Logistics major DSV has a
simple philosophy when
it comes to over-border
business. Customers
should see no difference in
service levels experienced the
world over – from Denmark to
the DRC, and everything in
between.
“The acquisition of Dubaibased
Swift Freight in July this
year has put us in the driver’s
seat as far as our Africa business
is concerned,” DSV vice president
Peter Larsen told FTW.
“And that’s precisely where we
need to be to position ourselves
for further growth on the
continent.”
After working with Swift
Freight for several years as an
agent, the company is now 100%
owned by DSV and has been
rebranded DSV Swift Freight.
Larsen will be based in South
Africa for the next few months
to lay the foundations for the
company’s Africa strategy.
And the first priority will be to
ensure that the African network
can service the company’s global
clients to the standard that they
expect.
Equally important is brand
awareness. “While DSV is well
known globally, it now needs to
replicate that global visibility in
the African market.”
The first step will be to
educate and upskill. “We are in
11 countries in Africa – all of
which are managed by local staff.
Moves are already under way to
transfer skills and to educate in
the interests of elevating service
levels and achieving a uniform
standard of excellence.”
Larsen is well aware that
logistics is not a ‘one size fits all’
but needs to be adjusted to meet
the needs of specific countries.
“DSV provides the basic platform
but different menus need to be
prepared for different countries.
There’s no standard solution –
every solution must be moulded
to the needs of the country,” he
told FTW.
And while he sees huge
potential in the likes of Nigeria,
Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and
Tanzania, he believes in keeping
an eye on the smaller niche
markets as well.
“We’ll follow the volumes.
We’re keeping a close eye on
Rwanda, for example. Politically
stable environments are what
we’ll be focusing on.”
And the niche market
philosophy has worked for the
company in the past. “We are the
market leader in the Baltics for
example.”
Listed as a top 500
company, DSV’s customer
base is largely made up of
multi-national blue chip
companies.
“They’re all focusing
on growth in Africa –
and will be expecting
global consistency of
service,” he said. “Our
mandate is to deliver
on those expectations.”
In Larsen’s view, the
biggest challenge in Africa
is infrastructure – from
ports, rail and road to
customs issues.
“There are some things you can
do something about and some
things you can’t – but the key
element is communication, and
this is where DSV’s sophisticated
IT systems will come into play.”
Looking beyond the immediate
challenge of consistent service
delivery, Larsen says future
developments will be tailored to
the needs of the market. “We’ll
use our global know-how – and if
there’s an opportunity to set up
a distribution centre in Africa,
we can do it. The same applies to
a trucking service – we have the
know-how and muscle to make
things happen.
“It’s no different from when we
moved into Asia and the US – it’s
a question of copy and paste.”
While DSV is fairly new to
the local market, the group has
offices in more than 70 countries
and an international network of
partners and agents with 22 000
employees worldwide.
INSERT & CAPTION
DSV provides the basic
platform but different
menus need to be prepared
for different countries.
– Peter Larsen
