Corporate Social Engagement: How Aramex Crosses Boundaries

In response to the Gaza crisis in 2008/9, the global logistics company Aramex decided to use its core competencies for a humanitarian relief campaign and deliver donated items to people in need. Consequently, Aramex had to quickly develop a suitable communication strategy to call for donations, select collection points, clear the goods, pack them in Aramex’s warehouses, and, finally, for how to send them to Gaza. To ensure that the donations reached their destination, Aramex partnered with the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) in Jordan and the Red Crescent in the United Arab Emirates.

This case lays the foundation for discussion of corporate humanitarian relief campaigns and their embeddedness in a broader CSR strategy. More precisely, the key teaching topics include the drivers for CSR, the integration of a social policy into the company, and the concrete planning and implementation of a relief campaign. Major lessons learnt include the areas of coordinating business and social activities, managing volunteer work, working with corporate and charity partners, and using social media to leverage the campaign.