Domestic truck sales are
likely to dip this year as local
fleet managers increasingly
focus on cutting costs by
shelving their expansion
plans and trying to squeeze
every bit of value they can
out of their existing fleet.
This is the view of Dr
David Molapo, head of fleet
management at Standard
Bank, who pointed out
that under current
economic conditions fleet
managers were not able
to properly plan their
fleet expansion as new
contracts tended to
come in sporadically.
He cautioned that as
result of this mistakes,
such as buying the
wrong type of
vehicle for the job, tended to
increase.
Cobus Rossouw, chief
business development
manager for Imperial
Logistics, agreed that the
logistics industry would be
under pressure this year,
noting that surviving 2016
would require “tenacity and
innovative thinking”.
“We anticipate
challenging economic
conditions in South Africa
over the medium term,
but aim to capitalise on
growth in the consumer
environment in the rest
of Africa. Our Africa
operations are expected to
continue performing well,”
he told FTW.
But both Molapo and
Rossouw were quick to add
that the picture was not
all doom and gloom. “By
looking at improved f leet
efficiency, through the use
of technology and data,
the logistics industry could
cut costs without having
to sacrifice f leet growth or
upgrades,” said Rossouw.
Molapo added that
despite the gloomy outlook
f leet managers could ride
out the tough year and
emerge with a stronger,
more efficient f leet if
they leveraged the tools
and systems available on
the market to increase
efficiency and reduce costs.
“Management tools
that help analyse fuel
consumption, provide early
detection of vehicle faults,
as well as monitor driver
behaviour could result
in improved efficiencies
which could give the f leet
a competitive edge,” said
Molapo.
He also suggested that
f leet owners consider
implementing advanced
financial management
systems which, for example,
give f leet managers
real-time information
about transactions and
set parameters to f lag
suspicious events.
INSERT & CAPTION
By looking at improved
fleet efficiency, the
logistics industry could
cut costs.
– David Molapo
