Saudi businesses are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence, automation and digital infrastructure to strengthen their ability to compete in international trade, with nearly two-thirds viewing AI and advanced analytics as highly relevant or transformational to the future of trade, a new Standard Chartered study has found.
The bank’s latest Future of Trade report, Navigating an Age of Structural Uncertainty, surveyed 2,100 senior corporate decision-makers across 27 markets. Saudi respondents placed greater importance than the global average on all five technology trends assessed.
Cloud infrastructure and data integration ranked highest, cited by 76% of Saudi businesses, compared with 70% globally. Artificial intelligence and advanced analytics followed at 64%, while 63% identified automation and robotics as important, against 52% globally.
Digital trade platforms and ecosystems were cited by 57% of Saudi respondents, while 55% pointed to blockchain and digital assets.
The findings also indicate that Saudi businesses are building the digital foundations needed to support these emerging technologies. Some 90% reported early-stage or mature implementation of cybersecurity and risk management, compared with 84% globally.
Automated payments and collections have reached early-stage or mature implementation among 77% of Saudi respondents, while 70% reported similar progress in real-time cash visibility.
Businesses are also reporting tangible gains from these digital investments. Nearly half (47%) said digital supply chain finance platforms were already delivering clear benefits, compared with 43% globally. Another 44% reported benefits from real-time visibility of shipments and logistics, compared with 39% globally.
Investment in these capabilities is expected to continue. Over the next three to five years, 57% of Saudi businesses plan to invest in digital supply chain finance platforms. Half plan further investment in real-time cash visibility, while the same proportion expects to invest in cybersecurity and risk management.
The companies surveyed also expect digitalisation to generate significant efficiencies across the trade cycle. Some 93% anticipate at least a 10% reduction in the cost of processing trade documents and data.
Meanwhile, 89% expect similar reductions in meeting compliance and regulatory requirements and in coordinating shipments and logistics. Some 87% anticipate at least a 10% reduction in identifying and collaborating with overseas counterparties, while 81% expect comparable savings in payments and settlements.
Digitalisation is also being viewed as a way to improve resilience. Some 86% of Saudi respondents said digital tools allow their organisations to respond more quickly to supply-chain disruptions, slightly ahead of the global figure of 83%.
The Saudi findings form part of a wider shift towards digitally enabled global trade. Standard Chartered’s report includes an illustrative “Digital Acceleration” scenario, under which faster trade digitalisation could increase global trade by 6.9%, equivalent to US$2.8 trillion, by 2031 compared with the Oxford Economics baseline forecast.
The findings suggest that for Saudi companies, AI adoption is increasingly being considered not as a standalone technology investment but as part of a broader digital transformation of trade, spanning supply chains, payments, compliance, logistics and cross-border business.
