‘Clients will have access to library of info’ Grant Palmer - CD rom will provide country overviews. Joy Orlek HAVING IDENTIFIED Africa as a key export focus, ZA Trans has set up an Africa desk to provide its clients with centralised expertise on almost every market in the region. “We are deadly serious about Africa and will be holding various workshops and educationals for customers within the near future, along with an African Summit in November this year,” says export manager Grant Palmer. Headed up by dedicated personnel, the department is producing a CD rom, which will be available to its clients, providing a full overview of each country. Information will range from basic geographical details, the economy, trade opportunities and requirements, to all the legalities involved in trade. It will also provide an overview of transport links, frequencies and costs. Nigeria, for example, extends to 28 pages of information, offering the prospective exporter the tools with which to make educated and informed business decisions on the feasibility of launching an export campaign. “The African Union is coming of age, and ZA Trans Logistics is ideally equipped through its partners in Africa, and our joint enthusiasm, to make it a viable business market for South African exporters,” says Palmer, who is upbeat about growth since he took over in December last year. He has lived and worked abroad and locally for multinationals, as well as run his own consultancy in this country. His experience ranges across the full spectrum, having managed import, sales and export divisions at a senior level. “ZA Trans has become a haven for professionals who are driven by a desire to challenge, re-invent and change in order to adapt to customer requirements,” says Palmer. He approaches the business of exporting from a customer point of view, keeping in mind its perspective within the supply chain, while managing the commercial viability. “The customer wants a business partner who can help to manage the risk and provide advice, education and good business sense, and that’s the role that we can fill. “It’s more about value added services, real expertise and partnerships than simply being able to expedite goods from point A to point B. “Being privately owned we also have enormous flexibility, along with the ability to be extremely creative, which is often very restrictive in the larger corporates.” Exports into the USA based on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act are already a big market, while the company is also focusing on opportunities in market sectors like the Indian Ocean Islands, Australia and India.
