Tag: supply chain management

The 2019-20 local government general report released by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) on 15 June continues to emphasise the lack of accountability and consequence management in local government which impacts service delivery and municipal finance management.

The future of fleet management in South Africa is supporting the need to reduce future fleet costs through direct cost savings or increased efficiencies and utilization gains. This is not simply restricted to fleet management but will be achieved in conjunction with technology advancements in service delivery and supply chain management activities.

If you’re in the business of importing or exporting, you will be acutely aware of the current pains caused by global supply chain problems. With the help of expert advice, there are several steps you can take to protect your business.

Too many powerful and well-remunerated people in our public sector are letting South Africans down by continually failing to achieve the strategic objectives of the entities they manage. Officials in the public sector must employ clean governance principles across every aspect of their operations.

‘Line of sight’ in the supply chain has taken on a new meaning in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Rather than simply tracking stock movements and using this data to attempt to influence the end consumer to buy a product, there is now massive investment in trying to ‘own’ the retailer from a data perspective.

In recent years, to meet customer and market expectations, supply chains have been reconfigured for agility, transparency and speed. Consumers want new and better products faster than ever. Consumers demand unprecedented real-time visibility into supply chains, whether to validate a product’s authenticity or sustainability credentials, or simply understand exactly when it will be delivered.

Failure to implement effective compliance and accountability systems is costing the public sector dearly and making supply chains fertile ground for corruption. If the South African government is serious about stopping the rot, strict measures need to be introduced in state departments and safeguards against cyberattacks significantly improved. 

Exports could hold the key to South Africa’s economic recovery and growth. South Africa is experiencing a record trade surplus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with our exports far outpacing imports. Recent data released by the South African Revenue Service showed that South Africa recorded a trade surplus of R51.4 billion in April 2021, surpassing market expectations of R31 billion.

As the health and humanitarian impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic evolve, so do the business and economic challenges. Organisations looking to balance their immediate needs with longer-term opportunities will see the trade-offs play out across three waves of impact – the Now, the Next, and the Never Normal.

Insurers have been warning for years that the increasing size of vessels is leading to a higher accumulation of risk when something goes wrong. These fears are now being realised, with the MS Ever Given having blocked the Suez Canal for several days.