When the supply chain breaks
When the supply chain breaks COVID-19 has exposed the reliance of companies on their supply chains and weaknesses in business continuity management. What is the right way to deal with the next crisis? Thusang Mahlangu, CEO of Allianz in South Africa, shares his thoughts. Admittedly, it is not easy to take a positive view of […]
Spotlight On: Warehousing – A Foundation for Economic Growth
Spotlight On: Warehousing – A Foundation for Economic Growth – Warehousing South Africa
Q&A with the CEO: The Rise of Shipping Costs
Q&A with the CEO: The Rise of Shipping Costs Shipping costs continue to increase rapidly, and this has become a sore point for many importers and exporters, and ultimately impacts businesses and economies. We chatted with TSI Central Station’s CEO, Clifford Blackburn, to get his take on shipping costs. Q: What are the main drivers […]
Supply Chain Functioning During Civil Unrest
Supply Chain Functioning During Civil Unrest Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse after the third wave of the pandemic in South Africa, they did. Over the past few weeks, there has been significant civil unrest throughout the country, and especially in KwaZulu Natal. The rioting and looting during this time caused major damage […]
Spotlight On: Why do you need a freight forwarder in an increasingly digitalised world?
Spotlight On: Why do you need a freight forwarder in an increasingly digitalised world? There’s no stopping or even slowing down the rate that the world is digitalising! You’ve either got to get with it or get left behind. This is especially true in the logistics industry, which has become more reliant on technology since […]
Embracing Digitalisation in Warehousing
Embracing Digitalisation in Warehousing Warehousing and distribution are some of many elements of logistics that have been influenced by Covid-19, and this has changed the way they are viewed by manufacturers. Due to supply chains being disrupted and consumers swapping in-store purchases for online purchases, many manufacturers have moved towards creating a more direct-to-customer (DTC) […]
Spotlight On: Cheaper is Not Always Better
Spotlight On: Cheaper is Not Always Better You’ve probably heard of the saying “cheaper is not always better” at least once in your lifetime. Well, this is true when it comes to logistics too! In this blog post we’re putting the spotlight on WHY cheaper isn’t always better, and how you can make sure you […]
Note To C-Level Executives: Get Serious, Or Get Seriously Hurt!
Note To C-Level Executives: Get Serious, Or Get Seriously Hurt! Overall, CEOs and C-level executives are not happy about soaring freight costs, and they have questions about the CODE RED conditions in the transportation marketplace. They also are questioning what their companies should be doing to address how supply chain issues are impacting their operations […]
Spotlight On: Maputo Port Embraces Automation
Spotlight On: Maputo Port Embraces Automation There are many lessons that we have learned from COVID-19, and while it has brought with it its fair share of challenges, it has also presented some important opportunities in many industries, including logistics. Maputo Port has taken advantage of the opportunities and taken automation to the next level! […]
Current Look at Freight Transport in SA
Current Look at Freight Transport in SA The Ctrack Freight Transport Index (The Ctrack FTI) tracks 6 of the major logistics sectors of the South African economy, and we’re putting the spotlight on the most recent results and what these say about logistics in South Africa currently. Here are some of the key findings from […]
Engen to shut refinery and repurpose KZN site as an import terminal
South African petroleum products group Engen announced on Friday that it would shut the Engen Refinery and convert the site, located south of Durban, into an import terminal and product storage facility by the end of 2023. Engen said the refinery-to-terminal (RTT) repurposing initiative was based on a strategic evaluation, which confirmed the refinery was […]
E-commerce Expansion Causes Rapid Growth in the Courier Industry
Have you shopped online in the past 6 months? We are guessing that the answer to that question in this day and age is yes, and if you haven’t personally then someone in your family probably has bought something online. While shopping online was gaining popularity before the pandemic, this only helped to accelerate its […]
Top 5 Supply Chain Security Concerns and Best Practices to Address Them
The average cost of a data breach is nearly $4 million, so companies need to protect their supply chains with security comprised of a combination of layered defenses. A recent report showed us that the 2020 threat landscape was largely shaped by the pandemic. As businesses raced to transition to cloud environments to keep their businesses’ […]
Preparing Your Data for AI, Blockchain, and other Emerging Technologies
One of the biggest mistakes companies often make is chasing after the next, new shiny technology application without first clearly defining the business problem or opportunity they’re looking to address — and without first getting their data in order. Why do companies still struggle with data quality management? How do you get over the change […]
How Solid is Your Supply Chain?
With the massive expansion of the supply chain, the risk has also increased due to a greater attack surface. More common threats such as cyber security, are still around and even more sophisticated, and natural disasters have and will always be a threat to the supply chain, but COVID-19 has been one threat that has […]
What We Can Learn from the Ever Given Suez Canal Incident
The news of the cargo ship, Ever Given, blocking the Suez Canal took the focus off COVID-19 for a bit and was certainly a topic of interest around the world, as well as being a focus of many an entertaining meme! While this incident caused a fair bit of trouble, there are also a number […]
New survey highlights opportunities to future-proof supply chains
According to new research from Orange Business Services, supply chains in 40% of multinational corporations were unable to cope with the crisis created by the pandemic. The report surveyed 320 enterprises, focusing on the manufacturing, transport and logistics sectors, across 18 countries between August and October 2020. The survey, carried out for by independent research […]
Four Questions to Determine the Ideal Supply Chain Technology Provider
As we look to 2021, the phrase “prepare for the unknown” has been stuck in my head. Many people over the past few months have used this phrase as a warning, promising that the supply chain world this year will be extremely unpredictable, even when a coronavirus vaccine becomes widely available. This expression could also […]