Pre-planning of releases reduces delays

Shippers expect their transporters to be able to add value to the logistics chain on the Zambia- South Africa route, according to Yogesh Kuntawala, director of Celtic Freight. “What cargo owners are looking for is a cost-effective solution for the distribution of their products, and with minimal investment on their part.” Suppliers into the Zambian market are finding that they need scalable solutions in order to adapt to the cycles in the market. By working through an independent logistics supplier like Celtic Freight they avoid the problem of having either too much or too little warehousing space and transport capacity at any one time, he says. Established in 1997, Celtic Freight is one of the oldest consolidator and full load operators on this route. One of the services added by Celtic is the local distribution of goods from its warehouses in Zambia. All cargo is tracked electronically, and clients can log in at any time to see where their freight is. “We have completely eliminated manual systems. Everything is now electronic, and we can integrate our client’s stock management system into ours,” he says. Celtic focuses on the Zambian import and export market. Its routing is Durban, Johannesburg, via Botswana, and through Kazungula into Zambia. The company has warehouses in Zambia and South Africa, together with its own f leet of trucks and containers. With the growth and maturation of the Zambian economy the needs of cargo owners have also changed, he says. “Clients now want us to be able to provide handling services in addition to transport,” he says. In response to the need Celtic has built new warehouses and invested in additional container lifting equipment. The company operates a container yard in Lusaka for the main shipping companies serving the Zambian market. Both full and empty containers are stored in the yard, with one of the services being the preplanning of releases to reduce delays on dispatch and receiving. Importers and exporters benefit from the facility, according to Kuntawala. Sensitive and valuable cargo moves in and out of Zambia in containers rather than having to be moved as breakbulk for part of the journey. Value-added services offered at the company’s Johannesburg warehouse include SADC documentation, consolidation, packing into specialised containers, crating and shrink wrapping. INSERT & CAPTION Clients now want us to be able to provide handling services in addition to transport. – Yogesh Kuntawala