Large volumes equal competitive rates

This year is proving to be “a
year of growth for UTi
Zambia”, says general
manager Brian Brits.
“The recovery of demand
for commodities, competitive
pricing strategies and
stabilisation of the economies
of Zambia and its neighbours
have all contributed to business
coming back,” he says. Road,
rail, sea and airfreight volumes
are all up on previous years and
consolidation business has also
shown signs of recovery.
Much of this can be attributed
to clients utilising UTi on
an end-to-end basis across
its international network of
owned offices. “Because of
our large volumes, we are able
to negotiate competitive rates
from preferred partners and
can pass on the cost benefit to
our clients. We have a healthy
balance of import and export
loads, which affords us strong
buying power and is what all
transporters aim to achieve,”
he says.
The Zambian company
leverages off the group’s
centralised freight procurement
processes, which take African
and global volumes into
account across all transport
modes. “This is one of our key
strengths. We are able to drive
value because we negotiate
for the whole of Africa,”
says Brits.
Beira, Durban and Dar es
Salaam are all being used by
UTi, with most of the traffic
between Zambia and China
and India. Some of the bigger
projects handled by UTi Zambia
include a new mine and a
shopping centre.
With the growth of volumes
and to meet client demands,
UTi Zambia has opened
a branch in Ndola, and is
considering Kitwe next.