Warehouse specialist offers export staging facility

Helping to keep logistics chain fluid JOY ORLEK IMPORT AND export warehousing is the key focus at Durban-based Shipping Consolidated Holdings. “Whether it’s import goods being stockpiled because clients don’t have sufficient space to receive them all at once but need access to an efficient supply line, or whether the goods need to be placed in bond because the customer hasn’t sold the whole lot and needs to draw on stocks as and when this is convenient, we have the facilities and the expertise,” says managing director Bill Benson. “We do a lot of staging of cargo delivered into Africa, and much of this is project cargo,” says Benson. And this often involves massive volumes. World Food Aid cargo for example accounts for anywhere from 8 000 - 12 000 tons at a time. Big problem “A big problem for exports out of Africa is the time taken to get from the source of supply to the port of export,” says Benson. “We have the facility to store the products so that if a buyer places an order today and our client in Zimbabwe gives us the authority to release the goods, we can pack them in 24 hours. In the past they would have missed that order because it would have taken them 2-3 weeks to get the goods down here. “Effectively we are helping to keep the logistics chain fluid.” Shipping Consolidated caters not only for the importer and exporter, but also for clearing and forwarding agents who don’t have sufficient warehousing facilities. The company handles breakbulk or unitised cargo. Currently on the planning boards is a warehousing and truck-stop operation in Gauteng.