Sell-by dates add challenge to food distribution project

1000 tons imported monthly LEONARD NEILL THE MONTHLY importation of 1 000 tons of food products, all with a sell-by date, for export throughout Africa, is the current challenge at Afrilogix. “It’s the most demanding undertaking we’ve ever handled,” says chief executive Nisa Dawood. In order to accommodate the product, sourced from South America and the Far East, Gauteng-based Afrilogix has added warehouses and depots in Durban and Cape Town. “A minimum of 35 containers arrive monthly. Cape Town handles the unpacking and repacking for distribution to points in Angola and Namibia while Durban takes care of all South African as well as Mozambique and Swaziland distribution,” says Dawood. But the major challenge lies in the hands of the Gauteng hub, which serves Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. “We even have some of the goods going on to Cameroon,” she says. “It’s a demanding logistical service. We book the vessels for the initial loading, clear everything in this country and then handle onward multi-modal transport and customs requirements in other countries. “Goods then need to be packed onto shelves at all destinations to ensure sufficient time before expiry dates of the product. The next step is to keep level with sales figures and place ongoing orders for deliveries to all these nations.” While sub-Saharan Africa is handled through South Africa, a North African service is now being operated through Dubai, where Afrilogix is currently establishing its own office to take care of a direct Dubai-North Africa service.