It’s easy to see why global
business is increasingly
referring to Africa as being
part of the new Silk Road,
according to Volodya
Bilanovsky, vice-president
of Sydney-based CargoWise
– partners with SA’s freight
system specialists Compu-
Clearing in the use of the
CargoWise single platform
logistics management
system, ediEnterprise.
“Not only is the African
continent a major source
of the resources imported
by Chinese manufacturers
to make the goods and
services they ship out to the
rest of the world, it is also
a major source of the fuel
powering the global boom,
and increasingly a major
market for goods produced
all over the world,”
Bilanovsky told FTW.
“As these global trade
routes increasingly
converge to China, the
challenge is in finding
efficient ways to work with
the Chinese economy, and
design business processes
and partners with the
experience and technology
to dovetail neatly with
the opportunities as they
grow.”
It’s a challenge they’ve
been tackling for the last
decade at CargoWise, as
China now represents not
only its biggest growth
market but its largest single
customer base.
China, however,
represents some particular
challenges which can be
difficult to appreciate from
the outside, according to
Moshe Zulberg, Compu-
Clearing’s marketing and
training manager.
“Regional differences
within the country need
to be accounted for and
understood,” he told
FTW. “While there is a
single written language,
there are at least seven
different spoken forms of
Chinese, and although they
are often referred to as
different dialects many are
not mutually intelligible.
There are also 34 different
provinces, and provincial
governments to deal with.
“This means there are
different regulatory and
tax requirements which
need to be understood and
integrated into business
practices in order to
operate effectively in
different parts of the
country.”
And the rapidly
developing business culture
requires that companies
coming into the Chinese
market are prepared to
comply with constantly
evolving regulatory
requirements, added
Bilanovsky.
“As is often the case
when moving into new
markets, the safest
approach is to look for
technology providers who
already have experience in
the area, learn from and in
some cases lean on, their
experience,” he said. “Not
only because they know the
market you are interested
in, but because they have
already established links
between both markets.
“It’s a bit like paving the
new Silk Road, only this
time we’re doing it with
software not flagstones.”
INSERT
‘There are different
regulatory and tax
requirements which
need to be understood
and integrated into
business practices.’
CAPTION
Moshe Zulberg … ‘Regional
differences need to be accounted for.'
