Strict delivery sequence keeps Volvos on the road

A STRICT delivery sequence and tight timing are the two things that dictate the automotive business handled by Durban-based SA Inland Logistics. “Our basic function is to move each week’s batch of 12-metre containers loaded with vehicle components directly from the ship’s side at the Port of Durban to the Volvo Trucks assembly plant at Amanzimtoti,” said MD, Roland Naidoo. But it’s considerably more complex than just trucking containers. “Each week we have between 11 and 16 12- metre containers of completely knocked-down (CKD) packages of truck units arriving in Durban by ship from Sweden,” said Glen Owen, MD of Volvo Trucks. “But these are imported on a strictly just in time (JIT) delivery schedule – and have to arrive at the start of our assembly line exactly on time for us to maintain a constant production flow.” This JIT schedule starts with booking the containers on the appropriate weekly service of the SA Europe Container Service (Saecs), according to Sunny Naidoo of the Mitchell Cotts ships agency, and line manager for Transatlantic Southern Africa (TSA) services. “We are the agents at all the SA ports for TSA, which is contracted to move the shipments from Volvo in Sweden,” he said, “and we have to check that these get to Volvo in SA in the right sequence, and the right time.” The task for SA Inland Logistics starts with tracking the ship’s movement, and keeping an on-going check on its estimated time of arrival (ETA) in Durban. “To do this,” said (Roland) Naidoo, “we are in constant touch with both Volvo and the ship's operators, and we remain logged-in to the Shipscene web system – which tracks the passage of the vessel and tells us when it is due to start off-loading at the Port of Durban. “Working on a priority list of delivery timing from Volvo SA, we can then load the boxes on to our trucks, and make sure that they are delivered in the right sequence and at the right time.” This, according to Naidoo, “means a lot of planning week-in and week-out” between SA Inland Logistics and Volvo Trucks in SA. “We also have to have a dedicated staff concentrating on this operation,” he said. “And, no matter what time the vessel arrives, we have to be ready to get alongside and start loading the boxes the instant they are off-loaded.” The continuing success of this logistics solution, Naidoo added, was the result of many years of committed and controlled communication between the companies.