Shippers warned against over-invoicing trend

Under-quoting and overinvoicing is a growing trend in the industry as agents desperate for business use any ploy to get a foot in the door. “It’s become clear that some agents are willing to lose an account in 2-3 months time to see themselves through a difficult patch,” says Freightit managing director Neil Harris. “Apart from the financial harm to the client, it also harms the industry – which is why I encourage importers and exporters to get a few quotes from reputable agents and compare before committing themselves.” Depending on the professionalism of the customer, it may take up to three months and R400 000 worth of freight before they pick up the anomaly, says Harris. While the fledgling company has a worldwide footprint, its strongest thrust is the Far East, Middle East and India, regions where the company has set up strong agency networks which Harris believes are crucial to the success of any operation. “India is bustling and Dubai is the commercial mecca,” says Harris. Dubai is dominated by electronic goods and building materials. “A lot of franchised goods like Nokias are brought into South Africa from Korea and Japan, repackaged here by our partner companies, and sent to Dubai which is the electronic hub. “Electronic goods also make up the bulk of imports into South Africa – and with its free trade zone status, the country is trying to position itself as the high-tech commercial centre.” India, says Harris, is the little China. “South Africa is a very attractive market for India, not least because of the huge Indian community here. We believe India offers a lot of potential in terms of low cost and value-for-money products.” While Harris acknowledges that there has been a major slowdown in terms of volumes and trade generally, Freightit has been fortunate to sign up a number of new accounts. “That has possibly given us an unrealistic stabilisation of the downturn in our own business. “We also spotted the downturn early enough to re-engineer the focus on our sales teams and bring on new business.” Door-to-door is the key component of the company’s strength, says Harris. “We collect shipments from the supplier’s door and deliver to the consignee’s door. Through our group of associated but totally independently managed logistics companies, Courierit and Warehouseit, we are able to draw on the strengths that each offers so that customers reap the downstream benefits. “We will be unveiling several other value-added products in the coming months that will enable us to manage the full pipeline even more effectively,” he said.