African logistics footprint adds muscle to Chinese market penetration

THE HOT spot in Far East trade for Access Freight International is the massive market in China, according to Dean Lailvaux, national sales manager. “The decision to invest in business trips to China has proved to be the right one for Access as it has made a significant difference to our business,” he told FTW. But, he added, this is not a market that can be casually entered – it requires careful study before any venture is undertaken. “We realised that Access needed to take the time to understand the market, the traffic moving on the trade, the service providers, the players – and, indeed, we needed to understand ‘how to do business in China’. “Culture still plays an important role when doing business there, and observing and respecting the Chinese culture has been a significant contributor to our success in this market.” Lailvaux also pointed to the company’s success and experience in providing logistics services into and out of sub-Saharan Africa having given it “a fantastic foot-up” into the Sino-Africa-Sino trade. “China has divided the supply of products into regions,” he said, “and it is incredible to have witnessed their discipline in doing so.” The divide is a north/central/south split, Lailvaux added. “Very generally, the northern regions specialise in heavy industry – the likes of steel, machinery and equipment – as well as the automotive industry and some mineral processing, both natural and artificial. “Southern China, meantime, produces a lot of finished goods, limited only by the imagination. In a lengthy list, this includes electronics, sanitary ware, furniture, air-conditioners and clothing. “The central regions produce the textiles and fabrics, chemicals, hardware and pretty much anything else not handled in the north/south divide.” According to Lailvaux, this diversity and volume of products and cargo moving in-and-out of China allowed Access to select products that supported its strategy, and were best serviced by its infrastructure. “On the inbound side we are moving and handling a significant amount of building material, fully built-up (FBU) vehicle units, mining equipment as well as coking coal,” he said. “On the outbound side we are exporting large volumes of processed minerals as well as raw material mainly into northern China. “The strategic location of our logistics facilities in both Johannesburg and Durban, with supporting container parks, makes the packing, unpacking and cross-docking of these cargoes seamless.” Access is continuing to invest time and resources in developing the Sino-Africa-Sino trade, Lailvaux added, with the development of a “China Desk” in the company ensuring a sustained focus on growing and supporting its current share of this market.