Logistics Services South Africa
Every logistics service your business needs, managed as one operation.
TSI Central Station provides road freight, sea freight, air freight, customs clearing, distribution, warehousing and supply chain solutions for South African importers and exporters. One team. One platform. One point of accountability.
Road Freight South Africa
Road Freight Services Across South Africa and Into Sub-Saharan Africa
Road freight is the dominant mode of cargo movement in South Africa, accounting for the majority of all goods transported across the country. For importers and exporters, getting road freight right means the difference between a landed cost that works and one that quietly erodes margin on every shipment. TSI Central Station manages road freight as part of a fully integrated logistics operation, not as a standalone trucking service.
What TSI manages in road freight
TSI coordinates full truck load and part load movements for importers collecting from port, manufacturers moving between facilities and distributors serving retail networks across South Africa. Every road freight movement is managed through the TSI Digital Control Tower, which means your team has live visibility of the truck, the driver and the estimated delivery time without needing to call anyone.
Why road freight costs more than it should
Most businesses overpay on road freight because they are using a single carrier with no competitive pressure on rate, no visibility on actual transit times and no system to catch delays before they become penalties. TSI operates with a network of vetted carriers across all major corridors, Johannesburg to Cape Town, Johannesburg to Durban, Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth and all cross-border routes into neighbouring countries. That network means TSI can negotiate on your behalf and reroute when a carrier cannot perform.
The two-driver relay that changed the industry
TSI pioneered the non-stop Johannesburg to Cape Town two-driver relay delivery for Procter and Gamble South Africa. At the time, no logistics company in South Africa was running non-stop long-haul deliveries using a relay driver model. That approach is now standard practice across the industry. It started at TSI.
Road Freight Services
Road Freight at TSI
Sea Freight South Africa
Sea Freight Services for South African Importers and Exporters
Sea freight remains the most cost-effective method of moving large volumes of cargo across international trade lanes. For South African importers and exporters, sea freight connects the country to every major global market through the ports of Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Ngqura. TSI Central Station manages sea freight from booking through to final delivery, covering every step between the vessel departure and the cargo reaching your warehouse.
Full container and groupage shipments
TSI handles both full container load shipments for high volume importers and less than container load consolidations for businesses moving smaller cargo volumes on a regular basis. Whether you are importing from Asia, Europe or the Americas, TSI manages the carrier selection, booking, documentation, customs clearance and inland transport as a single coordinated process so nothing falls between parties.
Demurrage and detention management
Demurrage and detention charges are where most importers lose money without realising it. A container that sits at port for two extra days because a document was not ready, or a truck that collected late because nobody was tracking the free time, turns a competitive landed cost into an expensive one. TSI's proactive port management means free time is tracked, documents are ready before the vessel berths and containers move on schedule. LG Electronics South Africa had zero detention and demurrage charges in the 12 months following TSI onboarding.
Ports TSI operates across
TSI manages sea freight through all major South African ports including Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Ngqura, as well as regional ports in Mozambique, Tanzania and other Sub-Saharan African gateways for clients with cross-border import and export requirements.
Sea Freight Services
Sea Freight at TSI
Air Freight South Africa
Air Freight Services for Time-Critical Cargo Into and Out of South Africa
Air freight is the right choice when time is the constraint and sea freight cannot meet the deadline. For South African importers and exporters, air freight connects the country to global markets in days rather than weeks, making it the preferred mode for high-value goods, perishables, urgent spare parts and time-sensitive stock replenishment. TSI Central Station manages air freight as part of a fully coordinated logistics operation, from origin collection through customs clearance at OR Tambo International Airport to final delivery at your facility.
When to use air freight
Air freight makes commercial sense when the cost of delay outweighs the premium over sea freight. A production line that stops because a critical component is stuck on a vessel for six weeks costs far more than the additional air freight rate. TSI helps clients make that calculation correctly by comparing the true landed cost of each mode, including the indirect costs of delay, before committing to a shipment.
Air freight documentation and customs clearance
Air freight moves fast and the documentation has to keep up. An airway bill that is incorrect or a customs entry that is not ready when the cargo lands adds hours or days to a shipment that was booked because speed was essential. TSI prepares all air freight documentation in advance and has dedicated customs clearing capability at OR Tambo so cargo clears on arrival without waiting in a queue.
Consolidations for regular air freight shippers
For businesses that ship smaller volumes by air on a regular basis, TSI offers consolidation options that bring the per-kilogram rate down without sacrificing transit time. Consolidating with other cargo on the same lane means you get the speed of air freight at a rate that works for regular shipments, not just emergencies.
Air Freight Services
Air Freight at TSI
Distribution South Africa
Distribution Services for Importers and Manufacturers Across South Africa
Distribution is where the logistics chain meets the end customer, and it is where most of the cost and most of the risk sits. For importers and manufacturers in South Africa, getting product from a port or warehouse to a retail network, a dealer base or an end customer on time and at the right cost requires coordination across carriers, routes, schedules and proof of delivery systems. TSI Central Station manages distribution as part of an integrated logistics operation, not as a separate last-mile afterthought.
Managed distribution across South Africa
TSI coordinates distribution movements across all nine provinces, managing carrier selection, route planning, scheduling and real-time tracking through the Digital Control Tower. Every delivery is tracked from dispatch to proof of delivery, and your team has visibility of every movement without needing to chase a carrier or a driver for an update. For businesses running high volumes across multiple drop points, that visibility is the difference between managing distribution and being managed by it.
Proof of delivery that actually works
TSI's distribution management includes confirmed proof of delivery within 10 minutes of each drop. That is not a target, it is what TSI delivered for a leading South African energy provider whose previous logistics partner had been managing their account for 20 years without achieving it. When proof of delivery confirmation is late or missing, it creates disputes, delays payment and erodes the client relationship. TSI closes that gap with technology and with people who are accountable for every drop.
Distribution for importers collecting from port
For importers collecting containers from Durban, Cape Town or Port Elizabeth, TSI manages the full distribution leg from port to final delivery point. That includes coordinating the truck at the port gate, managing the inland transport and confirming delivery at every point along the route, all visible on the same platform used for sea freight and customs clearance.
Distribution Services
Distribution at TSI
Warehousing South Africa
Warehousing and Storage Solutions for Importers Across South Africa
Warehousing is not just storage. For importers and distributors in South Africa, a warehouse is where inventory is held between the port and the customer, and how that inventory is managed determines whether your supply chain runs smoothly or breaks down under pressure. TSI Central Station integrates warehousing into the same managed logistics operation that covers your sea freight, customs clearing and distribution, giving you a single platform and a single point of contact across the entire chain.
Warehousing integrated with your logistics operation
Most warehousing providers operate in isolation. They receive the cargo, store it and release it when instructed. What they do not do is connect that activity to your inbound freight status, your customs clearance timeline or your outbound distribution schedule. TSI warehousing is managed through the Digital Control Tower alongside every other logistics activity, which means your team can see what is in the warehouse, what is on the way in and what is scheduled to go out, all on the same screen.
Short term and overflow storage
For importers managing seasonal peaks, large container volumes or cargo that needs to be held before distribution, TSI provides short term and overflow warehousing at its Meadowdale facility in Johannesburg. Cargo is receipted, stored and managed with full inventory visibility and released on instruction with same-day turnaround for urgent distribution requirements.
Redelivery and container unpacking
TSI managed warehousing for Procter and Gamble South Africa included container collection from port, storage, demurrage management and redelivery across the national distribution network. That end-to-end capability, from the port gate to the warehouse bay to the final delivery point, is what separates TSI from a standalone storage provider.
Warehousing Services
Warehousing at TSI
Cross-Border Trucking South Africa
Cross-Border Trucking Into Sub-Saharan Africa From South Africa
Cross-border trucking into Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most complex logistics operations a South African business can manage. Border posts, transit documentation, customs requirements in multiple jurisdictions, driver compliance and cargo security all have to be coordinated simultaneously for a single movement to go through without delay. TSI Central Station manages cross-border trucking as part of its integrated logistics operation, with the relationships, documentation capability and Digital Control Tower visibility to move cargo across borders without the surprises that cost businesses time and money.
Key corridors TSI operates on
TSI manages cross-border trucking on the major Sub-Saharan corridors including Johannesburg to Harare via Beit Bridge, Johannesburg to Lusaka via Chirundu, Johannesburg to Maputo via Lebombo and Johannesburg to Gaborone via Tlokweng. Each corridor has its own regulatory requirements, transit documentation and border clearance procedures. TSI's team knows each one and manages the documentation before the truck reaches the border so nothing waits at the gate.
Transit documentation and border clearance
The most common cause of cross-border delay is documentation that is incomplete or incorrect at the border post. A SADC certificate of origin that does not match the commercial invoice, or a transit permit that has not been pre-lodged, can hold a truck for days at a border with real costs accumulating by the hour. TSI prepares all transit documentation in advance, pre-lodges where the border allows it and has contacts at the major border posts to resolve exceptions before they become delays.
Cargo security on cross-border routes
Cross-border cargo in Sub-Saharan Africa faces security risks that domestic road freight does not. TSI manages cross-border movements with vetted carriers who meet TSI's security requirements, real-time tracking through the Digital Control Tower and driver check-in protocols on all major corridors so your cargo is visible and accountable from departure to delivery.
Cross-Border Trucking Services
Cross-Border at TSI
Supply Chain Solutions South Africa
Supply Chain Solutions for South African Importers and Exporters
Supply chain management in South Africa is not a single service. It is the coordination of every element between the supplier and the end customer, across multiple modes, multiple parties and multiple risk points, managed as one accountable operation. TSI Central Station provides supply chain solutions that bring sea freight, air freight, road freight, customs clearing, warehousing and distribution under a single managed service, visible on one platform and managed by one team. That is what makes TSI a supply chain solutions provider rather than a collection of logistics vendors.
What a managed supply chain solution means in practice
A managed supply chain solution from TSI means your business has one number to call, one platform to check and one team accountable for every movement from origin to final delivery. When a vessel is delayed, TSI identifies the impact on your distribution schedule and proposes a solution before you know there is a problem. When a customs entry is queried, TSI resolves it without waiting for you to chase. When a carrier cannot perform, TSI reroutes without starting the process again from scratch. That level of coordination is what businesses with complex supply chains need and rarely find in a single provider.
Cost reduction through supply chain visibility
Most businesses do not know what their logistics is actually costing them. They know the freight invoice. They do not know the detention charges, the storage costs, the emergency air freight that replaced a late sea shipment, the driver waiting time at the gate or the production delays caused by a missed delivery. TSI's supply chain solution brings all of that into one visible, managed operation so the real cost is known, controlled and reduced. One TSI client saved R20 million in the first year simply by having that visibility for the first time.
Supply chain solutions built on 20 years of South African logistics
TSI has been managing integrated supply chains for South African businesses since 2006. The Digital Control Tower that powers the TSI supply chain solution was built internally, refined over two decades and is used today by some of South Africa's largest importers. It is not a generic platform adapted for logistics. It was built for logistics from the first line of code.
Supply Chain Solutions
Supply Chain at TSI
Work with TSI
One call. One team. Your entire logistics operation managed.
TSI Central Station has been managing logistics for South African importers and exporters since 2006. Tell us what you move and we will tell you what it should cost.
Trusted by LG Electronics South Africa, Procter and Gamble South Africa and leading importers across South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa since 2006. Level 2 B-BBEE certified.