The Gauteng
government could
do so much more
to support business
growth in the province,
including addressing
transport infrastructure
headaches,
according to
Deric Knox,
national
parts
administrator for global
import and export company
Bobcat Equipment SA.
“There is ongoing talk
about the much-vaunted
National Infrastructure
Plan but this still needs
to be realised,” Knox said,
noting that exports out
of Gauteng were
largely limited to
road and air.
“We could
do with a
more efficient
and more
extensive rail
system,” Knox
pointed out.
The company
is the sole
distributor of
the Bobcat range
of compact
construction equipment in
southern Africa targeted at
the construction, mining,
agricultural and earth
moving sectors.
The range of Bobcat
products is fully assembled
and imported as a whole
– from as far afield as
the United
States,
Turkey,
France and
the Czech
Republic.
“As we are
far away
from these
factories,
we also have
to carefully
manage our
lead times to
ensure we meet local and
regional demand for our
products and don’t lose
out to a competitor,” Knox
explained.
In his view the biggest
balancing act to ensure
an importer/exporter
meets market demand and
stays a step ahead of the
competition is planning
“as best as you can”, and
forecasting sales and
delivery needs to prevent
under- or over-stocking.
The f luctuating exchange
rate was also a challenge,
he added, noting that
Bobcat took forward cover
on the rand to better
manage the volatility.
Bobcat has nine
branches in
South Africa
servicing
customers
directly,
along with
several subdistributors
nationally
and in
neighbouring
countries.
The
company’s
head office and main
warehouse and distribution
centre is based in
Johannesburg. Local
parts delivery is handled
in-house but sometimes
couriers are used for
emergency items.
“Transport of the heavy
machines is outsourced
to a number of logistics
companies with each
selected for their expertise
in the size of the project
and/or the area covered.
To keep competitive in an
economically challenging
market, we try to keep our
supply chain as smooth and
reliable as possible,”
He highlighted that
ongoing traffic congestion
in the province was driving
up distribution costs. “A
volatile exchange rate
can inf luence demand for
exports out of Gauteng
into the rest of Africa and
keeping distribution costs
down is one way we can
stay competitive,” he said.
According to Knox,
the province’s e-tolling
system has also driven
up distribution costs
significantly. “We don’t
see much happening
to improve any of the
transport challenges,” he
said.
Another challenge for
the construction equipment
company is obtaining oversized
machine permits to comply
with current regulations,
which cause further delays in
getting the product to market.
“Borders remain tricky as
well,” said Knox.
INSERT & CAPTION
We could do with a
more efficient and
more extensive rail
system.
– Deric Knox
