodities are experiencing unprecedented volatility. While there is no certainty around the extent to which the crisis will further spread and impact businesses, one thing is clear: the challenges are here to stay for a while. Smart companies ought to adapt to change and strengthen internal systems and external linkages.

Now more than ever, directors, specialised departments and management need to be proactive and agile in responding with strong leadership and governance. In addition, they will need to focus on business imperatives.

As businesses adapt to new ways of operating amid COVID-19, there could be an increase in cyber risks, hence the need to enhance existing measures and controls. Directors and audit committees should understand how their management have revisited the cyber security controls and processes
to ensure that a multifaceted defence strategy is implemented.

Leaders must navigate these challenging times without compromising a focus on compliance. Here is our five-point action plan for any leader juggling business survival and compliance:

How can companies continue to champion compliance during times of crisis?

• Make compliance a centerpiece in your business continuity plans (BCP). As you build your BCP, ensure that you factor in how you will manage compliance remotely, what security will look like and how you will continue to meet your obligations in these unprecedented times.

• Adopt regulatory technology solutions that can help your enterprise achieve and maintain financial compliance to better serve your customers while granting your business a competitive edge.

• Embrace automation as it can ease the burden of expanding, and often stringent and demanding regulations, freeing skilled staff from low-value repetitive tasks, and improving reliability and performance. Automation is also key as businesses shift to remote workforces.

• Continue to train employees with the right skills, information, tools and mindsets for them to understand compliance and what role they play according to their geographic boundaries now and into the future.

• Adopt a coordinated approach with clearly defined rationales and targeted timelines to effectively practice compliance and ensure it is not lost in the conversation. This is necessary for audits, regulator inquiries, market stability and health crises.

• The best way to protect your business from future compliance risk is to do everything that you can to ensure that compliance remains active, visible and assertive during the current crisis. This way, you can ensure that your organization is well-positioned to successfully tackle the post-Covid-19
wave of business activity.

INSULATE YOUR BUSINESS, FOCUS ON PRIORITIES OF VALUE

As COVID-19 swept across the world, our lives were heavily impacted. The health, well-being and socio-economic effects of COVID-19 are largely negative and will be felt for years to come. But despite the negative impact, there’s still a silver lining to be found.

Let’s explore COVID-19’s effect on the global environment.

Air Pollution
In many parts of the world, air pollution has dropped drastically due to major cities and countries imposing lockdown measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Water Pollution
COVID-19 has forced lockdowns in many countries. The terms of these lockdowns depend on the country but generally follow a similar mantra – don’t go out, stay at home. As such, many offices, factories and industrial areas have been forced to close.

Such closure and restricted activities have allowed water bodies to recover and water pollution levels to drop. These reductions are further aided by restrictions on travel and tourism, which means that fewer people are out on cruise ships, ferries and even polluting beaches.

In popular beach destinations, pollution in the form of littering has also reduced drastically. This is due to the fact that many beaches have been closed by their respective country’s governments, and also because of travel and tourism restrictions.

Wildlife
Apart from impacting water and air pollution levels, COVID-19 has also had a positive effect on nature and wildlife. All over the world, countries are seeing wildlife roam the quiet roads of their cities. From a puma being spotted in Chile to dolphins in France, and even mountain goats roaming
the streets of Wales.

Wildlife is actually noticing the silence and calmness in the cities and taking this opportunity to roam the streets. Seeing these wild animals roaming the streets is quite a sight to behold and just puts into perspective how the world has changed over the last few months.

COVID-19 has also shone a spotlight on international wildlife trade laws. As the virus is reported to have originated from a market in China selling wild animals, governments are passing laws to prohibit wildlife trade.

Plastic Pollution
When you think about what plastic is used for, it shouldn’t be surprising that plastic pollution has increased during this period. As most restaurants don’t allow you to dine in anymore, more people are ordering food through delivery or take-out. As such, more plastic packaging is being used.

Plastics are also being used in protective gear for medical workers to fight against COVID-19. All these factors add to the plastic pollution in the world.

Reference:

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720323305

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/06/why-covid-19-will-end-up-harming-the-environment/

As the world and businesses delve into digitization, cybercrime sets an increasing alarm with devasting consequences. Coupled with the hard-hitting news on cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism and cyber extortionists targeting companies from small to medium enterprises, to big organizations, it is therefore significantly essential that cybersecurity be adopted and practiced in every aspect of businesses.

Cybersecurity is a continuously changing field, with the development of technologies that open up new avenues for cyber-attacks and cyber threats which take many forms, including malware, ransomware, social engineering and, most commonly, phishing. The field is becoming more important due to increased reliance on computer systems, the Internet
and wireless network standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and due to the growth of “smart” devices, including smartphones, televisions, and the various devices that constitute the “Internet of Things“.

As technologies change and evolve, employees, individuals, organizations and businesses should implement cybersecurity tools in everything that pertains to protecting our sensitive data— including personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), intellectual property data, and governmental and industry information systems—from theft and damage attempted by cyber criminals and adversaries. Given the frequency, magnitude and cost of cybersecurity incidents, it is important for businesses to:

• Understand the impact of cybersecurity risks on various business processes and financial reporting
processes;

• Ensure controls and procedures are developed to identify and address cybersecurity risks;

• Ensure cybersecurity controls are regularly reviewed and kept up to date; and

• Ensure procedures are in place to provide timely updates to investors about material cybersecurity issues.

Midstar is rising to the challenge and adopting cybersecurity measures to safeguard all parties in the business equation. Midstar’s operational procedures champion due diligence and legal trading operational and financial compliance. Midstar works via approved KYC and in close coordination with international banks, seamlessly making and approving payments through online logins, mitigating risks through and password protection with enhanced security QR code images.

Cybercrime is a great threat to every entity

CYBERSECURITY, PROTECTS COMPANY INTERESTS

It was not long ago that COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). While the assessment of our pandemic preparedness as a society will be the subject of considerable future scrutiny, the likely duration of the crisis still allows individuals and organizations
to implement some basic crisis management best practices. As the coronavirus crisis unfolds globally, organizations across the world are now testing their crisis management readiness.

How can businesses deliver better outcomes in times of a prolonged crisis?

Preparedness and Scenario Planning
The COVID-19 crisis will likely eat up the whole of 2020 and beyond. While we may be comforted that it will have an epidemiological end, its impact on your organization may be different at various points in time. In this early stage, many of us have been consumed with mobilizing our business to run in drastically altered operating conditions or on entirely new platforms. In most cases, the effects of COVID-19 will potentially severely impact revenues, distract and demoralize workforces, fundamentally altering how products and services are delivered.

Communicate – promptly, clearly and transparently
The best lines of communication are the most open ones. Clear, prompt and transparent communication is essential in all business scenarios. In crisis scenarios, it is even more so, especially if you need to secure ongoing support from customers, employees, suppliers, investors and regulatory authorities. Proactive communication and actions will help mitigate punitive damages, liabilities associated with disrupted customer obligations and damage to brand reputation. Whether the message is good or bad, transparency around the organization’s response is vital to maintaining your employees’ mental health and enhancing trust and confidence in the employee/employer relationship.

These messages will be different for different employers as some employees must continue to work, but frequent communications coming from managers who are highly visible is a critical step.  Coupled with your internal communications strategy is also a strategy to address the concerns of customers, regulators, and other stakeholders.

Keeping those with whom you work aware of your current status as well as your contingency plans will enhance those relationships over the long term.

Best Practices
• Keep employees informed (with accurate and updated information).
• Evaluate remote work continuity and impact on business performance and results.
• Create an environment that fosters online collaboration.
• Define a central internal communication channel to create an environment that fosters online collaboration.
• Continue to access updates and self-isolation guidelines and stay in touch with your self-isolated employees.

Cyber security concerns, email phishing, constant disruption, increased demand, and rapidly changing technologies and regulations have been pushing businesses to modernize for quite some time. The need has become more urgent than ever with pandemic, political and socio-economic upheavals.

Too many organizations are now focused on simply keeping up to survive. Leading companies are, however, going further to invest sizeable resources in efficient systems encompassing trading, and operational and financial processes to deliver accurate, fool-proof, efficient and timely results.

Midstar has always been forthcoming in adopting systems, processes, and operational procedures that strengthen due diligence, risk mitigation, and legal and financial compliance in all business transactions. Transparency, operational efficiencies, fast-track responses, and actions all aim to serve our valued business partners.

Currently, Midstar is in the process of going one hundred percent online, with a new investment in SAP and HRMS systems to stay ahead of the game.

THE FUTURE IS MOVING FORWARD TOWARD DIGITAL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY

Logistics firms which are involved in the movement, storage and flow of goods have been directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As an integral part of value chains, both within and across international borders, logistics firms facilitate trade and commerce and help businesses get their products to customers. Supply chain disruptions to the sector caused by the pandemic could, therefore, impact competitiveness, economic growth, and job creation.

Response to Crisis
For the most part, governments have responded to the crisis by designating ports, shipping, and trucking services as essential, and thereby exempt from lockdown measures. Although many airports around the world are closed to passenger flights, most are still open to cargo, which can be essential to the COVID-19 response (for example, to transport medical supplies). Closer collaboration between governments and third-party logistics companies has also been necessary to address supply chain bottlenecks and facilitate clearances.
• Third-party logistics companies have adopted a range of responses to these uncertainties.
• Alternative modes of transport
• Adapting service offerings to current demand and safety protocols

Recovery Process
The recovery and long-term impact of the pandemic on logistics may be affected by adaptions and factors, as described below:
• Increased dedicated air cargo capacity
• Increased cargo inspections and cross border control protocols
• Technology and e-commerce rise
• Reconfiguration of global value chains
• Recovery prospects will vary by country and subsector: as logistics is a diverse sector, recovery prospects will vary depending on the length of lockdowns and the duration of the subsequent economic crisis. Large companies with a diversified business (such as multiple clients, and serving
different sectors in various countries/states) will be better placed to weather the storm.

References:

• https://logisticsinsights.agility.com/COVID19/singapore/
• https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/2d6ec419-41df-46c9-8b7b-96384cd36ab3/IFC-Covid19-Logistics-final_web.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=naqOED5