Taking the fat out of the supply chain

The global recession has
taught the industry one of
its most valuable lessons, in
the view of ICM Group CEO Kiall
Marsh – that there’s far too much
fat in the supply chain.
“Companies are trying to find
ways of taking waste out of their
systems,” says Marsh, “and one of
the areas where there was a huge
amount of fat was the fourth party
logistics (4PL) arena.
“We’ve seen a growing
awareness of the value of dealing
with someone who physically does
the work on a 3PL basis but who
also has the expertise to offer the
4PL-type of consultancy services
and information.”
By dealing with the people
who physically do the work,
you effectively eliminate a huge
amount of waste out of the system,
he said.
“The recessionary climate is
also forcing the 3PL companies to
improve their service offerings. In
fact it’s a wonderful way to shake
the supply chain right.”
And while the past year has
been a challenging one for all,
Marsh believes it has also offered
wonderful opportunities – “and
our business has grown as a
result.”
This despite the key challenges
facing the logistics industry, not
least of which was the recent
Transnet strike.
“And the challenge is not just
the strike period but the ripple
effect it sends to the market once
the strike is over. Once vessels
start to sail again, you alleviate
the bottleneck at the port and that
moves up the supply chain to
the roads, rail, packing and up to
the Reef. The industry continues
to feel the effects several weeks
down the line.”