EDI will cut up to five hours off documentation processing

KEVIN MAYHEW ONE OF the oldest operators at the Beit Bridge border post is Manica, which offers the full spectrum of services for import and export of general cargo. Affilliated to the Bidvest Group, Manica operates warehousing facilities in Johannesburg as well. It is primarily involved in clearing and forwarding through Durban and Johannesburg. Manica operations manager, Melitta Barke, says they are presently moving a lot of ground nuts and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia. She says the company will switch to full EDI documentation handling soon which will speed up the process of documentation by up to five hours. “In many respects the whole process is being facilitated by technology and also the willingness of the authorities on both sides of the border to work together to find solutions to speed up documentation processing,” she says. Already such an arrangement is operating effectively to make the work of her 28 staff that much easier and less frustrating.