Cargo Carriers joins South Africans in recognising the importance of transport

Cargo Carriers, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed supply-chain solutions specialist, joins all South Africans in celebrating October Transport Month (OTM).

This is when all industry stakeholders, including government, the private sector and citizens, recognise the critical role that transport and logistics have to play in both the social upliftment and economic development of the country.

This year’s OTM theme is “Together we move South Africa Forward” which, importantly, recognises the need for continued collaboration between the public and private sector to improve the country’s transport and logistics performance.

Notably, OTM takes place shortly after the release of the latest World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI), which ranked South Africa as the third most competitive market, in terms of logistics performance among upper-middle-income economies.

Moreover, the country achieved an overall rating of 33 out of a total of 160 countries that were assessed in this year’s LPI.

Among the many important factors considered by the World Bank in compiling the LPI is the quality of a country’s logistics services.

Cargo Carriers has been a proud industry participant for 60 years, and continues to demonstrate its commitment to excellence as a strategic partner to the country’s steel, fuel, chemicals and powder-based product manufacturers.

Moreover, it is also known for the world-class transport logistics solutions it supplies to the agricultural industry, another fundamental pillar of state’s new economic-stimulus strategy.

In 2017, alone, the company’s revenue-earning fleet covered well over 19 000-million kilometres in South Africa and across its borders to ensure the timely delivery of, among others, fuels to mines, cement to construction sites, gasses to health facilities, as well as chemical and steel products to various industrial sectors.

However, it is not only the ability to efficiently deliver critical raw and semi-finished products to where they are needed that has enabled the company to retain its standing as the first point of contact for specialised supply-chain solutions.

Just as importantly, customers operating in highly-regulated industries appreciate Cargo Carriers’ unwavering commitment to health and safety, as well as the environment.

This is demonstrated by its robust integrated systems that provide a holistic view of Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ).

Certified by independent third-party accreditation body, Dekra, the company’s policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated, while all employees undergo regular training to update risk-assessment and reporting standards.

Moreover, the company conducts its own bi-annual internal SHEQ audits to monitor health and safety standards across the group and the outcomes are used as critical benchmarks to implement improvement wherever possible.

Certainly, this focus supports the National Department of Transport’s drive to ensure a safe and eco-friendly transport sector.

Importantly, the sustainability of the industry is also dependent upon accelerated transformation, which has again taken centre stage at this year’s OTM.

As a Level 2 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) third-party logistics provider, Cargo Carriers has demonstrated its commitment to the establishment of a more inclusive transport industry.

This has always been a fundamental pillar of the “Cargo Way”, which is aligned to government’s BBBEE policies and the Transport Sector Charter to ensure meaningful participation of South African citizens in the local economy.

Cargo Carriers is now 53,06% black and 12,55% black-women owned and, notably, received an outstanding 125% scoring for procuring products and services from black businesses in its latest BBBEE verification audit.

The company is also encouraged by the substantial weight given to technology and innovation by state actors during this OTM.

This is in line with global best practice, with “intelligent” concepts, such as Mobility as a Service, increasingly taking centre stage in international transport planning.

Cargo Carriers continues to harness digital technologies to provide its customers with a strategic competitive edge.

Innovation has enabled the company to drive down fuel consumption, as well as significantly improve road safety and reduce its carbon footprint, while allowing it to better assist its customers to navigate increasingly complex supply chains.

The company also lauds government for its renewed focus on developing infrastructure, including transport-related services, as part of its economic-turnaround strategy.

Certainly, the credence state has placed on showcasing its latest road projects on the back of increased spending by the South African National Roads Agency Limited on these strategic assets is another major highlight during OTM 2018.

Past efforts made by both public and private sector players in bolstering the country’s port, roads and rail capacity were also noted by the World Bank’s recent LPI, in which South Africa climbed from 38^th position in 2014 to 36 for the quality of its transport infrastructure.

This follows the recognition it received for the excellence of related infrastructure in the 2017 to 2018 World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI).

South Africa ranked 61 out of the 137 countries surveyed, as opposed to the 64^th position it held in the 2016/17 GCI.

As the country’s foremost supply-chain solutions specialist, Cargo Carriers stands ready to play its part in moving South Africa forward.