Exporting to 100 countries demands fastidious execution

There lies a simile between the intricate, unfettered movements of a successful global shipper and a precision Swiss timepiece – and no need to look further for fastidious execution than Distell, one of Africa’s leading marketers of wine, spirits, ciders and ready-to-drinks. Functioning in perfect harmony, much like that precision-made wristwatch, requires the utmost care and attention to planning detail. Success is dependent on the input of many players but logistics is unquestionably a key cog in the mechanism of any successful business. That much is acknowledged by JSE-listed Distell, a group that continues to deepen its global footprint. Not only is it the major player in Africa, but active in 100 countries, with a global staff complement of some 4 000 people. “Logistics is absolutely crucial to Distell and we have built a very reliable service to enable us to deliver on our promise to customers,” says Danie Smith, group GM, international logistics. It involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, materialhandling and packaging. Distell’s international logistics division is responsible for export stock planning and sales forecasting co-ordination, operating at three levels – an operational prognosis over 13 weeks, an 18-month tactical forecast and a five-year strategic level outlook. “That is where we start, to enable us to carry out material and stock planning, followed by the receipt of production orders and handling all shipping and load planning detail, on top of product finishing,” says Smith, whose portfolio embraces much of Africa (excluding South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho) and the rest of the world. Product finishing is, in itself, an exacting routine, given global customers and international governments have very specific, often varying, import requirements – so too South Africa in the export context. By way of example, Smith explains that whereas one “12-pack” of 750ml bottles of Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon might be par for the course in South Africa, certain international customers require “six-packs” of the same product, with either corks or screw top closures (the latter gaining favour these days) and a stipulation by some foreign governments that labelling include the importer’s address. All wines exported have to be analysed by the Department of Agriculture and tasted by Sawis (S A Wine Industry Information and Systems) and each and every line item exported must have an (export) certificate as well as a lot number detailing the link to the production plant, production line and date of the wine’s production. “That has to be very carefully controlled, otherwise you could be in trouble as penalties in some recipient countries are extremely harsh. A single digit error could cost a company millions of rand.” Distell has to be mindful that product pricing and export delivery routing remain ever-important to the customer. To this end, it has appointed J F Hillebrand as its main freight forwarder but relies on more than two dozen others given Hillebrand does not have representation all over the world. For shipping, the group relies in the main on the Saecs container line grouping (Maersk, Safmarine, MOL and DAL) and a dozen or so other carriers, including MSC, Hapag-Lloyd and Macs. Much like creating a fine piece of furniture or work of art, Distell practises brand crafting, once more commonly known as brandbuilding, to develop and grow its impressive range of products. That encompasses a portfolio of 32 wines, including Nederburg, Two Oceans, Chateau Libertas, Drostdy-Hof, and top international seller Amarula, the creamy liqueur made from the fruit of the marula tree for which elephants and humans alike have a particular penchant. Also up there are perennial favourites Tassenberg red (Born 1936), for years a “soul mate” to thousands of university students, Klipdrift brandy, Savanna Dry and Hunters Dry cider, Count Pushkin vodka and Bisquit cognac. Distell’s top-ranking six sellers in Africa and the rest of the world are Savanna, Two Oceans, Drostdy- Hof, Nederburg, Amarula and Obikwa wine. The Stellenbosch-based group, in common with so many other global players in these harsh economic times, is wary of crystal ball-like predictions as to what the future holds, but Smith remains optimistic. “Competition is extremely tough worldwide and though we are relatively small outside of Africa, there are still many opportunities for us.” The forerunner to Distell was Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery (SFW), established in 1925 with a modest £2 000 investment by partners Charles Winshaw and Susanna Elizabeth Krige. More than 75 years later, it has emerged as a giant, with an asset value of R972 million and annual turnover of R2 billion. The Distell Group came into being in 2000 through a merger of the SFW Group. and Distillers Corporation (SA). Last year total sales volumes grew 10.8%, international revenue was up 36.9%, total revenue up 15.5% to nearly R11 billion (R10 863 728) and operating profit up 4.8%, to R1 411 006. Distell is one of Africa’s leading marketers of fine wines and spirits, ciders and ready-to-drinks, attributing key strengths to local market leadership, high brand awareness levels, an extensive distribution set-up, strong trade relationships and established international marketing and trading networks. Subsidiaries include Distell Limited (100% owned), Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery (100%), Nederburg Wines (100%) and Lomond Wine Estates (100%). A 15% ordinary shareholding is held by BEE grouping, Wiphold Beverages. Outside of South Africa, Distell has 100% ownership in wholesale distributors Distell Botswana, Distell Namibia, Distell Swaziland, Distell Wine Masters, Kenya, and a 35% stake in Tanzania Distilleries. The group says in its most recent overview: “Consumer branding is at the heart of everything we do and starts with our marketing strategies as the driver of business change. “Our long-term success depends on our ability to build and develop brands to satisfy customer needs.” Smith has the final word:”We will never stop trying to satisfy.”