CT logistics operators more ready to collaborate

Cape Town-based logistics operators appear to have embraced the collaboration imperative well ahead of their counterparts in the rest of the country, based on the results of a recent supply chain survey. Supply Chain Intelligence Report (SCIR) 2009 has revealed that while companies in South Africa generally operate with low levels of collaboration, companies based in Cape Town appear to collaborate more than companies located elsewhere in South Africa. The SCIR is an annual, independent and international study into the supply chain and logistics practices of emerging economies around the world. Developed and compiled by TerraNova Research, the 2009 edition saw over 200 senior company officials, from a variety of industries and from both a strategic and supply chain perspective, take part in an in-depth survey. The analysis of the results by region indicated that companies based in Cape Town collaborated more with suppliers and customers than companies based elsewhere in South Africa. This is particularly true with regard to collaboration with suppliers. Approximately 48.1% of Cape Town based companies collaborate with suppliers compared with the overall total sample which stands at only 34.6%. The same finding holds true for collaboration with customers, although only marginally so, as 29.9% of Cape Town based companies indicate they collaborate with customers compared to 28.3% of the total sample. Similarly, the Cape Town based companies indicated a much lower perception of risk in collaboration than companies located elsewhere in South Africa. With regard to suppliers, only 16.8% of the Cape Townbased respondents perceive collaborative relationships to be risky in some form or another, compared with 20.6% for the total sample. In terms of risk when collaborating with customers, 18.7% of the Cape Town-based companies believe such collaborative relationships are risky, compared to 24.2% for the total sample. The Cape Town-based companies also indicate that they are collaborating with their competitors far more than companies located in other parts of South Africa. Only 49.5% of Cape Town based companies are either not, or have no intention of collaborating with their competitors, compared to 65.0% of the total sample.