Growing transhipments increase need for security intervention

Thanks to the highly specialised nature of its business, Guardforce International Transportation has seen a steady growth in its niche offering in recent years. According to Richard Poulton, director: operations, sales and marketing for the company, there has been an increased need for the protection of specific types of air cargo in recent times. While most vulnerable cargo comprises high-tech electronic equipment and is almost entirely imports, increasingly there is a trend towards transhipment cargo with a final destination in other parts of Africa, says Poulton. “A new segment in the vulnerable cargo arena is specialised pharmaceutical products which, if stolen, are misused in the illegal drug trade. Because of this sensitivity, these products require a high degree of protection along the whole of the logistics chain.” But, he says, traditional markets have also held up surprisingly well despite the 2009 global downturn. “One aspect we did notice was that traditionally busy and slack periods did not follow their usual patterns and we were very busy when we would normally have expected the opposite. 2010 has followed this trend and the World Cup also skewed the usual patterns with a marked spike prior to its commencement,” said Poulton. He says the challenges of operating in a niche market mainly centre around promoting a sense of awareness of the need to protect goods that will be stolen if not secured. “Communication of the realities of the SA situation needs to be made very clear to the origin stations and the cost of providing security must be factored in right at the outset. Too often these costs become a source of dispute when they are not included as part of the purchase terms.”