‘Successful supply chains make successful businesses'

Aifreight is not exorbitantly expensive when you take into account the cost of inventory, says Alyda le Hane, director of the Supply Chain Council of Southern Africa. According to Le Hane, a clear understanding of the supply chain is necessary. “Often people just don’t have the time to sit down and proactively plan and strategise their supply chains. Many businesses think they have one supply chain when in fact they have many and that each product in the organisation may have to be approached differently.” She said unplanned supply chains often resulted in unplanned costs. “If a business wants to be more competitive it has to take the time to invest in its supply chain, making sure it is working to its optimum. Modes of transport are not the supply chain – they are merely enablers. So airfreight might be expensive for one supply chain, but for another it saves cost,” she said. “In the modern business environment we are not competing product to product any more but rather supply chain to supply chain. In other words the consumer wants what he wants now. The more successful one’s supply chain, the more successful one’s business.” CAPTION Alyda le Hane ... ‘Airfreight not exorbitantly expensive.’