Navigating towards an intact SA logistics network

An intact logistics network is essential for the survival of the country, says DEVLYN NAIDOO. In order to achieve this, a joint effort is required on the part of logistics professionals and industry stakeholders.

As I pen this piece, I cannot help but remember the words of my late dad, George Naidoo, a humble yet incredibly successful businessman who was often heard saying, “Keep it going”. These momentous words are what encourage us to strive each day for excellence in our supply chain. They also urge us to compete with the supply chains of the most sophisticated countries around the world.

Dr Juanita Maree, CEO of the Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) and a passionate captain of industry, encourages aspiring leaders to leverage innovation and agility to optimise cost, time, and service reliability within supply chains. Her dream to realise an intact logistics network remains a key priority. This article is thus penned with the purpose of inspiring, encouraging, and soliciting an effort to stitch the supply chain of SA Inc one seam at a time, bearing in mind that the most critical seam is an intact logistics network.

I am sure most would agree that an effective supply chain is dependent on a well-functioning logistics network, serving as a pivotal requirement in the distribution channel across all modalities. The logistics network comprises a series of interconnected dependencies, which include – but are not limited to – hard infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, processes, and policies. As with any pathway, there are various routes, landmarks, and milestones that one will encounter, and while hikers often follow a well-worn pathway as they walk through the woods, others choose instead to go where there is no path, preferring to cut their own trail. I have to put a disclaimer here: this was not meant to be a cliché.

In South Africa there are, at present, various initiatives and an increasing commitment to foster public private partnerships (PPPs). We are seeing advocates for reforms, calls for the efficient functioning of our ports, and plans to increase cargo throughput. These efforts are revealing the commitment of public and private sector leaders to work collaboratively, coherently, and cohesively to achieve a common goal. International businesses depend on an efficient multimodal transport infrastructure to move goods and services through the entry or exit point to their end consumers.

The logistics network is central to the supply chain, as argued by Ioannis Antoniadis in his 2013 paper, “Supply Chain Management, A View of The Distribution Channel”. An intact logistics network is predicated on three main aspects: adequate infrastructure, efficient regulatory processes, and a monitoring system. These three focal points provide the true north in navigating towards the intended destination. Of course, there are other factors to consider, but it can be appreciated that effective port operations along our coastline and at our key points of air and land entry is congruent with efficient regulatory processing by all government agencies. Furthermore, we need consistent monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to provide feedback. This will assist all citizens of SA Inc to navigate the path toward a functional, integrated, and interconnected logistics network.  

The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) provide their members with two invaluable instruments that seek to address the co-creation of efficiencies through, respectively, their prescribed standards and articles. Whilst these instruments – the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) – have different mandates, the standards and articles have a common objective: simply put, processes in respect of risk management, enforcement, and legitimate trade facilitation.  

We must recognise and appreciate that our customs administration (SARS) has set a precedent for international best practice by aligning to the RKC standards in respect of expedited releases, and by painstakingly adopting a large contingent of articles prescribed by the WTO-TFA. Furthermore, it has leveraged the WCO’s customs to business partnership guidance and worked with stakeholders from both the public and private sector to create a single window compendium to support an integrated framework. There is, however, still a significant journey to travel to integrate the regulatory bodies, and this can only be achieved through a coordinated joint effort. SARS has been empowered under section 113 (8)(a) of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 – for the purposes of any law other than this Act, or at the request of a member of the police force (or the authority administering such law) – to detain any goods while such goods are under customs control.

We need to ask and answer the question, “How do we navigate cohesively to reach our destination?” There exists in each of us as human beings an innate desire to give. As logistics professionals, let us therefore give more in our daily functions – be it more time, greater effort, or going beyond the call of duty. In giving more, we each help to better navigate the path ahead of us, and we each have a role to play as we directly or indirectly contribute to the logistics network. This is a shared responsibility.

On that note, I’d like to sign off with the words of US country music singer, television host, actor, and businessman Jimmy Dean: “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”