Process & Operations

When organisations conduct due diligence on a new customer, supplier or business partner, they often feel reassured once they verify the basics. The company registration checks out, the directors are identified, and the necessary documentation has been collected. The onboarding process then moves forward with confidence.

Fiscal pressure and rising scrutiny are reshaping procurement into a value-driven discipline. Global public procurement spending is estimated to account for around 12% of GDP in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies. This underscores the scale and strategic importance of how governments and organisations spend money.

There is something wonderfully optimistic about the word inheritance. It carries a sense of something gained without effort, simply handed down. A holiday home by the sea. A share in a property. Perhaps an investment that has been in the family for years. Then comes the small print. The holiday house is shared with your siblings.

The benefits of precision feed milling were highlighted at the AFMA Forum 2026, which took place at Sun City from 8 to 10 September 2026. During a panel discussion, I explained how real-time data and automation can help feed manufacturers better manage raw material variability, optimise production, and improve feed quality.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has launched a market inquiry (the Inquiry). The inquiry will investigate the impact of Over-The-Top Services (OTTs) on licensees in the telecommunications, broadcasting and postal sectors. The scope of the inquiry is broad. It could have significant implications for OTT service providers, telecommunications licensees and broadcasting licensees.

As the global automotive industry transitions at pace and scale to more Electric Vehicles (EVs), battery innovation is driving sector evolution. This shift affects both passenger and commercial categories. Manufacturers now face pressure to deliver faster charging and higher energy density batteries. They must also improve battery lifetimes.

We quite rightly talk about the importance of planting trees. We talk about their role in absorbing carbon, protecting biodiversity and supporting healthy landscapes. These are important conversations. However, after many years working in forestry and the bioeconomy, I have come to believe that we sometimes make the relationship between people and trees sound shallower than it really is.

South Africa’s agricultural sector is under growing pressure to produce more food with fewer resources. Rising input costs, infrastructure strain, and climate volatility are reshaping the risk commercial farming landscape. Margins continue to tighten. As operational buffers shrink, farming businesses are becoming increasingly exposed to production, financial and market vulnerabilities.

South Africans are rethinking what makes a car worth its price. German engineering, driving dynamics and badge appeal remain powerful. However, Chinese brands are countering with generous equipment, long warranties and lower entry prices.

What we wear every day is the result of a global supply chain that few people ever see. That chain often begins far earlier than most realise and increasingly raises questions about the materials used to make our clothes. In many cases, it starts - believe it or not - in a forest plantation. Not in an abstract sense, but quite literally. Wood grown in South African forest plantations is processed into dissolving wood pulp. Producers export that pulp, and manufacturers convert it into fibre elsewhere. They eventually turn that fibre into fabric