About TSI Central Station
Built on one principle.
We never lie to clients.
TSI Central Station was founded in 2006 to fix what was broken in South African logistics. Twenty years later, that principle still runs every shipment we manage.
TSI Central Station is South Africa's intelligent logistics operator. We manage the full logistics chain for importers, exporters and businesses that move goods across South Africa and into Sub-Saharan Africa. Sea freight, air freight, road transport, cross-border trucking, customs clearing and distribution, all under one roof, all managed by one dedicated team member who owns your shipment from origin to final delivery.
We are not a freight broker. We are not a clearing agent. We are the single point of accountability between your business and the complexity of international trade, and we have the technology, the people and the track record to prove the difference.
How it started
We started TSI because we were tired of people lying to clients.
In 2006, logistics in South Africa ran on excuses. Trucks were always "just around the corner." Shipments were always "on the way." Clients waited, chased and never got a straight answer. Nobody was held accountable and nobody seemed bothered by that.
We started TSI Central Station with a different model. Real-time information used internally so the team always knew the facts before the client called. One person assigned to your entire supply chain, not separate specialists for air and sea who passed problems between each other. A system built from the ground up in 2006, when nobody else in South African logistics was using technology at all.
In the first month TSI turned over R40,000. In the second month, R6 million. The market was ready for a logistics company that simply told the truth.
I was tired of people lying to clients. In this industry, the truth was rare. We built TSI on the idea that a client deserves facts, not what someone thinks they want to hear. That has never changed.
Clifford Blackburn, CEO, TSI Central Station
The platform
Technology built for logistics operators, not for demos.
TSI wrote its own system in 2006 when no other logistics company in South Africa was using technology at all. What the industry now calls a control tower, TSI was already running. Today that platform is the Digital Control Tower, available to every TSI client.
Live shipment visibility
You see the status of every shipment in real time, across every mode of transport, from origin to delivery. No chasing. No waiting for a call back.
Single dashboard for everything
Documents, customs status, port updates, transport tracking and exception alerts all in one place. One login. One view. No emails to five different parties.
One person, your entire supply chain
Where other companies assign separate specialists to each mode, TSI trains its people to manage your full supply chain. The same person handles sea, air, road and clearing.
Landed cost before commitment
TSI calculates your full landed cost upfront, covering freight, duties, port charges and all ancillary costs, before you commit to a shipment, not after the invoice lands.
24/7 operations, real people
TSI operates around the clock. When you need an update at 11pm before a critical delivery, you reach a person who knows your shipment, not a bot reading from a script.
Exception management built in
The system flags problems before they become costs. Port delays, documentation issues and customs holds are caught early so your team can act, not react.
What TSI built for us in 2006 is what the industry now calls a control tower. They were doing it before it had a name.
Josh Hamman
GM, Logistics, LG Electronics South Africa
The team
The people behind every shipment.
Technology moves information. People move cargo. TSI invests in both because neither works without the other.
Clifford Blackburn
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Clifford's vision in 2006 with a simple conviction that logistics clients deserved honesty, visibility and a single accountable partner. He has built TSI into the only independent intelligent logistics operator of its kind in South Africa.
Kevin Ross
Chief Operating Officer
Kevin oversees the day-to-day operations that keep TSI delivering on its promises. His focus is on the systems, processes and people that ensure every shipment is managed to the standard TSI clients expect.
Jack Phalane
Chief Legal Officer
Jack leads the legal and compliance function at TSI, ensuring that every shipment, contract and customs engagement meets the regulatory requirements of South African and international trade law.
Behind the leadership team is a staff of more than 100 logistics professionals across Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, each trained to manage your full supply chain from a single point of contact.
TSI by the numbers
Twenty years of results that speak for themselves.
Trusted by LG Electronics, Procter and Gamble and leading importers across South Africa since 2006.
Work with TSI
Find out what your logistics is actually costing you.
TSI offers a free landed cost audit for importers and exporters who want to know where their money is going before they move another shipment.
Get Your Free Audit