Preventing supply chain disruption

Logistics company Röhlig-
Grindrod has introduced
contingency plans
around seasonal sailing
f luctuations out of the Far
East to ensure
its customers
can continue
to meet
their stock
demands.
“Logistics
service
providers have
to carefully
manage
pressurised
sailing
schedules out
of the Far
East region
as import
customers
understand that an
optimised supply chain
plays a crucial role in
helping them gain the
competitive edge,” said
Röhlig-Grindrod Logistics’
national seafreight product
development manager,
Peter van de Biezen.
He told FTW that when
certain shipping lines had
implemented
blank sailings
to coincide
with lower
demand
during the
Chinese
Golden Week
in October,
Röhlig-
Grindrod had
introduced
measures to
ensure that it
maintained
capacity for
its customers,
even when the
supply was under severe
pressure.
Blank sailings meant
that lines would drop
certain services from
their schedules as a way of
controlling capacity during
periods where volumes
were lower, Van de Biezen
explained, noting that
Röhlig-Grindrod had put
space protection plans in
place with its seafreight
carrier partners.
“We will continue to
implement these plans
going forward which
means that we are able to
accommodate importers’
capacity demands,
even when space is at a
premium,” said Van de
Biezen.
According to him, the
Far East is still South
Africa’s biggest source of
imports, with a demand
for retail goods increasing
ahead of the festive season.
Van de Biezen confirmed
that there had been a
“drastic reduction” in the
export of commodities to
the Far East.
INSERT & CAPTION
Import customers
understand that an
optimised supply
chain plays a crucial
role in helping them
gain the competitive
edge.
– Peter van de Biezen