‘Taking logistics into a new dimension’
Dheenan Naidoo . . . providing a clickable and seamless
solution.
SUPPLY CHAIN management in South Africa is a strategic asset as most producers are far removed from their markets.
It’s about collaboration, building sustainable relationships, enabling businesses to grow and collectively become more efficient.
That’s the view of B2Bafrica executive manager, eLogistics, Dheenan Naidoo, who believes that the company is in an ideal position to add value in the supply chain, enabling buyers, suppliers, shippers and service providers to communicate on a transparent digital platform.
The idea is to create a real trading platform for logistics, and then roll that out into Africa.
“We have really taken logistics into the next dimension and want to make it clickable and seamless,” says Naidoo.
B2Bafrica’s integrated logistics platform incorporates best of breed technology, which converges the channels through which information is transferred into a single wired interface.
It increases accessibility and transparency to carriers, shippers and third party service providers, facilitating changes in supply and demand behaviour.
But the key to it all, in Naidoo’s view, is collaboration.
“The sooner South African industry starts to take a macro view of the world the better. To get South Africa globally competitive, we need to compete on a global scale.”
The B2B eLogistics solution enables a manufacturer who has received an overseas order, at the point of commencement of manufacturing, to place an order for rail transport, based on the manufacturing completion date.
“This triggers the necessary logistics procedures to ensure timeous delivery. Each delivery service provider, whether road, rail, sea or air transportation, receives a true demand signal.
“The glass pipe concept enables all players to see the signal instantaneously and have the opportunity to act on it timeously,” said Naidoo.
The system will set off a contingency plan should a certain transport mode not be available. “Portnet, for example, will know exactly when a particular container is due by rail or road and will have the necessary forewarning to plan for contingencies,” he added.
And because it is internet enabled, it can be accessed anywhere in the world.
“In order for businesses to maintain the pace of change and sustain growth, they need to have access to a highly effective and integrated digital platform that
converges all activity into one central
trading environment.
“At B2Bafrica we believe that whatever the business and whatever the needs, we have end-to-end solutions aimed at connecting companies, people and information across disparate environments,” he said.
