SCT: Nov / Dec 2010

Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010 1

2 Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010

Scania Southern AfricaAngola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, NamibiaSouth Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Scania. Destined to Lead.

Just add Diesel.

Scania is the leading supplier in South Africa of Euro 4 products, with EGR technology.

For more information contact your nearest Dealer. Details available

on www.scania.co.za

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Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010 �

November/December 2010

Contents

Proprietor and Publisher:PROMECH PUBLISHINGTel: (011) 781-1401Fax: (011) 781-1403E-mail: [email protected]@promech.co.za Website: www.promech.co.zaManaging Editor:Susan Custers

Advertising Sales:Lelanie Lane

DTP: Zinobia Docrat and Sean Bacher

Printed by:Typo Colour PrintingTel: (011) 402-3468

The monthly circulation is 4 025 CopyrightAll rights reserved. No editorial matter published in Supply Chain Today may be reproduced in any form or language without written permission of the publishers. While every effort is made to ensure accurate reproduction, the editor, authors, publish-ers and their employees or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in the publication, whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising therefrom. The inclusion or exclusion of any product does not mean that the publisher or editorial board advocates or rejects its use either generally or in any particular field or fields.

Cover Story5 Keeping Industry Wheels Turning

8 Racking and Shelving Survey

Racking and Shelving10 Going Live

Express Freight13 Its First Foray

Trends in Industrial Premises15 Fact or Fiction?

Market Forum — Unit19 Market Forum

CILTSA22 World First

Trucking23 Shifting Into Overdrive27 Significantly More Payload

Collaboration29 Damaged Relationships with Suppliers

Pharmaceutical 31 Dispensing with Politics

Software35 ‘Ninjas’ at Integration

Market Forum — Supply37 Market Forum

Endorsing BodiesAfritag (div of Smart Card Society)CGCSA (Consumer Goods Council of SA)CILTSA (Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport: SA)SAEPA (SA Express Parcel Association) SAPICS (The Association for Operations Management of Southern Africa) also mailed to: CSCMP (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals)

Featured on the cover:

UD Truckswww.udtrucks.co.za

Scania Southern AfricaAngola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, NamibiaSouth Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Scania. Destined to Lead.

Just add Diesel.

Scania is the leading supplier in South Africa of Euro 4 products, with EGR technology.

For more information contact your nearest Dealer. Details available

on www.scania.co.za

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� Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010

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COVER STORY

T he company has a well-balanced range ensuring appropriate technology for the needs of customers in the various ap-plications. Through a pioneering spirit,

groundbreaking engineering and a customer-cen-tric approach, UD Trucks applies the expertise

amassed in the diesel engine field to produce trucks that are comfortable, safe and environ-mentally friendly.

Recipe for future success“UD Trucks Southern Africa takes great care to ensure that we provide a high quality product in order to sustain our objective of providing the highest possible level of durability, and ultimately giving customers as much up-time as possible,” says Johan Richards, chief executive officer of UD Trucks Southern Africa. “We believe that our commercial vehicle range offers customers versatility, quality and ultimate dependability in

Keeping Industry Wheels Turning

As one of the world’s leading truck manufacturers, UD Trucks has over the years invested a great deal in developing vehicles that offer bet-ter efficiency, fuel economy and

environmental responsibility.

Customers are increasingly looking for a truck provider that can be a true professional partner

a highly competitive market.”

Research by UD Trucks has revealed that customers are increasingly looking for a truck provider that can be a true professional partner. The company is therefore committed to continue building closer professional relationships with their customers and to offer dependable transport solutions, a recipe for future success.

“By matching customer business insight with the global expertise inherent in our company, we are aiming to get the fundamentals right, here in South Africa and across the region. This includes the manufacturing of quality products at competitive prices, an effective parts supply and unrelenting aftermarket support,” says Johan.

Nationwide dealer networkUD Trucks currently has more than 50 dealers and service agents in southern Africa with several new developments underway. The company also already has dealers in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia,


UD Trucks currently has more than 50 dealers and service agents in southern Africa with several new developments underway

Zimbabwe, and is currently investigating a number of op-portunities for expansion across the region.

“We place great emphasis on building long-term relationships with our customers and provid-ing ongoing support throughout a product’s lifecycle. “Our dealers remain committed to providing customers with inno-vative transport solutions and service offerings, built on trust, in-depth industry knowledge and a strong technical skills set,” says Johan.

UD Trucks Southern Africa has a dedicated centralised call centre that operates 24/7 to facilitate roadside and emer-gency assistance to customers all across South Africa.

“We believe that by being passionate, professional and dependable in everything we do, we are able to provide cus-tomers with high quality prod-ucts and transport solutions,” concludes Johan. “With a long and proud history in the region dating back to 1962, and the full support of the UD Trucks Corporation in Japan, we are customer-focused as ever.”

www.udtrucks.co.za

COVER STORY


Sponsors:

This prestigious award recognises people, projects and products

that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to

enhance the environment in which they operate.

The inaugural awards in 2009, followed by those in 2010, enjoyed a wonderful

response from the supply chain community and everything is on track to

make the 2011 event one of the industry’s most prestigious accolades.

Enter your product or project now!

GreenSupplyChain

Awards

Entry forms are avialble from: Catherine Larkin on

Tel: (011) 789-7327/787-9127, Cell: 083 300 0331, Fax: (011) 787-7865

Email: [email protected]

Are You Doing Your Bit?


Name of Company Acrow Racking & Shelving

APC Storage

Solutions SA

Barpro Storage SA

Dexion SA DNA Logic EM Shelving &

Racking

Ezi Systems Executive Storage

Equipment

Contact: Craig Fred Albrecht

James Cunningham

Ron Bon Chuys

Alan Botha W. Thomas Allen Cunningham

Stanley Aucamp

Type of Shelving:

* Bolted Shelving* Boltless Shelving* Cantilever Racking* Drive-in Rack* Mezzanine Floors* Mobile Rack* Pallets/Carton Flow Rack

* Push Back Rack* Retail/Wholesale Shelving* Shuttle Racking * Small Parts Storage* Standard Pallet Racking* Other

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Live storage

Do you work to SEMA (Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association)?

Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes

Do you manufacture and/or supply?

Manufacture Manufacture Manufacture Supply Supply Manufacture and Supply

Manufacture

Manufacturing Standards (ISO)?

Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes

Turnkey Projects? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes

After-sales service/training?

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes

Approximate turnover in 2009/2010?

- R286 Million R15 Million R24 Million R16 Million R50 Million R5 Million R50 Million

Number of staff? 140 207 13 7 10 26 15 26

Racking & Shelving Survey


First Storage Concepts

Interrroll SA Linvar Marathon Logistic Systems

Palian Storage Management

Systems

Storequip Group Universal Storage Systems

Kevin Rees-Gibbs

Cullem McKay Nicky Farrell Tom Dornan Johan Crafford Gerhard van Deventer

Ron Stoltz JanBreytenbach

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Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Supply Manufacture and Supply

Manufacture Manufacture and Supply

Manufacture Supply Manufacture and Supply

Manufacture

- Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes

Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

- Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

- - - - - R22 Million - -

40 22 35 - - 23 409 139

Racking & Shelving Survey


Marketplace problemsOne of the company’s decisions to manufacture live storage was based on problems within the marketplace. These had cost many large distribution centres downtime with their storage equipment due to not being able to replace damaged components for a period of up to 12 weeks as suppliers had to order their products from overseas.

“We have a full manufacturing facility and all components are locally produced in accordance with our ISO 9001:2008 manufacturing and quality control standards. The records are main-tained to demonstrate conformance to specified requirements and the effective operation of the quality system, which are available for customer inspection.

“Acrow’s live pallet storage’s first-in first-out system (FIFO) has been designed to meet their client’s needs to operate their systems more smoothly and efficiently,” he says.

All clients will be able to easily gain access to any parts needed for maintenance and upgrades as the majority of components are kept in stock.

AdvantagesThe main advantages in comparison with static racking are the following:

Greater use of available surfaces and volumes (approximately 44 to 88% more)

Safe application of the FIFO system

Reduction in transportation to handle pallets (often a frontal lift truck for feed and one for picking are enough, but if the work load is relatively low, just one may be sufficient).

Handling frequency inside the warehouse is cut by 50% since handling is executed on rollers

No energy cost as pallets move automati-cally

Unlimited functioning warranty with the simplest maintenance interventions.

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S upply Chain Today” speaks to Craig An-nandale of Acrow to find out more about its Live Storage system. “Integration of our racking and live storage systems are

engineered locally by our highly experienced design office ensuring peace of mind and lower costs to the client who only has to place an order with one company, says Craig.

Live StorageAcrow is the first racking and shelving com-pany in South Africa to manufacture pallet live storage, carton live storage, roller push back and specialised gravity conveyors, all

under one roof.

RACKING & SHELVING

Distribution centres experienced downtime due to not being able to replace damaged components for up to 12 weeks


RACKING & SHELVING

Pallet safety and lifespan is much higher thanconventional trolley or cart push back systems

“With our live push back last-in first-out (LIFO) system principle, goods that were put into store last are removed first. The advantage of the LIFO principle is optimum space utilisation. Furthermore, storing and retrieval takes place from the same location and the backs of the racking system can therefore be against the wall,” explains Craig.

“Push back racks offer up to seven pallet locations deep and the speed of the operation is controlled by the loading vehicle. Additional brake or brake conveyor rollers are not necessary in this system as has been proven in Europe, however, if it is a requirement from the client, we can offer our 2-way directional brake as apposed to a 1-way directional brake,” adds Craig.

Greater lifespanSafety and lifespan of the pallet on the Acrow LIFO system is much higher than conventional trolley or cart push back systems as these systems create a high deflection on pallets and damaged pallets will deflect more and possibly collapse.

“With our Roller LIFO system, all types of pal-lets can be used as the pallets and loads are uniformly distributed over several full width rollers at any given time within the depth of the lane,” he says.

Versatile and modular“Our live carton storage FIFO system is very versatile and modular. This design of carton live storage is the first of its kind, and our market

research has revealed that many of the problems encountered are the different types of trays, ie, straight type tray full roller 0 deg, 5 deg type tray, 15 deg type tray, 30 deg type tray and welded trays,” Craig continues.

“Many of these trays come from all over the world and finding replacement parts is very difficult for the client. We have designed one type of tray that can be adjusted from 0 deg to 30 deg. There are many advantages to our tray type such as lower costs, short delivery times, lower installation and project management fees and everything is locally manufactured,” he enthuses.

Finally, Acrow’s wheel tracks and full length guides can be easily adjusted to suit any size carton, box or crate.

“In addition to our products, we also offer project management services which include managing on site installations from date of installation to com-missioning. In addition, we offer onsite training to forklift operators working with our system. This training is to ensure that the operator understands the loading and offloading procedures so as to prevent goods and equipment being damaged,” concludes Craig.

Acrow, Craig Annandale, Tel: (011) 824-1527, Email: [email protected], www.acrow.co.za

Carton flow system

Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010 1�

Its First ForayElite Line Haul is using 8- and 10-ton freight carriers for its first foray into smaller category trucks as it

expands its business which primarily serves the South African courier industry.

two drivers on this route and the trucks are fitted with a bunk bed so they can sleep between their two-hour driving shifts.

Depending on usageThe 8-ton van bodies are made by Roberts Van Bodies (RVB) and the 10-tonners have Anchor Bodies fitted. Tracking and security features were fitted to the carriers.

Elite carries out its own maintenance at the Elandsfontein and Centurion depots, with their technicians having been trained by Hino. Joint venture service contracts are in place with maintenance service providers in Cape Town and Durban. Operations manager Karl Steyn says he expects a replacement cycle for these trucks of between 600–700 000km or 3-5 years, depend-ing on the usage.

The company is currently conducting trials on various makes of tyre to assess the most suit-able for this operation. It recently took control of its tyre maintenance and fitment after using a number of service providers in the past.

Exceptionally wellElite Line Haul was established as a division of

EXPRESS FREIGHT

Fitted with special 530-litre long range, stainless steel fuel tanks

From left: Karl Steyn, operations manager at Elite Line Haul, Tony Krole, general manager at Elite Line Haul, Piet Smit, sales manager at Hino Elandsfontein and Bobby Pringle, sales executive at Hino Elandsfontein

T he company originally purchased 12 Hino 500 series 1626 model trucks and has taken delivery of a further 18 of these trucks recently to bring this section of

its fleet up to 30 units. The other trucks in the current Elite Line Haul fleet of 150 units are extra-heavy duty truck-tractors.

Daily run“The Hinos are being used for countrywide deliv-eries of bulky but comparatively light automotive replacement parts from Johannesburg, which includes a regular, daily run to Cape Town as well as cross-border routes to Swaziland and Botswana,” explains Karl Steyn, the operations manager.

Some of the first trucks, running between Johan-nesburg and Cape Town are proving both reliable and fuel efficient. They are fitted with special 530-litre long range, stainless steel fuel tanks so that they can travel from Johannesburg to Cape Town without refuelling en route. Each truck has

1� Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010

Elite Truck Hire in 2005 with the takeover in 2005 of Denver Transport, which had been in opera-tion from 1992. Medu Capital bought 25.7% of Elite Truck Hire in 2008, thereby ensuring the company’s empowerment status.

It operates from four facilities – Elandsfontein, Centurion, Cape Town and Durban and operates five days a week, with most of the driving tak-ing place at night, other than the long distance route to Cape Town.

“Elite Line Haul is performing exceptionally well, despite the tough economic conditions,” said Karl Steyn. “The fleet has grown from 80 to 150 trucks since 2005 and we are showing significant growth.

Electronic scorecard“We believe the reason for our ongoing success is exceptional service levels as we know our custom-ers cannot afford to miss delivery times,” adds the operations manager who trained originally in Information Technology (IT) and then worked at Denver Transport. “My IT experience has resulted in our using many systems to ensure more efficient control of our complex operation.”

Karl adds that the company’s 200-odd drivers are all monitored by means of electronic scorecards

EXPRESS FREIGHT

Performing exceptionally well, despite the tougheconomic conditions

Interroll S.A. (Pty. Ltd.) · South Africa · +27 1128199 00 · [email protected] · www.interroll.com

• Space saving up to 60 %• Considerably increased picking

performance• ROI of 2-3 years• Maintenance free

Doubled picking performanceHalved space requirement

For Interroll dynamic storage solutions – the complete standard

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for green band driving and the like, as well as for attendance. This scheme is coupled to an incen-tive programme for the good drivers and training to improve the poor performers. Ongoing driver training is part of the driver support.

Hands-onThe general manager of Elite Line Haul, Tony Crole, is a person very well schooled in all aspects of business, including the transport industry. One of his first jobs was, in fact, in 1968 with the country’s first private waste removal company, which was then part of Murray and Roberts.

He was also involved with Hultrans’ cane operations in KwaZulu-Natal and later worked for Hultrans in Gauteng. Tony Crole joined Elite five years ago running the administration and was appointed the company’s general manager in 2006.

“Success in our company is due to hands-on involvement by our executives as well as care-ful people selection,” says the experienced businessman.

Hino, Ignatius Muthien, Tel: (011) 809-2064, Fax: (011) 809-9064, Email: [email protected]


Fact or Fiction?

No-one gives a damn about a temperature-controlled building

TRENDS IN INDUSTRIAL PREMISES

T he minute we start talking about green buildings, we envision buildings that are energy efficient in cooling and heating and natural light. Again a myth. In South

Africa, other than for temperature-controlled facili-ties for perishables, no-one gives a damn about a temperature-controlled industrial building.

Regardless of whether you blame Eskom, the Government or anybody else, it is clear that in order to survive in South Africa, we all urgently need to save substantial amounts of power.

We’ve put together some guidelines aimed at warehousing and distribution operations, but many are also applicable to factory environments.

Design of facilitiesIndustrial buildings in South Africa are gener-ally steel sheds with light sheeting and minimal temperature control or insulation (other than buildings for perishable products). You certainly won’t find the kind of airconditioning for summer or heating for winter that you would in Europe or America.

We tend to feel this is not necessary with our temperate climate and let’s be honest, how many companies care about the DC or warehouse personnel being comfortable as long as the lofty offices are great?

EnvironmentOccupational legislation in first-world countries doesn’t allow staff to work in unsatisfactory condi-tions. If the conditions are right, the productivity increases. How many of you have been in a facility

in Durban in the humid summer? Or what hap-pens in a facility in Gauteng or Cape Town in the middle of winter? What t e m p e r a t u r e do you experi-ence? We have measured up to 45oC and over 95% humidity or as low as 3oC. In addition to the people is-sue, what about products?

Most packaging carries warn-ings about not exceeding cer-tain limits – how often do we do it? Chocolates get ruined at both extremes and many other products can be

spoilt by heat or cold. Now I’m not saying we need to heat and aircondition the buildings – that would be tantamount to treason with the present energy crisis.

One of the great ideas of a green world is everyone driving around in electric vehicles. Well, the power crisis in South Africa has put paid to that idea – there’s no electricity to

charge them. On the factories and warehousing front, I sup-pose we actually think DCs (distribution centres) and ware-houses are green today, as most equipment is electric. The truth of the matter is that electricity generation is probably the most carbon-polluting source on this planet so the need to be efficient with electricity, even if running electric ve-

hicles, is paramount, say Martin Bailey and Gary Benatar of Industrial Logistic Systems.


It is, however, possible to design buildings that are com-fortable to work in without any additional energy costs


Radiant footprintIt is, however, possible to design buildings that are comfortable to work in without any additional energy costs. The first step is to understand the difference between radiant heat and transmissive heat. Simply put, radiant heat is the heat that you get when you park a black car in the sun and touch it - transmissive heat is the heat that gets inside. So when we design facilities we need to insulate them. Good insulation will let less heat in and keep the facility comfortable longer.

Just as important is its radiant footprint. Light colours are a must. One of the easiest ways of reducing heat build-up in a building is its ori-entation. A building designed with the long side North-South will generate less heat than East-West orientation as the direct roof exposure is reduced. Then you come to the East and West walls, they also transmit heat, so insulate them too.

High buildingsOne of my pet topics is building high. The higher you build the more efficient the building. Forget about the cubic volume you get at a lower con-struction cost, that’s the cherry on the top. The higher you go, the less footprint you need for the same capacity and, therefore, the smaller the radiant signature. At the same time, the area to insulate is reduced.

A side benefit is the lower you are from the roof, the less you experience the heat being transmitted and being built up under the roof. A secondary effect of high buildings is the densification you get industrially.

With the current cost of land and getting services and roads to facilities, the more we densify, the less energy we use in the long term. Internally, shorter distances mean we get higher productiv-ity out of our materials handling equipment thus using less energy.

VentilationIn South Africa, we pay scant regard to ventilation in buildings, other than what is legislated. So if we need 2% of the roof to be ventilated for fire extraction, we will put it in, but with the hope that we will never have to use that ventilation. One of the key ways to control temperature in a building is to use the smoke ventilation systems intelligently, so at least there is some payback.

A simple method is to open the smoke ventila-tion systems at night when it’s cooler and there is no radiant heat to exhaust the hot air that has built up in the building. So if the temperature is colder outside than the required temperature inside, open the vents! In winter the vents can be opened in the day to let in warmer air if the internal temperature is colder than necessary.

Two systemsIf the building needs mechanical ventilation (positive pressurisation) or cooling systems, design them to be reversed in the event of fire and reduce the need for two systems. This system can also be used intelligently to control the environment.

How many refrigerated facilities will bring in external air if it’s the same temperature as the internal requirement in winter, and switch off the refrigeration plants? So the need for some intel-ligent building control in warehouses and DC’s is becoming a necessity.

Heating and coolingIf you need airconditioning in your warehouse, you can install more energy-efficient systems. Typically these may include:

Evaporative cooling (although not as reliable, it uses 40% to 60% less power)Ice storage facilities (builds up ice outside peak times – reduces peak loading)Zone controlled airconditioning (only cools areas where necessary).

If you are building a freezer instead of electric heating in the floor, consider building the freezer on a glycol tank instead. This requires little or no energy.

Natural lightingThe first thing people try when conserving energy is natural light. Well it’s free and it will save energy. And here comes the “but” – with light comes heat.

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Reduction in peak demand is as important as reducing overall power consumption


and exploding bulbs are one of the most common sources of industrial fires. Mercury vapour and metal halide are little better; they cost more but the white light is a benefit to productivity and accuracy due to the colour rendition.

Fluorescent lighting has been ineffective in high warehousing applications until now. The fittings are expensive, the tube life short and unsuitable for giving sufficient light in high applications. This has all changed with the development of the T54 tubes and reflective technology. Today, we can get a fluorescent light that will work at 14m and higher, give in excess of 50 000 hours life, give perfect colour rendition, use significantly less electricity and generate little or no heat.

Certain companies even offer intelligent fittings that switch on progressively to only use the number of tubes or fittings required to give the required light level. These fittings will also detect movement and only switch on automatically if there is activity in an aisle.

Another simple trick is to set out the lighting circuits so that one can manually switch on in sequence to finally put on all the lights in an aisle depending on ambient light. It’s also possible to install lights that fall under natural (south light monitors) on a different circuit. These only switch on at night or in low light conditions.

Now all of this is not science fiction or new. We have designed most of the above lighting types into Shoprite’s DC’s back in 1995 and modern lighting has been part of the our specification or added value we give in any facility we design. Unfortunately, precedence is often given to the electrical or ventilation consultants or architects, and often our recommendations are ignored.

Batteries and chargingOne of the biggest users of electricity is the facility to charge batteries for forklifts. It is, however, possible to save up to 30% of this power as we have been doing for years. Firstly you need to use full cycle and not opportunistic or end-of-shift charging.

By running full cycle charging, you only charge it when it has depleted to 20% of capacity. This means that charging becomes random. The ad-vantage here is that all chargers do not switch on at the same time reducing the peak demand by up to 45%.

Batteries need to have a chance to cool down before being used and need to have been through a full equalization. This requires time, so 2 or 3

So unless you design to balance this, what you gain on one side, you lose on the other.

First of all the transparent panels that we use for natural light are not insulated. For your insulation to be effective, the RK value of the transparent or translucent sheeting or windows needs to be the same. There are products that are insulated but let light in.

The next step is to place the light openings in such a way that we reduce radiant heat. In South Africa, we need south-facing openings. If you put horizontal translucent or transparent sheeting in the roof, the natural light is excellent, but the heat coming through makes all money spent on insulation a waste. Similarly on the East and West faces.

Mechanical shuttersNatural light on the South and North faces can work – on the South face you never get any direct light, on the North face you get direct light only in winter when a bit of free heat is worthwhile. So, unless you are investing in expensive mechanical shutters that change the light coming in over the day and the year, invest in good design.

It is possible to put natural light in the roof but this must be in vertical monitors and south or

north facing. Both Shoprite facilities we designed (CT 1995 and JHB 2001) have this and we didn’t enter them for a design award – it was just good design practice.

The more natural lighting you can use the less energy you will expend. We have designed a facility in Saudi Arabia where the external tem-perature gets to 50oC. Therefore, we omitted natural light totally, as the cost of transparent sheeting with sufficient insulation to allow the facility to be managed to a consistent 25oC internal temperature was prohibitive. In South Africa it’s feasible but never done. No-one does energy balance viabilities on good natural light vs. artificial lighting and insulation costs.

Artificial lightingThe natural tendency has been to use the cheap-est lighting fixtures. The most common industrial light is sodium lighting. These lights are highly inefficient. The light they produce is poor, they degrade over time, the colour rendition affects productivity and accuracy, they generate heat


Generators need to be oversized to achieve your power objectives


batteries per machine are imperative. The initial capital outlay is higher but over time it boils down to the same if not a lower investment. People don’t actually think this through. A fully charged and cooled battery will last longer and give its charge out over a longer period with fewer losses (another reason to cool the facility).

New high-frequency chargers that are more ef-ficient exist. These chargers automatically detect when a battery is full and reduce overheating, overcharging and gassing. They also detect the battery status and therefore continue charging after disruption at the same status as before, rather than starting the programme over. Some of the older chargers will restart the charge process on being switched on.

Battery managementIt is also possible to install battery management systems that manage the chargers and the charge process, so that the peak load is managed, and the position in a cycle is remembered. If power goes down, there is intelligent load shedding of charging without affecting battery life.

Finally, the selection of the correct battery tech-nologies will give savings. We now have sealed batteries that can be charged anywhere without ventilation (reducing electricity consumption). There is no hydrogen gas, but they require good chargers. Additional savings include the elimi-nation of flame proofing and acid resistance. Sealed batteries also work better in a cooler environment.

By installing power factor correction at your incoming power distribution boards, you can improve the stability and efficiency of the trans-

mission network. Power factor correction (PFC) is the process of adjusting the characteristics of electric loads.

Machinery and operationsOften overlooked when trying to optimise produc-tivity, is the payback in reduced energy consump-tion, fewer people and fewer machines. Clearly, if we can find ways to simply handle goods less, we will improve operational efficiency and save power. Every time you lift, lower, transport, pack or unpack product you use power. Thus if you handle the product less, you can save power.

Managing your power All warehouses have associated offices. Here power can be saved by:

Installing intelligent monitoring systems and building management systems (which switch lights on and off, airconditioning, etc only where absolutely needed)

Turning off airconditioning, lights and equip-ment when not being used

Reducing wastageReduction in peak demand is as important as reducing overall power consumption. For example, if you can use some of your electricity at night, this will reduce the day load on Eskom. This can be achieved by:

Swopping out batteries in such a way that battery charging can be done randomly and delayed if peaking is approachedUsing a generator to “lop off” peaksUsing ice bank cooling to reduce aircondition-ing loads in the dayUsing heat exchangers to warm water by using excess heat from cooling plants.

GeneratorsA generator is an essential part of any modern warehouse. Without a generator, it is likely that the warehouse will not be able to service cus-tomers.

Generators need to be oversized to achieve your power objectives. For example, if you need to produce 200Kw to run your warehouse, you will need a 250Kw generator.Generators should not directly feed sensi-tive equipment (such as computers). An uninterrupted power supply (UPS) needs to be located between the generator and the sensitive kit.Make sure the generator has sufficient diesel storage to operate effectively. All the savings you make will require less emergency generation. Batteries for forklifts can be connected to inverters to supplement emergency needs – especially clean power.

Gary Benatar, ILS CT, Tel: (021) 421-2474, [email protected]

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Market ForumReally coolHow do you keep premises cool enough to favour pro-ductivity when doors have to be left open to allow traffic of goods and people? The answer does not lie in mas-sive air conditioners and fans, but in an ingenious strip curtain designed and developed by Apex Strip Curtains. This product has been maintaining comfortable working environments in South Africa for over 26 years.

Apex Strip Curtains offer even more effective temperature control through the patented Balledge design. Each strip features the Balledge and it creates an efficient thermal seal while still allowing individual strips to part easily under pressure so that people and goods can move through unhindered without being snagged or scratched. At the same time, it prevents any air ingress into the workplace. The feature also strengthens the strips enhancing the life of the curtain, even in aggressive environments.

The same characteristics which prevent hot air from pouring into the workplace in summer operate just as effectively in winter stopping cold air from rushing in to cause undesir-able temperature drops in the workplace.

Apex Strip Curtains, Wim Dessing, Tel: (011) 452 8723, Website: www.apexstrip.co.za

Failed floor jointsSika was specified by contractor, MCS, to re-instate 150 linear metres of failed floor joints at the DHL Warehouse in Pretoria West. The over-worked floor joints were treated with Sikafloor-156ZA Primer, Sikadur-42 ZA and LoadFlex joint sealant in the weekend-long job.

The joints in the DHL old warehouse floor had been sub-jected to materials handling equipment such as pallet jacks and forklifts and thus had spalled to such a degree that a simple joint sealer would not suffice. The consistent heavy traffic had created cracks below the surface, caus-ing concrete to split and chip off. The contractors were firstly required to cut back and die into the concrete slab, clean the surface, and then begin priming the substrate with Sikafloor-156ZA Primer.

Sikafloor-156ZA Primer is a two part resin used for priming concrete prior to the application of epoxy mortar screeds, self-levelling floor toppings and overlays. The primer is easy to apply, solvent-free and has the capacity for high-strength bonding. Static cracks in the floors were levelled using Sikadur-42 ZA, a mixed fluid grout of epoxy resins and special fillers, before the application of the primer, to ensure optimum results.

Sikadur-42 ZA was allowed to cure, following which the joints were re-cut and cleaned with an electric blower in preparation for the third Sika product used, LoadFlex. Loadflex is a hard bearing sealant designed to withstand industrial traffic and can be used to fill interior horizon-tal control joints as well as to repair random cracking of concrete slabs.

Sika’s high performance products and systems were ap-plied mainly to the high traffic area of this existing ware-

Apex Strip Curtains offer even more effective temperature control through the patented Balledge design.

house because DHL are in the process of building a new warehouse nearby. For this new project, Sika LoadFlex has already been specified.

Sika South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Paul Adams, Tel: (031) 792 6500, Fax: (031) 700 1760, Email: [email protected]


Market ForumExtra storage space Through innovative design, Spar East-ern Cape has gained an extra 40% stor-age space at its 9 000m² ‘slow-mov-ing’ off-site ware-house in Port Eliza-beth. Two fir for purpose Bendi 318 articulated forklifts from Goscor Lift Truck Company’s (GLTC) Eastern Cape branch were chosen to operate in the narrower aisles. These are the first Bendi forklifts to be used in the Spar Group nationally.

GLTC Eastern Cape branch manager Mike Burley says the main challenge in this facility was the utilisation of space as it is a long and narrow build-ing. “The task was to help increase the storage capacity and the Bendis, with their unique capability to articulate and operate in very narrow spaces, were a part of the solution,” he says.

Spar Risk & Maintenance Manager at the facility Julian Koutsouvelis says that apart from their ability to work in the facility’s narrow 1950mm aisles, the versatility of the Bendis with respect to their ability to work both in- and outside, was important in the decision to buy them. “It’s all very well having machines that can work in narrow aisles, but if you have to then transfer to another machine to load onto the outside ve-hicles, the advantage would be lost,” he says.

Mike concurs: “The Bendi’s ability to pick indoors and load outdoors with equal dexterity, precludes the requirement for two machines. It can also load a truck straight from the rack avoiding the double handling of pallets. All this significantly enhances ef-ficiency,” he concludes

Goscor Lift Truck Company, Dar-ryl Shafto, Tel: 0861 467 267, Fax: (011) 976 2176, Email: [email protected], Website: www.gos-cor.co.za

Mike Burley, Goscor Lift Truck Company, PE Branch Manager with Julian Koutsouvelis, Risk and Maintenance Manager, SPAR Eastern Cape.

ConsolidationCorruseal Packaging has taken delivery of five new Linde forklifts for their Durban plant, Chappy Moodley (Branch Manager KZN) says that Corruseal has been dealing with multiple forklift suppliers and wanted to consolidate and use a single supplier who would justify long term cost sav-ings. Corruseal also wanted a one stop supplier option and


Market Forumwith Linde’s long standing relationship with Corruseal and Lindes’ excellent service reputation in KZN, Linde was first choice says Operations Manager, Anban Subramany. Linde Material Handling, Linki de Jongh –Brown, Tel: (011) 723 700, Fax: (011) 574 9406, Email: [email protected], Website: www.linde-mh.co.za

New heightsThe proven ability of Mercedes-Benz to provide one-stop solutions was the determining factor which sealed a R20-million deal to supply 15 Actros 2644 truck tractors to Manline Energy, a subsidiary of the Manline Group based in Pietermaritzburg.

The trucks were handed over to Manline Energy at their headquarters in Mkondeni. The new Actros vehicles will all be used to transport dangerous goods - flammable liquids, liquid petroleum gas and bulk chemicals, among others - for Manline Energy, a growing company within the logistics group.

Justin Blythe, managing director of Manline Energy, says the new trucks would be on the roads immediately. “They arrived fully specced and ready to operate so they’ll soon be hauling tankers and drop-side trailers carrying danger-ous goods throughout South Africa as well as cross border into Zambia.”

The Actros trucks add to the group’s fleet which now numbers in excess of 320 units.

Manline Energy has also recently acquired 15 flat deck dangerous goods trailers which now service a niche mar-ket. Justin forecasts further growth for Manline Energy with plans to buy another 15 truck tractors in the new financial year.

Mercedes Benz SA, Shirle Greig, Tel: (012) 677 1904, Fax: (012) 677 1682, Email: [email protected], Website: www.mercedes-benzsa.co.za

Practical seals“Aluvin’s ‘Dragon’ security seal has helped us to keep fuel theft at remarkably low levels,” says Eugine Alrode depot manager Nick Murugan.

Coming from someone who is responsible for the dispatch of around 35 million litres of bulk fuel per month and more than 56 loads a day from its fleet of 14 fuel trucks, this is praise indeed.

The Dragon seals are part of a well orchestrated system of security that Engen Alrode has devised. “In short, the seals are locked on the vehicles’ bottom loading points and on the top domes and the numbers are recorded when leav-ing our premises. The customer then, on delivery, checks that they are intact and verifies the numbers.”

Nick adds, “Apart from our efforts to reduce theft, we have driver training programmes and driver monitoring, including breathalyser tests whenever they leave or enter our premises. “

The Dragon Seal, each with a unique printed number, is designed for optimal tamper-evidence. It features an easy-to-apply metal locking mechanism and large flap area, making this one of the most practical seals for high-security applications. It is widely used for airline cargo, bank and postal services, clinical waste manage-ment, hazardous material transport, courier services, cash-in-transit and other applications requiring high pull strength. It is also available in a longer version, where extra length is required.

Vikela Aluvin, Alan Browde, Tel: (011) 825 3648, Email: [email protected], Website: www.aluvin.co.za

Engen Alrode depot manager Nick Murugan with Aluvin’s Rory de Nobrega


CILTSA

W hat makes this achievement par-ticularly noteworthy is that this brings to six the total number of his concurrently held fellowships with

the world’s thought leading and foremost profes-sional bodies. Additionally, he is also a fellow of two South African bodies; the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and the Institute of Directors Southern Africa.

To date Dr Boateng is still the only known sup-ply chain strategy authority in the world to be concurrently conferred with elected fellowships by the foremost global organisations associated with uplifting standards in corporate leadership and governance, supply chain management practice and education.

A fellowship is the highest honour bestowed on a select number of professionals. The fellowship recognises specialist knowledge, ethics, thought leadership, directorial and management develop-ment, decision-making capabilities and contribu-tions to industry, government and academia.

CompetitionThe president and CEO of PanAvest International, a company he founded, Dr Boateng holds a Master of Science degree and a Doctorate in Engineering. He acknowledges that he is a firm believer in the power of education and applied knowledge to achieve competitive advantage in supply chain, logistics and procurement management. He also believes that these functions are where the modern business can – and will – distinguish itself from its competitors.

“Never since the industrial revolution has so much emphasis been placed on strategically managing supply chains, be they in public or private sec-tors,” says Dr Boateng. “It is an accepted fact that it is supply chains, and not companies, that compete.”

World First For his continued contribution to

among others, the global supply chain management and procurement fraterni-ty, Dr Douglas Boateng has been elect-

ed a Fellow of the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Purchasing and

Supply (CIPS).

Board levelHe says that in recognition of the growing strategic importance of the supply chain to competitive advantage, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of board level appointments of chief supply chain officers. “These appointees are tasked with operating the entire value chain in a synchronised fashion to sustainably achieve competitive advantage, improve bottom-line results and shareholder value.”

And that’s not something limited to the private sector, Dr Boateng continues. “By the same token, governments are steadily embracing sup-ply chain management as a means to improve service delivery and create sustainable jobs for their citizens.”

Assuming the mantleAs such, Dr Boateng notes that developments in local and international businesses, coupled with increasing pressure on government to improve service delivery, augur well for the talented sup-ply chain professional.

“Various independent research and commentar-ies from leading authorities including McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Accenture and Aberdeen are clearly indicating that chief supply chain officers, with their broad spectrum of skills, will increasingly assume the President and CEO mantle. Already some the world’s largest corporations, including Merck, are headed by supply chain profession-als,” Dr Boateng notes.

www.panavest.com

Dr Douglas Boateng

It is an accepted fact that it is supply chains, and not companies, that compete


T he RFA Convention 2010 which took place from 22 to 24 August at the Wild Coast Sun was one of the best-supported conventions held over recent years. It

featured more than 25 speakers and panelists, 29 sponsors and over 245 delegates from around the country.

Making your voice heard Deputy Transport Minister Jeremy Cronin delivered the convention’s opening address, appealing for closer co-operation between the private sector and Government.

Jeremy outlined some of the recent successes the Ministry has had when working with the private sector in the early stages of the plan-ning process. This echoed the recent creation of a quarterly forum between the Department of Transport (DoT) and the RFA which will go far in ensuring better communication and consulta-tion on issues that could affect the road freight transport industry.

SARS Commissioner Oupa Magashula also ad-dressed the convention, briefing delegates on trade facilitation initiatives that SARS and its

TRUCKING

Shifting Into Overdrive

From sitting behind the wheel while putting the widest range of trucks through their paces, to getting up close and personal with Ministers and Commissioners, if you were unable to attend the RFA Convention 2010, you

missed out.

partners are introducing as part of the Customs Modernisation programme.

“The RFA Convention definitely succeeded in ce-menting relationships between the RFA and several government departments,” says Gavin Kelly, the RFA’s Technical and Operations Manager. “We already have good interactions with the DoT and SARS and the convention reinforced this.”

NetworkingA number of government departments and para-statals were represented at the convention, apart from the DoT and SARS, including the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport (KZNDOT) and Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). Attendees had the chance to interact with them and have their questions answered.

There was also an opportunity for manufacturers and delegates to discuss the business of trucks, highlighting challenges and issues affecting their operations with each other and learn from one another ’s experiences.

Trucks put through their paces In what is believed to be an industry first, RFA members had the opportunity to test drive a range of trucks. Vehicles from DAF, Freightliner, Hino, Man, Mercedes-Benz, Navistar International

Jeremy Cronin Jake White Nazir Alli (left) with Frank Wagner (right)

In what is believed to be an industry first, RFA members had the opportunity to test drive a range of trucks


Trucks, UD Trucks (Nissan Diesel), Renault, Scania and Volvo were all available for test drives. Delegates were able to test drive all these vehicles, enabling them to do “on-site” comparisons and have all their questions answered by the manufacturers.

Keeping up to dateNazir Alli, Chief Executive of the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), briefed delegates on the fiercely debated toll roads. “A number of issues still need to be clarified,” says Gavin. “The most important of these is the exact fee that will be charged. Thereafter, a simplified understanding of how the fee will be structured (taking into consideration any discounts that will be applied needs to be made available). We were grateful to Nazir for clarifying a number of issues that have been misunderstood.”

Gavin also shared with delegates the latest developments on the points demerit system, dispelling some of the myths and misconceptions about the proposed scheme and outlin-ing some of the harsh, unintended consequences that the system may have for operators. The new implementation date for AARTO is 01 April 2011, although this date may well be postponed due to a number of improvements and changes that need to be done to the system.

Some of the latest developments included allowing an access period (six months or annual) to driver and/or vehicle infor-mation (the exact fees and procedure yet to be determined). Aspects of driver re-training have also not been finalised.

Prasanth Mohan of the Department of Transport provided the latest news on RTMS - an industry–led, government-supported, voluntary, self-regulation scheme that encourages consign-ees, consignors and road transport operators to implement a management system (a set of standards) with outcomes that contribute to preserving road infrastructure, improving road safety and increasing productivity. Its focus areas are load optimisation, driver wellness, vehicle maintenance and productivity. RTMS has been piloted in the forestry, sugar and coal industries with extremely positive results.

Award-winning green trailerOn show was the Green Trailer from Barloworld Logistics, which recently won the “Best Product under R1 million” in the Green Supply Chain Awards. This interlink taut-liner-trailer combination achieves, through some practical innovation, significant reductions in the amount of fuel it uses, which

There was an opportunity formanufacturers anddelegates to discuss the business of trucks

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SARS Commissioner, Oupa Magashula behind the wheel of a Freight-line Argossy truck


will result in significant environmental benefits and sav-ings with existing transport fleets. The expected reduction in fuel consumption on the green trailer project for the next six months will be between 6% and 8%.

SMME mentorshipThe RFA’s new Mentorship Programme is a part of the Association’s SMME growth and development strategy offering SMME operators an opportunity to learn from one of our leading industry experts. The SMMEs will be mentored by Otto van Griethuysen, who has 35 years of technical, operational and financial experience in the industry. This intense programme covers the entire spectrum of what it takes to run a successful trucking business.

The Road Freight Association (RFA), Tel: (011) 974-4399, Fax: (011) 974-4903, email: [email protected], www.rfa.co.za

A number of government departments and parastatals were represented at the convention


TRUCKING

A ccording to United Bulk’s managing director, Patrick Pols, “our mandate from Distell was to provide a

tanker capable of carrying significantly more payload than the industry norm of 34-tons and built to stringent ADR (Agreement on Dangerous Goods by Road) specifications.”

Robotic welding“The ADR standards for road tanker design were drafted in Europe but extend to South Africa and apply to all DG tanker builders as stipulated in the SANS code 1518,” explains Christo

Muller, managing member, CA Muller Fabrica-tion. “Complying with ADR standards requires

Significantly More Payload

Specialist tanker-trailer manufacture, CA Muller Fabrication, recently launched South Africa’s first fully legal 38-ton super-tanker, designed to carry Dangerous Goods (DG) and food-grade products. The tanker was com-missioned by alcoholic beverage producer, Distell, which subcontracts its tanker hauliage to United Bulk, a

local tanker transport operation based in Vanderbijlpark.

significant investment in sophisticated robotic welding equipment and testing procedures to ensure construction integrity of new tankers.”

Based outside Wellington in the Western Cape, CA Muller Fabrication specialises in building cus-tomised stainless steel tankers for both DG and food-grade/beverage transporters. The challenge set by Distell and United Bulk required close cooperation and collaboration with Sandown Commercial Vehicles (Bellville), which supplied the prime-mover, a 6x4 Freightliner Argosy 90 CUM500.

Express mission of lowering tare mass as much as possible

Christo Muller


From scratch“Using a CAD 3D modelling system, we were able to design each component from scratch with the express mission of lowering tare mass as much as possible without compromising structural integrity and safety parameters,” Christo says. “The CAD software reflects the exact properties of all materials used to make the tanker, including their respective weights. This allowed us to really push the payload envelope and proceed with the manufacturing process without too much risk.”

The tanker combination consists of a tridem-axle semitanker pulling a single-axle drawbar pup tanker. “We were able to shave a massive 900kg off the tanker using Domex steel and lightweight fibreglass and polyethylene cladding materials,” adds Christo.

Considerably lighter“The SAF-Holland axles carry a full off-road spec and are each 21kg lighter than competitor de-rivatives. We opted for super-single Bridgestone tyres on Speedline aluminium rims from BPW, which cut a further 500kg off the total tanker tare mass. The air suspension units from SAF-Holland are also considerably lighter than steel mechanical options.”

Overall lifestyle costThe Freightliner Argosy truck-tractor boasts a class-leading power-to-weight ratio and further tare-mass reductions were achieved via the fitment of aluminium rims and a lightweight SAF-Holland fifth-wheel, explains Mark Croxon, brand centre

Industry-first with regard to payload capacity and full compliance with international DG safety regulations

manager, Sandown Commercial Vehicles, Bell-ville. “Our objective was to supply a prime-mover that not only helped reduce overall gross vehicle mass (GVM) but also help reduce the vehicle’s overall lifecycle cost by fitting low-maintenance components, notably, the fifth-wheel, axles, hubs and brake shoes, which all feature exceptional service intervals and ease of servicing through smart design.”

Designed for long-haul applications, the new tanker comes in just under the legal length re-striction of 22 metres and is equipped with the latest ABS braking technology from Wabco. The Argosy features Autoshift automatic transmission and a sleeper cab with all the creature comforts to keep driver-fatigue at bay.

Industry firstIt has a tare mass of 9 080kg, while the unladen semi-tanker weighs in at 7020kg and the pup tanker carrying a tare mass of 1 940kg. “The combined effort that has gone into this new tanker has allowed us to provide an unprecedented, fully-legal 38-ton payload, two tons more than was initially anticipated,” says Christo.

“We’re extremely pleased at the outcome of all the hard work that’s gone into this tanker. Distell is now serviced by a benchmark vehicle that will assist in lowering CPK (cost per kilometre) while reducing the number of trucks on the road. It will also relieve on-site congestion and help streamline our overall transport function,” con-cludes Distell’s distribution planning manager, Helmuth Biesenbach.

CA Muller Fabrication, Christo Muller, Cell: 082 378 3994, Email: [email protected], http://camuller.co.za

TRUCKING


T he survey, entitled Glob-al Manufacturing Outlook – Relationships, Risk and Reach, polled nearly 200

senior-level executives from the aerospace, metals, engineering and conglomerates sectors across North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pa-cific and Africa to understand how their supply chains were changing as a result of prevailing economic uncertainty.

It revealed that cost still reigns among 66 percent of respondents as the leading consideration of their supply chain models. But 63 percent of respondents agreed that more attention should be paid to

non-financial elements of the supply chain and 38 percent said that an acute focus on cost has harmed relationships with suppliers.

Damaged Relationships with Suppliers

A clear majority of leading industrial companies still see cost as their main priority when managing supply chains, despite emerging evidence that excessive focus on cost has damaged relationships, and that new

approaches to supply chain management are gaining hold among leaders in the field, a survey from KPMG International has found.

COLLABORATION

New methodsThe survey also showed that many of the world’s leading companies are applying new methods of supply chain management designed to weather an economic climate where various forms of risk have become the norm. These new approaches – more strategic than tactical – could well emerge as best practices.

“The fact that nearly 40 percent of respondents acknowledge that a focus on cost has done dam-age to relationships with suppliers is an alarming statistic,” says Jeff Dobbs, Global Head of Diver-sified Industrials for KPMG. “Those businesses that continue to follow the traditional ‘low cost or bust’ models in supply chain management are at risk of losing a foothold in the market.”

New strategiesIn interviews with bellwether companies such as Philips, Leggett and Platt, Rolls-Royce, US Steel and Tata Chemicals it becomes clear that new supply chain strategies are emerging. The survey revealed that some companies are forging stron-ger relationships and engaging in collaborative

Gavin Maile

Designed to weather an economic climate where various forms of risk have become the norm

�0 Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010

COLLABORATION

innovation with suppliers; strategically investing in key suppliers or bringing parts of the supply chain back in-house; and applying a mix of both regional and global supply sources to achieve the best combination of speed, quality and cost.

“It used to be that sourcing decisions rested on routine considerations,” Jeff says, “like who could make the best component for the best price. This approach worked when there was little variability in input costs. Now, leading supply chain strate-gies must involve detailed scenario modeling to determine the appropriate response to a host of volatile elements. The most successful companies will be those who build adaptability and flexibility into their supply chains.”

Deeper RelationshipsHaving stronger and deeper relationships is criti-cal among leading companies with 53 percent of respondents expecting to enter into more long-term contracts but with fewer suppliers. Cost remains the key driver for much of the collaboration.

More important than the duration is the depth of the partnerships. Over half of the respondents plan to collaborate more closely with suppliers on product innovation and development, research and development (R&D), and cost reduction. Such collaboration appears to be a preferred approach among the top performers.

“Viewing the supplier relationship as a strategic partnership helps top performers ensure certainty of supply, improve demand planning and fine-tune the mechanism for getting product to the customer,” says Tim Waters, Director for KPMG’s Performance and Technology Advisory practice in the UK.

New perspectives on risk managementTop performers are also pav-ing the way in cultivating relationships and controlling risk when it comes to R&D and sharing intellectual property (IP).

While 26 percent of survey respondents see IP protec-tion as one of their biggest supply chain risk concerns over the next two years, cooperative innovation on IP can be very lucrative with the proper risk management in place.

China presents a particular IP challenge and respon-dents continue to look to that country largely for low-end

jobs, such as production of goods involving little IP, assembly, and warehousing. Companies like Philips, on the other hand, which has several joint innovation projects and patents there, are benefiting from China’s increasingly strong and innovative technological base.

“A progressive way of thinking contends that companies should be willing to look outside their businesses for potential IP and be willing to license out any IP not core to their business,” Tim says.

Sourcing geographyChina remains the most common sourcing location among 35 percent of respondents. When asked where respondents expect to increase sourcing over the next two years, China also ranked first (39 percent), with India not far behind, at 26 percent. Cost remains the predominant decid-ing factor.

Yet some top performers are thinking beyond sourc-ing locations for low-cost alone and considering ways to align supply chains and their inherent geography to other key considerations such as the business model, market dynamics, local talent pools, customer profiles and demand.

According to Gavin Maile, KPMG Africa Indus-trial, Automotive & Pharmaceutical Partner, “The financial crisis dealt a blow that sent shockwaves through the industry, but those same forces are the catalysts that are helping organisations create more dynamic, resilient and responsive supply chains. It’s incumbent upon businesses to embrace new ways to use the supply chain to future-proof their business models.”

KPMG, Gavin Maile, Tel: 011 647 7165, Email: [email protected]

More important than the duration is the depth of the partnerships

Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010 �1

H owever, through modern technology and clever design Storsure has devised the Apostore automated pharmaceuti-cal dispenser. When “Supply Chain

Today” meets up with John Meiring, managing director of Storsure, we can’t help being caught up in his enthusiasm about the product.

Saving lives“We’ve created a robotic, fully functional phar-macy dispenser,” he begins. “Pharmaceuticals are placed within it, sorted and dispensed when necessary.” Originally touted as a solution to some of the country’s health issues, the project ran into resistance when trying to work around Government’s existing pharmaceutical handling systems.

“We wanted to situate our dispensers in outlying

areas to provide drugs for Aids and TB patients,” John tells us. “The idea was to offer a means by which people could easily access their medica-tions, and therefore find it easier to continue treatment.”

Interrupted treatment protocols are a major hurdle in the treatment of HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis and the problem has resulted in increasingly resistant strains of these deadly viruses. Patients often

discontinue medication when unable to travel long distances to clinics, or because of extremely lengthy waiting periods for drugs.

In bulk“The problem is that the government buys its drugs in bulk in bags. An automated sorting sys-tem requires items to be in containers if they are to be efficiently handled,” John goes on. While ‘the powers that be’ haven’t yet seen the need to

Dispensing with PoliticsEveryone knows that filling a prescription takes time, effort and patience. Standing in a queue when you’re already feel-ing lousy is grueling enough without the added complication

of out of stock items. For the pharmacists behind the counter, the problem is a daily dilemma.

Ran into resistance when trying to work around Government’s existingpharmaceutical handling systems

The Apostore packs the shelves and dispenses medication so people don’t have to

PHARMACEUTICAL


cies are able to lease dispensers through UTi, who also supplies the medications. In addition to the element of convenience, shrinkages and expired medication now become the problem of UTi,” John explains.

“The pharmacist can confidently expect medica-tions to be available whenever they’re needed. As drugs are dispensed, they’re invoiced out by UTi, and the pharmacy only pays for the items sold. UTi benefits because the process provides a more reliable payment scenario than they may have previously experienced,” he says, adding that the installation process is relatively uncom-plicated.

No worries“We go in and design a dispenser, which is the part I love, particularly when it’s a challenging setup,” he grins. “Then we set up their software and manage it. UTi’s countrywide transport system ensures prompt deliveries wherever the client is located. UTi also manages stock control, replenish-ing medication and removing expired stock without the pharmacist having to worry about it.

“Although Uti provides the bulk of the products,

adapt, others have recognised the value of the dispenser, most notably, UTi.

Good medicine“IHD is the largest medical dispenser in South Africa and is owned by UTi. We’ve entered into an arrangement whereby hospitals and pharma-

This might involve a whole trip for just one pack

PHARMACEUTICAL

John Meiring, Storsure

L11-25 Supply Chain Advert (Sept 2010).indd 1 2010/09/01 2:51 PM

Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010 ��

the system is not an autocratic one. UTI will provide other brands if requested and will even source unusual requests if the pharmacist is having trouble locating an item. In these instances, there may be a small rental allocated to the space used in the dispenser, but this is a nominal sum.”

No headachesThe system may seem to leave a lot of the headaches on UTi’s doorstep but John assures us that the company is happy to handle this. “Previously you’d have pharmacists ordering medication as they required it. In some cases this might involve a whole trip for just one pack. The new system reduces visits per phar-macy, reducing mileage and minimising impact on the environment.”

By determining what products a pharmacy may require on a regular basis, UTi is able to maintain optimum stock levels of these items without the pharmacist having to manage stock. Special items can be ordered over and above regular deliveries when necessary.

Since the system is automated, the business owner doesn’t even need to know when deliveries are scheduled. UTi does the stock check, delivers to the dispenser whether it’s at 2am or 4pm, all the medication is stored and placed correctly.

Robo-Doc“The facility is fully robotic,” he elaborates. “Items are entered and tracked using barcodes and if the product has no code it assigns one. When a UTi employee arrives to load the machine he identifies himself biometrically or via pin. Once the iden-tification is done, he loads the medication and the system checks it. If there are any shortages

it will be immediately visible whereas normally shrinkage is only discovered much later.

“Cameras offer additional security, while provid-ing an interactive element that allows patients to watch the internal workings of the equipment as their prescriptions are dispensed. The action is visible on a screen over the dispensing counter, and some pharmacists have made it even more entertaining by incorporating medical advice or news bulletins.”

Healthy businessThe machine stands about 2m high depending on the throughput and can be made bigger if needed. Redundancy is also built in. “A system of this nature can save up to a third of the space previ-ously used for storing medication, while improved efficiency can allow businesses to expand by 40% without having to employ more people.

“Growth is almost instant,” John enthuses. “Customers are attracted by the efficiency of the process and the lack of queues. Time saved on the dispensing process can contribute to expedite verification of Medical Aid details.”

With pharmacies under increasing financial pres-

Dispensers are custom-designed and a variety of accessories is available

Storsure’s Apostore automatic pharmacy can be placed anywhere

PHARMACEUTICAL

�� Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010

Automated medication sorting bucket

Stock is loaded, logged and packed automatically

sure due to restrictions on dispensing fees and fewer pharmacists, many are left running at a loss. “The irony of running a pharmacy is that very often medications become their most expensive as-set with the lowest return. Even a small pharmacy may have to hold up to five million rand’s worth of stock at a time.”

Ahead of its timeAcknowledging that some stores stock non-medical items, the dispenser is also able to hold non-standard items such as expensive perfumes and cosmetics. “One of our clients even keeps his cashbox and keys in his,” John laughs. “Obviously it’s not suitable for goods such as nappies, for instance, but any item of value that might be stocked by a pharmacy can be safely kept in the dispenser.

“I have been passionate about this for eight years and I’m so pleased that UTi has seen the potential of the system. It is so fulfilling to know they had confidence in us and the working relationship has been fantastic,” John concludes. “I have no doubt that others will come on board and that eventually we’ll achieve our goal of helping patients receive life-saving medicines. Up until now, we’ve simply been ahead of our time.”

John Meiring, Storsure, Tel. 011 468 1268. Fax. 0(86 612 8582). Email. [email protected]. Website. www.storsure.co.za

Patients often discontinue medication when unable to travel long distances

PHARMACEUTICAL


‘Ninjas’ at Integration

I t can be expected that all quality assurance professionals will have to have automation exposure or experience on frameworks that

support versatility and rapid changes and, enable collaboration and efficiency in an interactive environment.

VigilanceEzanne Grobler, general manager, Global

Testing Service (GTS), EOH Global Application Solutions’ independent specialist testing service, says that quality assurance professionals will need to become ‘ninjas’ at integration. “Testers should also have technical testing experience, be vigilant, and understand the latest testing trends.”

She says that testing has evolved over the years from ‘a necessary evil’ to a ‘value enhancer ’; however, many companies are still at various maturity stages of this evolution.

Eliminate human interventionIn the future, Ezanne says the focus will be on model-based testing tools for automated generation of test cases from business requirements. The trend will be to eliminate human intervention, reduce cost and time to market. The challenge to do this however, will be the capability to build an integrated tool for automated test execution during the first test run.

The core competen-cies of functional testing, load testing and test-case-gen-eration will become pivotal for vendors, while existing solu-tions such as testing frameworks, develop-ment approaches and additional technologies will be leveraged and in-corporated on a much higher level than before.

Lessons learntBetter integration of test management solutions and business management solutions can also be expected, as it has played a huge part of the functionality of these solutions and, offers great potential in future implementation as it has led to many lessons learnt in the past.

Haydn says that a highly efficient testing service can be delivered to the larger enterprises by establish-ing a Test Centre of Excellence (TCoE), which is a framework, comprising of strategic assets focusing on process, people and technology, which enables better governing of the testing organisation. He says the EOH managed service-operating model, for example, allows a small management team to work at a customer side. The focus of the team is to develop the overall test management approach for each project with responsibility for the defini-tion of the test approach, resource requirements and test planning.

Near shore“The core script development and execution is delivered remotely by the near shore delivery

Ezanne GroblerHaydn Pinnell

Who knows what we will be able to do in the nearfuture to minimise the critical failures of businessapplications and software?

SOFTWARE

EOH Global Application Solutions, MD Haydn Pinnell predicts that software test automation will soon go from

‘nice to have’ to ‘absolutely necessary’ for distributed quality assurance teams to succeed. In retrospect, he

suggests that the “wall will fall” and testers will become an integrated part with development teams and, quality

will “finally get the respect it deserves”.


team. As an integral part of the project definition phase of each project, the team is onshore for a short period in order to understand the projects specific challenges, approach, deliverables and timescales before returning to the test centre. This model allows our customer to manage their test schedule effectively and efficiently, while also ensuring that they have sufficient capacity to deal with high volume resource demands,” he adds.

The TCoE has clearly established goals, well-defined processes, a governance mechanism, multi-disciplined skill sets and common tools and technology. Within the last year, Haydn says GTS has delivered a number of key benefits to its customers:

• Automated regression test cycles down from a calendar month to two full cycles a week

• Significant reduction in the length of functional test cycles

• Significant cost reduction on overall test spend

Who knows?“With the advancement of application testing in South Africa, who knows what we will

SOFTWARE

be able to do in the near future to minimise, or eliminate the critical failures of business appli-cations and software? By reducing business risk and endangerment of time to market with GTS solutions, companies will find that their costs are reduced significantly and the organisation will successfully be able to manage their ap-plication performance and availability lifecycle,” he concludes.

www.eoh.co.za


Market ForumOn every bagAfriSam has developed a relative CO2 footprint system which calculates the CO2 associated with the production of every kg of cement of each main AfriSam cement type from its various production facilities.

The model, developed by AfriSam, not only takes specific types of direct and indirect emissions into account, but also weighs up the effects of interplant transportation. Emission calculations and summations are based on a “cradle to gate” approach, where the “gate” is the factory gate.

The actual value of CO2 associated with manufacturing and transporting each individual product will soon be printed on all AfriSam cement bags, and this will be clearly visible to the end user. The bag will carry a CO2 barometer insignia indicating emissions in comparison to the world average of 890g/kg. Characteristics of low CO2 cement could include low fuel consumption, high mineral component extension (fly ash and GGBS or a combination thereof within SABS standard requirements) and low clinker content.

Victor Bouguenon, AfriSam, Tel: (011) 670-5520, www.afrisam.com

Making its markPort operator Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) says the creation of an additional 100m of berth space over the next few months will allow the Ngqura Container Terminal (NCT) to simultaneously berth two large vessels of 305m each in length. Currently NCT is able to berth one 305m vessel and one 275m vessel at the same time. The expansion is scheduled for completion by July 2011.

There is also the possibility of dredging of the quayside so that two additional berths can be introduced. This will increase the existing 800 000 TEU capacity to two million TEUs and make the terminal a four-berth facility.

TPT chief operating officer Nosipho Damasane says, “Volumes have far outstripped projections during the container terminal’s first year of operation. Year to date figures show 259 vessels handled since October 2009 with an average of 1,100 TEUs each.”

TPT acting chief executive Karl Socikwa says the volumes proved the success of Transnet’s strategy of positioning the port as a major transhipment hub for the region. “Our strategy from the outset has been to position the port as a world class transhipment hub – the first of its kind in Southern Africa – as a means of growing the economy and

Best year ever2010 is proving to be a year of high growth for JSE-listed supply chain and logistics service provider Cargo Carriers. This, in a year where many in the logistics industry are still reeling from the recession, Cargo Carriers is having its best “new business year” for 20 years. Among the several new business contracts the company has secured is a 50-50 equity deal with Caltex Eastern Cape Marketer (CECM) to establish a new transportation business aptly named Khanya Carriers (Khanya means to shine) for the distribution of Caltex fuels and lubricants into the rural Eastern Cape.

CECM was established after concluding a deal with Chev-ron, the brand manufacturers and distributors of Caltex products in South Africa, for the transport and distribution of all fuels and lubricants throughout the rural Eastern Cape in December 2005. Initially the company supplied fuel to 35 Caltex service stations and relied on existing Chevron transporters for their distribution, as well as third party service providers.

However, CECM wanted more control over the trans-portation function, and needed to find a partner with the highest SHEQ standards, fuel experience as well as reliability, and as importantly in these uncertain times, a strong balance sheet.

With its extensive network, more than 50 years experi-ence in the transport industry and impressive SHEQ and B-BBEE scores Cargo Carriers was identified as the ideal candidate.

“Negotiations led to the signing of a 50-50 equity deal, and Khanya Carriers was born. Management of the new company falls under the control of Cargo Carriers, and operations currently include the use of eight dedicated bulk tankers to service the area,” said Cargo Carriers Chief Operating Officer, Johan Kruger.

“This equity partnership allows us to further expand our footprint in the fuel industry and opens up opportunities for us to partner CECM in their expansion, and to work with other fuel companies interested in contracting out their last mile distribution,” Johan concludes.

Cargo Carriers, Johan Kruger, Website: www.cargocarriers.co.za


bringing additional trade to our shores.”

Karl says Transnet shares the bullish business sentiment and projections of its anchor customers at Ngqura, the two shipping lines MSC and MOL SA. Both have been instrumental in ramping up performance at the terminal, directing how operations are deployed, and assisting Transnet with planning and training.

The lines were together running 8 line services per week through Ngqura.

Transnet Port Terminals, Sindie Ndwalaza, Email: [email protected], Websit: www.transnetportterminals.net

Market Forum

On the Move Index to Advertisers

Apex 24Bartrans 34Barloworld Logistics 28Barpro Storage 25Cargo Carriers 4Flexlink 25Interrol 14Isuzu Trucks 12Linde 32Linvar 36Mercedes Benz Outside Back CoverMitsubishi Fuso Inside Back CoverScania Inside Front CoverStoresure 24Toyota 26UD Trucks/Nissan Outside Front CoverUniversal Storage Systems 6

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Gerhard Duvenhage has been appointed national sales manager of Criterion Equipment, a wholly owned sub-sidiary of Invicta Holdings Limited.

Paul Danvers has been appointed as Business Develop-ment Consultant at TNT Express.

Janine Conradie was recently appointed as MD of supply chain solutions and logistics planning services provider Concargo. She will be reporting to CEO Dean Page and Chairman David Kruyer.

Her role at Concargo includes overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business.

Gerhard Duvenhage Janine Conradie Paul Danvers

Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) LTD is an authorised distributor of MITSUBISHI FUSO trucks.

Call Ø861 FUSO ØØ or visit www.fuso.co.za to find out more about this exciting new range.

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Supply Chain Today Nov/Dec 2010 ��Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) LTD is an authorised distributor of MITSUBISHI FUSO trucks.

Call Ø861 FUSO ØØ or visit www.fuso.co.za to find out more about this exciting new range.

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The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.Hard work runs in the family.If a versatile, hard-working van is what you need, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter family fits the bill. You can choose between the Panel Van, the 518 Extra Long Chassis, the Freight Carrier and the People Mover, but you’ll find some items non-negotiable: the timeless Mercedes-Benz virtues of quality, durability, reliability and efficiency. All our vans, of course, are safe, economical and make

ingenious use of interior space, whether for passengers or cargo. The Sprinter is the perfect vehicle to carry just about anything you might need to transport, and now also comes standard with a 2-year / unlimited mileage warranty. For more information, contact your Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle dealer, telephone 0800 133 355 or visit www.mercedes-benz.co.za/vans

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SCT: Nov / Dec 2010

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Transcript of SCT: Nov / Dec 2010