2018 has seen a 19% upsurge in local online sales with South Africans predicted to spend in excess of R45 billion online before the end of the year. This trend is expected to escalate even more over the coming 24 months, with an estimated complete spend of over R60 billion in 2020, which will display a 36% increase as of 2018.

In just under 5 years Black Friday has come to be a major shopping phenomenon locally. This peak shopping day requires months of preparation to fulfil customer expectations when securing their special deals, whether online or in store.  Black Friday is said to be the largest consumer day of the year in South Africa, with a record 4.7 million card transactions documented in 2017, of which over 250 000 were online transaction tallying up to over R 2.5 billion worth of credit and debit card retail transactions.

2018 has been an interesting year for local supply chains, perhaps most notably due to the impact of escalating costs, and the resultant adoption of advancing technologies. The volatile fuel prices in both crude oil and diesel have had an immense effect on the cost of doing business, and have therefore increased the need for more creative business models to remain profitable. One tactic being adopted is that of manufacturers shifting closer to their customer base, resulting in more diverse business locations and progressively flexible supply chains that allow companies to be more customer-centric to service client needs better and faster.

This transport month we celebrate ladies taking the wheel in our transport division

South Africa is said to have an astonishingly low rate of employed women. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) only 50% of women between the ages of 25 and 54 are employed. With a skills shortage and burgeoning demand for the transportation of goods, the transport industry is well suited to provide a solution for women whose innate attributes could make them well suited for driving trucks.

This month, we're celebrating Transport Month and commending our fantastic transport team for the exceptional work that they do. In September 2017, the Barloworld Logistics Manline Mega team took on their biggest challenge yet, transporting a 33-metre luxury house boat from Zimbabwe to Namibia. A fascinating journey and huge accomplishment that we're proud to announce has been nominated in the 2018 Logistics Achiever Awards for this ground breaking initiative. The awards ceremony is being held tonight, 11 October 2018.