Preparing for e-commerce boom

With e-commerce expected
to grow by 30% on the
continent this year,
questions have been raised
around whether Africa’s
airfreight industry is ready
for the e-commerce boom
– particularly in relation to
infrastructure development.
According to vice
president of sales and
marketing at Atlas Air,
Graham Perkins, while
speed to market is an
advantage, costs associated
with airfreight for
e-commerce are a challenge,
which is why consolidation
makes sense.
He said airfreight would
always have the edge in the
e-commerce market but
other challenges needed to
be overcome, including a lack
of transit cargo facilities.
It has been suggested
that airports look at more
modest investments initially,
including repurposing postal
centres into e-commerce
distribution centres.