Proactive advice on cargo status more crucial than ever

In the post-recession environment business processes have been re-engineered, supply chains have been consolidated, and cost and buffers have been further removed, says Safmarine Africa region executive Jonathan Horn. “There are different approaches to manufacturing and procurement and supplier consolidation has been a common occurrence – all demanding a change of approach by shipping lines. “One of the consequences of the post-recession environment is that in several instances, products are going to move in both different quantities and from different locations, and there is an increased visibility requirement in the supply chain, demanding closer cooperation between shippers and shipping lines,” says Horn. “Reliability has become more important from a service point of view and there is less room for error or lack of predictability. In short it’s becoming increasingly important for shipping lines to keep customers proactively informed about the status of their cargo.” While market share is difficult to accurately estimate across the continent, Safmarine puts its share of the containerised trade in the 12%- 15% range. “Approximately 50%-55% of Safmarine’s global volumes touch the African continent. Volumetrically, the top three countries for Safmarine Africa are South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.”