Third annual state of logistics survey for South Africa 2006: Implementing logistics strategies in a developing economy (original) (raw)
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The state of logistics: Research priorities for sustained improvement
Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 2008
The importance of logistics and supply chain management for the South African economy was re-emphasised by the findings of the CSIR’s third annual State of Logistics Survey. To meet current and future demands, the research agenda for logistics needs to be wider than the traditional (mainstream) focus. System inefficiencies as well as specific non-traditional areas need to be explored, e.g. the integration of rural and small businesses, government service delivery, sector cooperation, and emergency logistics. This article provides a brief overview of the current state of logistics in the country and the government’s response in terms of the National Freight Logistics Strategy. Research needs, research priorities and the role of research organisations are discussed.
The State of LogisticsTM – an overview of logistics in South Africa
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Logistics and supply chain management play a big role in any economy and are a critical contributor to the competitiveness of a country. The demand for products can only be satisfied through the proper and costeffective delivery of goods and services. South Africa’s main economic activity is located in Gauteng and this has a serious effect on logistics costs. In addition, most of the freight in the country is transported by road. Furthermore, for South Africa to grow its market share of various products in the global market, the supply chains need to be world class to ensure effective delivery of goods. These and other aspects of the logistics environment in South Africa will be presented and major issues affecting logistics costs will be discussed. In addition, reference is made to the recent World Bank report on logistics competitiveness, and comparisons are made with Brazil and the USA on logistics performance.
2005
The following organisations made publication of this document possible: The CSIR is one of the leading R&D, technology and innovation institutions in Africa, with a track record spanning 60 years. The Centre for Logistics is home to extensive expertise in operations research, quantitative modelling and logistics. It has a long history in research and consulting in various industries, and is the originator of the Annual State of Logistics Survey for South Africa. USB-ED Consulting offers customised business solutions which combine the theory and practice of business science. This allows for strong research-based methodologies when assisting clients in fields such as strategy-setting, market research and change management. The Department of Logistics offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in logistics, as well as academic and professional research and the production of accredited publications.
This survey highlights that South Africa's core structural problems are far worse than expected: Logistics cost represents a considerable percentage of the GDP (14.7% or R180bn). We spend more on transport than generally expected and much more than we should; The "normal" macro economic model is to transport long-distance corridor freight on rail, with feeder and distribution services provided by road. Structural investment mypoia caused an unhealthy situation in South Africa, with three quarters of long-haul tonnage on road; Our dense long-haul road corridors are intrinsically more expensive than a possible intermodal solution (even more so if extrinsic costs are considered). An overarching investment strategy should therefore consider that greater efficiency in one mode is a "second prize" compared to greater efficiency between road and rail. CSIR Centre for Logistics and Decision Support and Spoornet
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Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management, 2014
A country’s competitiveness can be severely hampered by an uncompetitive freight logistics system. During the first decade of the 21st century, two in-depth models were developed for South Africa which provide a framework for measuring and improving the country’s freight logistics system – the cost of logistics survey and the freight demand model. These models also allow for the development of scenarios for key identified risks. The objectives of this study were to provide an overview of South Africa’s surface freight transport industry,identify key risks to national competitiveness and suggest ways in which these risks could be mitigated. Freight flows were modelled by disaggregating the national input–output model into 372 origin–destination pairs and 71 commodity groups, followed by distance decay gravity-modelling. Logistics costs were calculated by relating commodity-level freight flows to the costs of fulfilling associated logistical functions. South Africa’s economy is highly...
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Logistics is perceived to be important for Namibia's growth and development, but it is a matter of conjecture as there is a dearth of documented information about the industry in Namibia. Furthermore, it is uncertain what the understanding of "logistics" is for key stakeholders in the country. This project's objectives are to address some of these issues and lay the foundation for a more thorough investigation. The findings from key stakeholders of the logistics industry in Namibia include: universal agreement on the importance of logistics to Namibia, the variety in the understanding of the term logistics, the strength of the continuing influence of South Africa as the dominant economic power in southern Africa and contrasting views on the main factors limiting logistics development, including: infrastructure, attitude, government, customs, training, railways, corruption and driver shortage. The conclusions were published in the form of a conference paper showing the challenges and opportunities facing logistics in Namibia in 2012 (Jenkins et al., 2012). They were also disseminated as a report (Savage et al., 2012) and at a workshop in Walvis-bay, Namibia in September 2012. These reports, additional interviews and subsequent discussions highlighted some potential opportunities and problems. This paper summarises the initial phases of the project showing the methodology and findings; it then builds on that work to prioritise measures required to re-engineer Namibia's logistics industry.
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Logistics Is about Competitiveness and More
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Stripped to its basics, logistics is about capturing competitive advantage and creating customer value, not just optimizing costs. This fundamental value proposition cuts across micro and macro units of analysis ranging from effectively monitoring and responding to changing behavior of individual consumers, to improving supply chain management (SCM) processes of firms, to efficiently connecting enterprises across the global economy. The spreading wings of logistics research in the past two decades reflected largely the proliferation of extended enterprises, technological innovations, and transportation and telecommunications advances globally. A significant focus of logistics research in the latter quarter of the 20th century was on enhancing firm productivity and profitability, mainly through operational/tactical improvements in planning integration. But even here, scholars increasingly recognized that multi-enterprise networks were supplanting the firm as the effective competing unit [1]. The explosive growth of e-commerce in the 21st century, especially e-tailing, and the rise of smart mobile devices placed capturing and serving individual consumers as operational and research priorities. Concurrently, at the macro-level, accelerating globalization led to substantially more research interest on supply-chain disruptions and measuring logistics performance of geopolitical entities such as cities and countries as key to their trade facilitation and overall competitiveness [2]. As the analytical units of logistics research broadened, so too have the substantive topics addressed, with scholarship moving beyond traditional business issues. Contemporary environmental and social consciousness, developments in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors, and transformative technological innovations such as 3-D printing are generating new waves of research and substantive writings on such issues as green logistics, disaster and humanitarian logistics, bio-logistics, and alternatives to product shipping. Cool-chain, temperature-assured, and air logistics are receiving greater attention as a burgeoning worldwide middle-class desires fresh food and health-care products from wherever they are sourced. Air cargo (now accounting for 35% of the value of international trade) is simultaneously supporting globally integrated supply chains of microelectronics, fresh-cut flowers, medications, and other high-value perishables [3]. Concerns about fair trade, worker rights, depletion of fossil fuels and critical minerals, carbon emissions, and the sustainability of the entire logistics chain have come into play, shaping consumer, business, and government attitudes toward product origin, along with distance and mode of shipments. Value-influenced logistics and supply chain management are gaining significant traction as fields of research inquiry. This traction is corroborated by Wieland, Handfield and Durach who surveyed 141 leading SCM researchers requesting them to identify the topics that they believe will have the greatest impact on the field in the coming five years [4]. "Sustainability", which included ecological, economic, ethical, and social aspects, was mentioned the most frequently. When these thought leaders were asked what they believed should become important future research topics, sustainability/green issues once again ranked at the top. Two transformative developments, however, will likely have the greatest implications for future logistics research and operations. The first is cloud computing as it is influencing big data and predictive analytics, the internet of things, and machine learning. This is enabling much more detailed