Maersk Line takes the driver's seat

The decision to set up new offices in Harare, Zimbabwe has paid off for Maersk Line and it is now fully operational with a complete staff complement said Dries Oberholzer, Maersk Line hinterland territories managing director. “Having our own setup has allowed us to focus on operations with a more hands-on approach,” he said, adding that the Harare office had developed a strong intermodal product in the market, which has contributed to its growth in the region. “Now that we have a sustainable through bill of lading process in place, we are better able to focus on our customers’ needs, allowing them to deliver on the promises they have made to their customers,” said Oberholzer. “Initially, we focused our changes internally on up-skilling our staff, making crucial new staff appointments and looking at where we could improve our service offering,” said Oberholzer. Dinesh Harri was appointed as hinterland regional sales manager and will be responsible for all commercial activities in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The decision to establish the office in Harare was the natural choice, said Oberholzer. “It has a mature shipping market, but other countries have also shown a lot of growth potential recently,” he said. “Zambia for example has boomed over the past ten years. Along with Mozambique it has been identified as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.” In terms of growth possibilities and outlook for the region, the company is “cautiously optimistic”, said Oberholzer. This is based on signals from the market, with Zimbabwe’s tobacco crops for example seeing growth over the past year and Malawi’s crops yielding a similar size. He conceded that there would always be challenges surrounding cross-border trading, particularly for landlocked countries, but added that Maersk had over time developed and refined sustainable processes that enable effective trade. “One of the most important lessons learnt is that nothing happens overnight and that we need to invest in the right people to ensure that we enable our customers to deliver on their promises,” Oberholzer said. CAPTION 1 Dinesh Harri … responsible for all commercial activities in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. CAPTION 2 The tobacco crops in Malawi and Zimbabwe provide export opportunities