Courier offers attractive outsourced option

Now into its seventh year of operation, JKJ Express has entrenched itself in the domestic courier market, with visa companies, travel agents and Medi-Clinics among its major clients. “It’s a market that demands exceptional service, and that’s the basis on which we’ve built our business,” says joint owner Neville Rudiger. JKJ currently subcontracts any international business that comes its way, but plans are afoot to move into imports and exports at a future date. The company’s national network covers all the major centres, with offices in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein, Pietersburg, Nelspruit and Johannesburg. Essentially it’s a familyrun business with Neville, his two sons Keith and Jason, and nephew Glenn equal shareholders. And for Rudiger, it’s a field in which he has notched up considerable expertise. He arrived in South Africa from Zimbabwe in 1984 and joined Sun Couriers Adfreight. He left the company in 1991 as general manager and opened Zip Express, which he sold to Crossroads Distribution in 1998. With a four-year restraint of trade, he moved into a totally different field – fishing safaris – an interest that he continues to pursue as a hobby rather than a career. Rudiger believes that JKJ is ideally placed to serve its 600-strong account base – not too small and not too large. The majority of cargo moves by air with incompatible items moving by road where necessary. Key to its service offering is keeping clients informed of any problems ahead of time, says Rudiger. “If there’s a plane delayed or if it can’t land in Cape Town because of fog, our client will know before his client contacts him.” For goods moving into Africa, the company subcontracts to a range of reputable overborder operators. Similarly a number of larger forwarding companies use JKJ for their national distribution. “Although we’re not strictly a wholesaler, because of our network we are able to offer an outsourced option for domestic courier business.” The company has 65 staff countrywide and 48 vehicles of varying sizes.