The establishment of two new facilities, scheduled for 2023, is generating lots of excitement at the ZacPak Group.According to managing director Willie Nel, the two custom-built facilities – in Durban and Port Elizabeth, respectively – will add significant capacity to operations, improving f low and overall efficiencies in the warehouses while also easing any congestion.With a combined footprint of 65 000m2 and roughly 17 000m2under the roof, both warehouses remain in close proximity to the ports.“With ZacPak being a customs licensed depot, we are specialists in dealing with the very demanding LCL market. Although this has been our core focus in the past, we realise that in order to remain relevant, diversification is necessary – hence the investment in new, purpose-built facilities to allow us to cater for the growing demand and our ever-changing industry.”Nel said while no new premises were going up in Cape Town, improvements at the existing premises were ongoing.“Recently, we had a specialised boom installed that connects to our overhead gantry,” he said. “This allows for the unpacking of slabs of granite from general-purpose containers.”Nel said it was critical to have a footprint close to the ports. “With our Durban facility in the southern basin, it gives us the added advantage on transport costs as we are within reasonable proximity to the port. Clairwood Logistics Park has also committed to engaging with Transnet about possible rail infrastructure for the premises and is currently in consultation with Transnet to recommission the feeder line to the park.”Nel said with first- and last-mile deliveries having always been ZacPak’s strategic intent, this was a welcome development. “Our goal is, and always will be, to ensure better control from start to finish.”He said congestion between the ports and depots probably remained the biggest challenge in the warehousing and distribution space. “The ever-rising fuel costs are also concerning, while road infrastructure and delays between ports and inland destinations impact negatively on the movement of cargo to and from depots.”Another ongoing challenge in recent times has been the bypassing of certain ports by vessels, particularly the ports of Port Elizabeth and Ngqura. “They discharge either in Durban or Cape Town, which often means there has to be a road haul back into Port Elizabeth at exorbitant costs.”Nel said slow-moving goods taking up valuable warehouse space was another challenge that had to be dealt w ith. “Cov id-19 restrictions have had an impact on retail and other non-essential warehouses, which in turn affected the cash f low of many businesses. The majority of companies can no longer afford to carry a huge amount of stock and have had to downscale. “Stock is ordered more frequently, but then also in smaller quantities. This makes proper forecasting crucial,” he told Freight News. “The request for cross-docking is now on the rise and what little space is left is being scooped by the major players in the industry.”He said warehouses along the coast tended to attract higher demand due to their proximity to the ports.“Another trend we are seeing is that transporters are also trying to diversify and open up small warehouses or turn their workshops into storage facilities. This causes havoc as their warehousing rates are no longer market-related and are unsustainable in the long run. “When it comes to distribution, we are seeing clients opting to cut out the middleman and rather deal directly with the transporter.”The growing e-commerce industry had also affected warehousing and distribution, said Nel, indicating that there was a dire need for more courier-type services at present. However, the company expects to see a drop in volumes this year due to a reduction in consumer spending this Christmas, given the increase in interest rates.According to Nel, an ongoing trend in the warehousing space is the rise in technology and automation requests, especially by multinational companies which have to keep up with their international counterparts.“Although this much-needed transformation is required, the industry in general has been slow in embracing these changes. We believe that those companies that are first to market in terms of innovation will eventually be the industry leaders.”
