Convenient location comes at a price

IMPORTERS AND exporters are
increasingly forced to carry the
costs of cross-hauling containers
to storage facilities some distance
from Durban harbour as facilities in
closer proximity are either no longer
available or come at a premium.
“Demand is especially high in the
Bayhead area, and so are the rates,”
says Ken Dickson of Rohek Industrial
Warehousing, which is conveniently
situated close to the port. “In the
old days warehousing was seen as
a necessary evil, when cargo had
to be placed in the ‘store’. Today
warehousing is an integral part of the
logistics chain.”
In order to handle and manage
the cargo, IT solutions are essential
to keep track and create a paper
trail for all cargo moving through
the warehouse. “The cost of setting
this up has to be recouped from
somewhere, which is why the days
of cheap warehousing are over,” says
Dickson.
Careful planning of cargo
movements is an integral part of
minimising touches, especially when
it comes to running FIFO (freight in
freight out) operations. “You need
access to the cargo without having
to move mountains before you can
move it.”
The company boasts an
impressive 30 000m2 warehouse
with all loading and offloading
taking place under one roof.
Rohek targets both import and
export cargo in 20- and 40-foot
containers which is on the move
and doesn’t need to be stored
for long periods of time. “We do
cross-haul transport, which has
become a major problem thanks
to congestion at the container
terminal, Bayhead road and at
Point, with very little light at the
end of the tunnel at the moment,”
says Dickson.