CFR Freight starting to benefit from logistical consolidation services

A year after launching its own consolidation services cross border, CFR Freight is starting to see the dividends. Speaking to FTW, CFR’s road freight manager, Hilton Tait, said that the company had proven its reliability on the routes to Zambia and
Zimbabwe, and as a result, support levels were continuing to increase. Currently, CFR is looking to extend its consolidation services to Malawi and Mozambique. Said Tait: “In the third quarter of 2018, we
introduced a consolidation service to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was on a transshipment basis, via a bond store in Kitwe, Zambia. Unfortunately, congestion and delays at the border gave rise to increased costs and ongoing issues between customs officials in both Zambia and the DRC, which meant we couldn’t offer the advertised service.” Despite being forced to suspend the service earlier this year, Tait said it remained under review and had high hopes that a workable alternative could be arranged. “One area of growth has been the cross-docking of full container load (FCL) containers and breakbulk delivery to over-border
destinations,” he added. “We have seen a number of agents showing interest in these services, and the nice thing is that this is a cross-section of companies, from small ones to large multinationals, that need the services of ZacPak’s bonded facility.” He said that because of its increasing consolidation services, CFR Freight had appointed new agents in Zambia, equipped with the necessary infrastructure that was required at the border posts. Zambia had large, wellequipped depots in Lusaka and Kitwe, added Tait. He said one of the company’s major challenges with cross-border remained pricing. “As middlemen to the clearing and forwarding industry, we are never quoting to the actual shipper or consignee. We have no control over what mark-ups are being added to our rates and therefore we never know how competitive we are. “We have established a number of agents that have unrealistic expectations on margins and this leaves us no chance of securing business,” said Tait. “We are finding that price is becoming the main driver in most cases. It’s an uphill struggle trying to offer a product which is backed by a well-appointed vendor with the right service levels at the required rate. But the alternative option of compromising service levels is not something we can accept.”