AS FAST as the e-commerce tidal wave is engulfing the logistics industry, so too is a new language developing to support the new concepts it espouses.
One of the latest to hit the local scene is co-opetition and it's a concept which Bidfreight Logistics managing director Garry Marshall believes is the solution in a smaller market like South Africa.
To reduce distribution costs a large component lies in critical mass volume, and to achieve that in South Africa you need to provide industry-based solutions, says Marshall.
In the textile industry, for example, you can bring true value by providing a supply chain solution for the whole industry rather than for a single company.
And this is where Bidfreight Logistics is currently directing its energy.
It's a concept which has already taken root in the automotive industry in the Eastern Cape where a cluster initiative has seen highly competitive motor manufacturers co-operating in non-competitive areas.
They've realised that collaborating with your competitors does not mean sacrificing your competitive advantage and can be very profitable.
Samcor, Daimler-Chrysler, Delta Motor Corporation and Volkswagen SA, for example, are reported to be enjoying one rate on land freight charges as a result of their clustering contact.
And that's the essence of what Marshall is proposing.
Bidfreight Logistics sees itself as a fourth party logistics (4PL) provider, maximising and leveraging the resources within the group to provide supply chain solutions.
Outsourcing is one of the buzz words doing the rounds, and gaining critical mass is one of its driving motivators. But Marshall contends that this has now come full circle, and the trend overseas is back to insourcing.
The reason, he says, is because true 4PL involves handing over strategic decisions, which are at the heart of an organisation, to an outside party. Something which only the very brave are prepared to do.
The argument against insourcing is that to get distribution costs down, you need critical mass, which is why Marshall believes that the answer could well lie in industry-related solutions.
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