The South African logistics industry finds itself at a critical juncture, balancing persistent infrastructure and operational inefficiencies with a drive towards greater efficiency, digitalisation and stakeholder collaboration.
As the sector works to strengthen resilience and optimise trade logistics, ongoing regulatory changes and industry-wide reforms provide both challenges and opportunities.
Dr Juanita Maree, CEO of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff ), emphasises that while economic pressures and network constraints persist, the industry is actively finding ways to navigate these headwinds.
“Ongoing maturity to allow for collaborative solutions and market liberalisation is key, notably in the rail sector.
"The ports will follow suit, as we need to drive the restructuring agenda,” she said.
Freight forwarders continue to contend with inefficiencies at ports and across the transport network.
Rising costs, delays and operational bottlenecks have forced the industry to embrace digital transformation, enhance supply chain visibility, and explore South African-specific solutions to mitigate disruptions.
“By leveraging data analytics and improving collaboration, we are actively working to optimise operations and find ways to ensure reliability,” said Maree.
- Read the full article in our Freight Features edition on "Logistics."
