For The House of Busby, one
of South Africa’s leading
distributors and retailers of
branded apparel, luggage,
footwear and handbags, it’s all about
innovation.
It’s the company’s unconventional
approach that has made the
difference – and this applies equally
in the logistics sector.
Bronwyn Engelbrecht, the
company’s strategic sourcing
manager, said when it came
to choosing and developing a
relationship with a logistics service
provider, it was never going to be in
the traditional and orthodox way.
“Ours is best described as a
strategic partnership, a collaboration,
and the benefits have been
significant,” she tells FTW. “The
way in which we have partnered is a
philosophy that I started to develop
when I was a service provider in this
industry. I always had a belief that
if our customers would collaborate
with us in an open and meaningful
manner our ability to leverage
opportunity and create success
within their and our business would
be huge. The role of the supply chain
function within organisations was
becoming a sophisticated enabler
of growth and revenue and the
traditional relationship of master
and servant had to change. The
relationship had to be symbiotic.”
It was this approach that
Engelbrecht implemented.
“It’s a committed partnership built
on respect and trust, orchestrating
skilled and dedicated people who
accept accountability,” she said.
Easier said than done taking into
account the volume of the House
of Busby. On any given day the
company, which sources from some
60 or more ports around the world
into 20 active divisions, has around
two tons of cargo in the air and at
least 80 containers on the water – all
branded luxury items that are moved
from one side of the world to the
other.
“Our partnership and
collaborative approach has proved
that significant time and cost
benefits can still be realised in
modern international supply
chains,” says Engelbrecht. “Applying
joint optimisation principles we
have realised a 17% annualised
actual cost saving, as well as a 20%
improvement in lead time from the
source to the distribution centre.”
A major achievement in anyone’s
book.
“We simply have taken an
approach that we are no longer each
other’s customer, but partners,”
explains Engelbrecht who admits
that rate played hardly any role at
all in the decision-making process of
appointing a service provider.
CAPTION
Bronwyn Engelbrecht in the Busby factory in Alberton.
Busby’s unconventional approach
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