‘Inland port’ takes the strain off Durban transport congestion

RECOGNISING THE heavy transport congestion in Durban, Silic Logistics has become the first logistics management company to open an “inland port” – reducing the number of vehicles accessing the city, and offering an out-of-town, inter-modal storage and distribution hub for cargo traffic in-and-out of the port city. This has seen Silic, which has evolved into full logistics from its beginnings as a cross-border transport brokerage company, signing up a five-year deal, and acquiring a 14 000m2 warehousing and distribution complex in Cato Ridge – inland of the metropolitan area. “We have big plans for Cato Ridge,” said financial director, Nick Fountain, “targeting a monthly volume of 30 000-t of freight transiting the depot.” It is going to include a basic shift from rubber to rail. “For incoming cargo we’ll have it road hauled into the Cato Ridge facility, transiting the warehouse and being moved directly to the ship by rail,” Fountain told FTW. “This will comply with the Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA) appeal to reduce the number of trucks coming into the city of Durban, and offer a considerably quicker turnaround for road haulage operators.” Silic Logistics also offers a reverse procedure for outgoing cargo from the port city. “Our function starts at the ship’s side as the cargo is unloaded,” said marketing director Angus Dustan, “from where we leasehold transport and warehouse the freight before its distribution to its final destination.” Logistics management, according to operations director Warren Sievwright, is the cornerstone of supply and distribution, and has historically been a point of concern for any organisation with high service standards. “With this in mind,” he said, “Silic Logistics was established on the principle of identifying the errors in the supply chain and – through the management team’s many years of experience – we have established that the four pillars of quality logistics management are integrity, reliability, communication and security. “Through 24-hour, 7-days-a-week communication channels with our suppliers, we are well-placed to deal with any event that should arise with our client’s goods – identifying the likely shortfalls before the situation can materialise, and then establishing the bridges over these gaps.”