Researchers call for an integrated logistics system

Overhauling South Africa’s logistics system

SOUTH AFRICA: Researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are calling for an overhaul of the country’s logistics performance indicators and emphasised the need to migrate from singular, disconnected views of the logistics system towards an integrative, localised view.

With performance across the logistics chain showing signs of strain, the CSIR has developed series of indicators for sustainable logistics performance in a new position paper that calls for the migration of South Africa’s logistics system from a segregated, disconnected operation to an integrative and systemic one.

The paper provides an all-inclusive breakdown of the measurement of the country’s logistics performance. Penned by a principal researcher at the CSIR, Dr Isabel Meyer, it details the proposed development of a comprehensive indicator framework that can fulfil multiple functions for systemic improvement of logistics performance.

Knowing the potential limitations, constraints and capabilities within the South African logistics ecosystem is critical. Scant information on logistics performance is available in South Africa, but it does not provide an integrated view of current and expected future systemic performance. Increasingly, logistics system users have highlighted the operational and financial impacts of a system under pressure. To overcome this challenge, a national framework of indicators is proposed to facilitate comprehensive reporting on the performance of the logistics system from a retrospective, concurrent and prospective vantage point and at different levels of decision-making.

Meyer, along with the CSIR Impact Area Manager of Transport Systems Operations, Dr Mathetha Mokonyama, says, “South Africa’s logistics system is a key driver of economic growth and an indication of economic health. This position paper reflects on the attributes of indicators that are currently used to report on logistics performance in South Africa and proposes that it be modified to meet local complexities and has the buy-in from key stakeholders.”

The paper proposes the development of logistics performance indicators to guide decision-making and improvement efforts, build trust in systemic performance, and gain acceptance among local and international stakeholders. It includes a conceptual framework that illustrates indicators for systemic change and a series of recommendations.

These are supplemented with an outline of a comprehensive set of context-specific indicators to be developed in collaboration with stakeholders and applied in multitudinous ways to achieve the necessary outcomes. Meyer remains confident that the proposed uptake of indicators for systemic change can provide a basis from which to guide decision-making towards the resolution of logistical challenges and enable investment in the country’s logistics sector.

While the paper also refers to current indicators that report on the country’s logistics performance at the national and sector levels, it is clear that this multi-actor logistics system must be agile and responsive to changing needs and that diverse perspectives on the performance of its logistics system are necessary.

PHOTO: Port of Durban (©Maritime Review Africa)

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