South African logistics operators are hard at work to come up with solutions to meet the ongoing global challenges in the supply chain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.According to Cherie Meyer, sales and marketing executive for GoGlobal, container and equipment shortages have had a massive impact on operations. “Constant increases in freight rates is another challenge we have to deal with, while vessel scheduling and reliability is a concern. These challenges are not unique to South Africa and are being faced by logistics operators around the world.”But, she said, locally the cyberattack on Transnet and the violent riots and looting the country experienced in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal did not help the situation. “It increased pressure and created severe bottlenecks on an already pressurised logistics chain.”Meyer said the ongoing pandemic was also impacting logistics in that ports around the world were dealing with productivity issues as lockdowns and quarantine policies affected operations. “At the moment shipping lines are unable to keep control of vessel allocations and this often results in missed opportunities. There are also serious space constraints on vessels.”She said historically, price points were based on a growing bottom line. “With the increases being experienced in the logistics chain, such as freight rates, it’s now a seller’s market.”Meyer said as part of an ongoing strategy to overcome the current difficult operating environment, GoGlobal had extended its global presence and service offerings, including physical representation in Europe. “There is definitely a move to conventional shipping options due to the equipment shortages. We are also seeing growth in alternative markets as shippers extend their reach and try to find new markets.”According to Meyer, solutions that may have been overlooked in the past or may not have worked are starting to come to the fore, with operators having to remain f lexible and agile. Non-traditional shipping methods are increasing as everyone in the supply chain works to find solutions.She said systems allowing for remote and f lexible working hours throughout the logistics chain were critical. “We have seen an increased interest on our mobile logistics tracking app Root2Go as there is a greater need for access to information throughout the logistics supply chain, every day of the week.”
