‘Intimate knowledge of the market is crucial’

‘Intimate knowledge of the market is crucial’ LEONARD NEILL CUSTOMS CLEARANCE regulations in Africa vary considerably from country to country, exposing a veritable minefield for the uninformed. That’s the warning from F H Bertling sales and marketing director Mike Benney who has headed a number of projects that have involved dealings in numerous African nations. “You must know your market intimately,” he says. “Always do your homework thoroughly before anticipating exports into Africa. You must have the fundamentals organised before finalising any project plan. It’s also very important to take into account all logistics requirements,” he says. As more African nations open up for development - and South African manufacturers and project designers offer services that are generally more efficient and less costly than others available on an international scale - locally based clients should be encouraged to involve the project management company as early as possible in the planning, says Benney. “We are handling vast volumes of mining and construction material into Angola, which is developing rapidly. Moving capital plants into West African countries like Mali and Ghana calls for strict control. In each case there are different and complicated customs regulations to observe, but the goods are moved through borders far more easily when these rules are understood and observed,” he says. “Multi-modal operations are required in almost every undertaking. Sea and road freight take most of the loads, but chartered aircraft are often deployed. Our service operates on a door-to-door basis. That means full efficiency along the entire logistics pipeline. We are able to do it relatively smoothly because we adopt the stance of getting everything in order before moving the goods and taking responsibility for the logistics chain.”