Meeting landside requirements the biggest challenge

The greatest challenge for Africa is to meet the landside infrastructure requirements to meet the global demand when the economies turn around further, according to Lawrie Bateman, MD of MSC Logistics. This, in turn, has required the company to carefully adjust its operational structure across the southern belt of Africa, he added. “One example,” he told FTW, “has been MSC Zambia and MSC Logistics having been successful in reducing our equipment stock burden from the large numbers recorded yesteryear. It has been brought down to lower, manageable stocks that are in line with our current and anticipated export requirements. “This was as a result of carefully negotiated triangulation and cabotage agreements between us on the one hand and our contracted transporters on the other.” According to David Bertram, Swaziland branch manager of MSC Logistics, this year has shown a positive trend in imports buoyed by the used car market and some major construction projects. “On the export side, even with the weakening of the dollar, exports have remained steady compared to previous years. All of this is despite very gloomy forecasts of anticipated growth for the year being put out by the IMF and the World Bank. “But MSC is a strategic partner of a number of businesses in Swaziland – and, as long as they remain viable, MSC will continue to grow its market share.” Mesele Seyuba, director of MSC Zambia, told FTW that they had to design a system that achieved complete control over cargo movement. “MSC Zambia as an ‘inland port’,” he said, “depends heavily on a well-oiled logistics chain to ensure efficient service to our clients. “To achieve this, we have negotiated time-specific service delivery contracts with various third party service providers that include transporters and storage depots. “We ensure that complete control by having direct contact with the service providers for daily tracking reports as well as instant escalation of any problems encountered. In doing so, we are able to resolve or circumvent problems in a timely manner.” According to Dean McIntyre, MSC Logistics Botswana branch manager, MSC currently has a large market share. “The main growth opportunities,” he said, “now lie with importing goods to supply Botswana’s largest industry, mining. “There is also a lot of growth potential on the export side of MSC Botswana. We are looking to increase our exports significantly in the future through the export of coal and other natural resources.” INSERT & CAPTION Operational structure carefully adjusted across the southern belt of Africa. – Lawrie Bateman