The Ministry of Commerce is among 10% of the Evaluated Organizations and among 4 Government Agencies Awarded this Certificate Globally
In the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Commerce, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, and the Executive Director of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), Mr. Russell Longmeier, EFQM has awarded the Ministry of Commerce Recognized For Excellence 4 Stars Certificate, as the first government agency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be awarded this certificate, as a result of the Ministry’s adherence to Institutional Excellence Standards, and for the Ministry’s adoption of various international standards. Thus the Ministry of Commerce is among 4 government agencies to be awarded this certificate around the world.
EFQM Executive Director stated in a meeting via visual communication technology that the Ministry of Commerce is the first government agency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia awarded Recognized Excellence 4 stars from the European Foundation for Quality Management, adding that among the 50,000 bodies that had been evaluated during the past thirty years, only 10% have got a rating of 4 stars and higher. The Executive Director said, "It is an amazing achievement. I think that the Ministry of Commerce is one of 3 or 4 government agencies that have been evaluated and awarded this certificate globally.
EFQM Executive Director explained that the Ministry of Commerce was able to obtain this certificate through areas of strengths and improvements, the most important of which are: The clear commitment of the Supreme Leadership to adopt the concepts of excellence, also the implementation of the institutional work systems, as well as the development of operations and the relevant governance, besides implementing strategic initiatives and improving various projects.
The Ministry of Commerce has got Recognized Excellence 4 stars after the adoption and implementation of EFQM model and standard which is the most widespread in the world, and which evaluates capabilities and results based on 9 main criteria, such as: Leadership, Strategy, Human Resources, Resources and Partners, Services and Operations, Customers’ Results, Employees’ Results, Community Results, Key Business Results.
The Ministry's efforts and achievements during the past three years contributed and enabled MC for getting the award of EFQM Recognized Excellence 4 Stars Certificate, as the Ministry’s strategy was updated to go in line with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, also the new Organization Chart of the Ministry of Commerce was approved to go in line as well with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, including: A Special Deputy Ministry for Customer Services, A General Administration for the Ministry's Governance Works, and an Office for Transformation Management.
The commercial and investment environment has also been strengthened and enhanced with the establishment of 10 new government entities, having a legislation system by issuing 50 Regulations and Rules, also preparing the National Strategy for Combating the Commercial Fraud, as well as launching the National Program for Combating the Commercial Concealment, besides establishing an E-Commerce Council.
In order to facilitate and ease the start and practice of trade activity, 5 procedures were shortened in one step to start a business online, and the period for establishing companies was reduced from 15 days to 30 minutes, also the services are automated, so that the percentage of customers who were served electronically increased to 97%, besides the expansion of customer centers bearing the concept of a Comprehensive Employee, in addition to the Quality Management System Standard 9001 was applied and accreditation was obtained from the concerned authority.
In terms of business results and indicators related to the Kingdom's progress globally, the reforms and improvements that have been implemented, have led the Kingdom to achieve a qualitative leap by ranking 38 globally in the index of starting a business activity, and the 3rd rank globally in the index of protecting the minority investors according to the Ease of Business 2020 report, issued by the World Bank. Notably, the Kingdom is also among the top 10 developing countries in E-Commerce. Meanwhile, the efforts of digital transformation have contributed to the classification of the Ministry's transactions within the Platinum Category in the maturity of electronic services. This is in accordance with (Yesser) program.
The Ministry has worked to enhance and strengthen the job correlation, as it reached (80%), and it is higher than the global average, and the highest among government agencies during 3 consecutive years. The percentage of employees who have been trained has increased to more than 90%, also the employee community participation has been enhanced, and the training and rehab of youth and students has been expanded, besides implementing all the provisions of the ISO2600 specifications relevant to Community Responsibility, and the development of national standards of sustainability as a guide for companies.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Commerce was the first Ministry in the Kingdom to be awarded the Committed to Excellence C2E Certificate in 2018. Notably, the evaluation process, and the awarding of the Recognized Excellence Certificate is carried out by international evaluators who are appointed by the headquarters of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) in Belgium.
The Ministry of Commerce is keen to continue the development journey through quality projects and initiatives that may contribute to raising the level of institutional excellence, so that to serve the customers and beneficiaries.
The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) is a non-profit organization, established in Brussels in 1989, and it is a reputable global body for the assessment of institutional excellence for government agencies, the private sector and the non-profit sector. It is considered the global reference in evaluating and assessing the institutional excellence.