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.

Recession proofing your business with smart supply chain decisions

Recently, South Africa entered a technical recession for the first time since 2009, with Statistics SA revising the growth forecast downwards to 2.6%. There is no doubt our economy is taking strain thanks to burgeoning fuel prices, exchange rate volatility and weakened business confidence, and while the public is still grappling to understand the impact of the news, arguably the first area to be impacted will be consumer spending. The tightening of belts will have a direct knock-on to industry thanks to a decreased demand for goods and services in most sectors. For companies, an economic downturn is by no means easy, however, re-evaluating supply chain strategy to improve efficiency and flexibility, and more so to capitalise on hidden opportunity, can go a long way in helping to weather the recessionary storm.

Tesla’s all-electric semi-truck is said to be going into production in 2019, with numerous prototypes already being spotted driving in preparation for the final model. Although this reality may still be far off for our local market, deliberating its impending impact is vital to ensure local supply chains and the economy at large are prepared. As autonomous truck technology speedily progresses, concerns are being raised regarding the impact on the jobs of the more than four million South African truck drivers. This is not a purely local conversation however, with tens of millions of people employed as truck drivers more across the globe.

With the increasing frequency and severity of global weather events and the resulting negative impact on infrastructure, agriculture and the overall wellbeing of humanity, climate volatility effects the entire world, directly and indirectly. Businesses and industries are reliant on logistics networks to maintain market share, but thanks to extreme weather events these networks are at a considerably increased risk. Scientists are progressively cautioning businesses to keep climate change in mind when developing supply chain management strategies.

Collaboration and sharing of information are vital to supply chain success. It is well known that information sharing allows companies to make better decisions, leading to improved resource utilisation and ultimately lower supply chain costs. Furthermore, better management of information will enable companies to be more responsive to customer demands.