THE BASIC trend to be followed at the moment in the forwarding industry is the IT (information technology) path, according to Heiko Schmidt, recently appointed deputy m.d. of Birkart International.
This, he feels, will be a vital part of any forwarder's successful entry into contract logistics with industry clients - particularly when related to the new field of development of e-commerce.
Seafreight, as well as airfreight, is now moving on a JIT (just in time) basis, Schmidt said. This will give a lot of support to e-commerce, and I feel we want to do something in this respect.
First step in preparation for this will be integrated warehousing and distribution, making customs procedures as easy as possible, said Schmidt.
We basically want to become a partner for manufacturers and wholesalers who don't want to go into the actual logistics aspect . The company only has to focus on production and sales of its products - and we will handle all the distribution.
That's where we are definitely going - into partnership with manufacturer/exporters.
While Birkart will be involved on a global basis, Schmidt feels that SA will play a major role in this electronic business world.
This country is very alert to the new technology, he said, even more so than Europe, for example.
SA will, therefore, be an important Internet market, Schmidt added. And we want to be part of this, he said.
The company is currently looking for a suitable e-commerce partner - designed, said Schmidt, to combine the task of forwarding with electronic management, and have expert parties in both fields of the partnership.
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