Putting together end-to-end logistics solutions

ALAN PEAT THE ESSENCE of a small company being able to match the giants in the logistics industry is to have the necessary range of products to meet the demands in the supply chain, according to Garth Louden, MD of the Access Group. “We have incorporated freight forwarding, ware­housing, vehicle distribution and transport into our operation,” he said. “We can therefore supply the same end-to-end logistics that most big companies can.” The company has established major forwarding set-ups in Durban and Johannesburg - both these functions supported by warehousing facilities in both centres. The forwarding and clearing function, meantime, is geared to handle airfreight, seafreight, road and rail movement of goods, and the warehousing section is capable of storing both bonded and free cargo. “Our transport is a brokering operation,” said Louden, “allowing us to put together end-to-end logistics solutions in alliance with the other functions.” A specialised section within the group is the vehicle distribution – designed to deliver both new and second-hand vehicles into Africa as far as Zambia. “We have a physical commitment to the warehousing and movement of transit goods travelling through SA,” Louden told FTW. “These less-than-container-load (LCL) consignments can be unpacked in Durban, then transported overborder to their appropriate African destinations. “At the same time we can move full containers from the container terminal to be unpacked in our container depot.” Another individual product offered by Access is for bulk cargoes. “We rail these bulk minerals from the mines to Durban,” said Louden. “There they are put into a stand, packed into containers, then cross-hauled to the nearby port terminal, and shipped to their destination.”