Customer innovation helps Gotrans growth

03 Dec 2010 - by Staff reporter

The African market is one of
significant growth potential,
according to Stephen van Zutphen,
director of Gotrans Freight
Services.
The next few years are a period
of high expectation for Van
Zutphen, with opportunities that he
describes as “endless”.
“SA is truly the gateway into
Africa,” he said, “enabling us to
source and provide commodities at
competitive rates by both air and
sea.
“In the global context, the African
market has provided a fundamental
stepping stone for us during 2009
and 2010, and we anticipate further
large increases in 2011.”
West African markets have
contributed a lot towards the
company’s 30% year-on-year
growth, although East Africa has
also played a noticeable role in this
high growth rate.
But a lot of the positive
growth that company has been
experiencing has to be credited
to the innovation of its customers
– large contractual companies in
the US and UK markets which
have allowed Gotrans to use these
economies of scale to remain
competitive in the ever-tightening
field of relief efforts.
However, Van Zutphen said that
freight forwarders still faced many
challenges when dealing with
Africa. “Especially when it comes
to being seen as a reliable and
consistent agent,” he added. “But
we have managed to streamline our
operation so that it offers a service
that we can be proud of.
“We understand that there
are specific problems when it
comes to dealing with Africa.
But we have found that, through
commitment, communication and
capital resources, these hurdles can
successfully be negotiated.”
Gotrans Freight intends to
continue offering its extensive
range of services in logistics and
clearing and forwarding on both
international and national levels,
according to Van Zutphen.
“Our outlook for Africa is
positive,” he told FTW, “although
we will still have to keep a close
eye on all the cut-price products
flowing in from the eastern
markets.
“But, when cheaper alternatives
are being offered, we always
remind our customers that price is
negotiable – but service and quality
are not.”