‘Navis delays affect shipper’s credibility’

Delays caused by the Navis system, rising oil prices, the weak exchange rate and labour issues are among the key challenges facing importers and exporters in South Africa, according to Margie Nunes, Zinchem’s shipping administrator. Nunes, who has 30 years of experience in the industry, said delays caused by the Navis system were affecting the company’s credibility. “New customers think we are breaking our promises – yet what is happening is beyond our control.” She said congestion at the country’s ports, however, was not unique to South Africa. “We experience similar problems in Brazil and have recently seen it on the increase in Israel.” She says uncertainties in the labour market – with strikes a common feature in various sectors during wage negotiations – have also affected business. “As exporters we all need to ensure our containers arrive at their destinations on time. The fact that it is not happening affects our credibility, leading many to view South Africa as an unreliable supplier. It gives the country a bad name,” she says. Nunes says Zinchem, which has been operational since 1947, was “always looking to expand” into new markets. She is astonished at how business has evolved over the past three decades. “I cannot imagine how we coped then without the technology we now have, problems anywhere around the world can be resolved much more easily,” she says. “Each era copes with its challenges in a different way,” she adds.