Digitisation continues to be an important trend for the logistics sector as efforts to gain efficiency, streamline workf lows and save costs remain the order of the day.According to Anthea van Breemen, a director at Forte Warehouse Solutions, digitisation remains at the heart of Forte’s solutions as the company understands the pressures of the modern supply chain and the need to move more volume more efficiently.“Our latest inclusion is a last-mile solution for the supply chain as part of our Flow mobility solution,” she tells Freight News. “Flow mobility takes you to the next level of visibility, allowing every step of your mobile workforce to be recorded and reported on.”This is of critical importance in the cold chain, which requires efficient systems with little room for error.This f lexible solution, says Van Breemen, allows for improved efficiency. “With so much instability around cost and with so much focus on it, one of the best ways to save on cost is by introducing more ef f icienc y.”She says many of the cold stores that are in the country at present are running at full capacity and there is more inbound than outbound movement happening at the moment. “This is attributed to two factors. Firstly, consumers are not spending as much anymore; and secondly, traders are waiting for a price correction.”With Durban still recovering from the impact of last year’s unrest, the recent f looding in the province has not helped the situation, putting even more pressure on cold-storage availability. Customs delays are also challenging and add pressure, says Va n Br e emen.“Supply chain disruptions over the past year and the consequences of long delays in getting goods to clients are slowly being overcome. More stock is arriving, however, than what is required (or in demand) currently. This is leading to longer cold storage and fuller cold stores.“Suppliers who are accustomed to faster turnaround times now have to face consequences of, for example, tariff increases. This has led to suppliers holding stock while waiting for a price correction – and, in turn, keeping cold storage facilities overfilled.”Looking to the retail future with its quick commerce, and with the last-mile space changing the horizon, Van Breemen says it is going to be interesting to see how the cold chain handles the space issue of mini-warehouses for on-demand delivery. “The software and technology will have to encompass a positive consumer experience, with speed of delivery and availability being the deciding factors.”
