Tag: Supply Chain

Businesses should prepare for a rise in civil unrest incidents as the cost of living crisis follows hard on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. What can we learn from the protests we saw during the height of the pandemic and what role could social media play in intensifying future disruption?  

While we talk often about established suppliers having the benefit of economies of scale, we don’t talk enough about the benefit of agility that corporates can tap into through smaller suppliers.

Sustainability is one of the biggest buzzwords in business; but how many organisations and decision makers really know what it means and are striving for a sea change, rather than just paying lip service to the growing call to prioritise environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues?

The events of the last few years have hit the fast forward button for the South African e-commerce industry. According to Geopoll, e-commerce grew by 66% YoY (Year over Year) in 2020, while brick and mortar retail fell by 30%.

Unemployment rates in and around mining communities increase annually, with limited new job opportunities emerging. Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) is of national importance and can unlock significant organisational value.

Global disruptions have resulted in manufacturers needing to pivot to meet the needs of the new digital consumer. But given the worldwide semiconductor chip shortages, challenges in distributing automotive parts, and other supply chain issues, many manufacturers have struggled to make the transition.

South African businesses in the metals and engineering (M&E) sector have faced enormous challenges over the past few years, with the  pandemic compounding an already difficult situation. A shrinking domestic market, declining production, weak production sales, a smaller contribution to the economy, increasing joblessness, cheap imports and low investment levels are just some of the issues they face.

COVID-19 vaccine rollouts worldwide have triggered the reboot of delayed expansion plans. Expansion into a new country will challenge the efficiency of a company’s existing delivery process. The winners in the global expansion race will be able to adjust products, prices and distribution channels according to local preferences.

Welcome to the holiday shopping season for 2021, the second impacted by the pandemic. Supply chain issues aren’t the only things that can ruin your holidays this year. Global Supply chain issues and scenes of countless ships waiting to unload their global cargo have certainly reminded us all of how interconnected we are around the globe.

South Africa's energy landscape is currently challenged by load shedding and ageing coal-fired power stations. Looking through this crisis, we see some opportunities that the market can capitalise on. In the broadest sense, the country now has a chance to leapfrog from the coal era into the new energy technologies of the 21st century.