Don’t wait, collaborate!

The 9th State of Logistics survey has delivered a message of action, calling on South Africa to change gears if it wants to address the high cost of logistics. According to the scientific editor of the survey, Nadia Viljoen, who is also a senior researcher with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), more collaboration between South Africa and its neighbouring countries is crucial if the region wants to be globally competitive. “The Southern African Development Community (SADC) needs to see governments and the private sector joining hands to realise the ambitious inland corridor initiatives and develop a worldclass maritime transhipment community alongside that,” she said at the launch of the survey last week. At the same time, Viljoen said, the time for talking was over and action was needed to address the many logistical challenges South Africa and the region at large faced. “South Africa must address critical issues relating to the road freight sector, including shifting more freight from road to rail, addressing the rampant skills shortages, and the misalignment in the logistics sector,” said Viljoen. “Big business from abroad is turning its attention to developing regions such as southern Africa for its next growth frontier. Unlike governments, multinational corporations do not see political boundaries when they consider a region, they regard the growth of consumer populations, the development of economies, the discovery of raw materials, the availability of labour, and the ease with which products and services can be moved into, out of and within that region.” Viljoen said this business mobility stretched further than the physical rail lines and highways between countries. “It includes the openness of governments to collaborate with one another and with the private sector; the removal of regulatory and operational barriers in crossborder trade; the availability of logistics services that penetrate the entire region, not just one country; and, critically, the availability of appropriately skilled people who are the lifeblood of a vibrant logistics sector.” Cornelius Ruiters, executive director for built environment with the CSIR, agreed saying it was vitally important to understand the important role logistics and supply chain played in the economy of South Africa. “We have to look at the logistics environment and see how we can bring about more collaboration between countries, while at the same time making sure we are investing in the right and necessary infrastructure to reduce the costs.” INSERT & CAPTION Big business from abroad is turning its attention to developing regions such as southern Africa for its next growth frontier. – Nadia Viljoen