Safmarine now operates out of Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Maputo, Nacala and Beira in Mozambique and Walvis Bay in Namibia. The main commodities shipped on the perishable side are citrus, grapes, topfruit, avocados, stonefruit, beef, Fz fish as well as some exotics such as lychees.
John Mac Donald who has been with the company for almost 18 years, 16 on the perishables side, said that much had been done over the years to improve efficiency and customer service. "We have invested heavily in avocado exporting in recent years and we now handle 70% of South African avocado exports."
Looking ahead to the remainder of 2014. In the perishable industry there are so many outside conditions which effect what could be regarded as a good season however in 2014 with the South African rand being weak we are expecting a big export drive from the Citrus and Avocado industry to export. The grape, stonefuit and topfruit seasons have been hit hard with adverse weather conditions however we are still hoping farmers can have a good year being helped by the weak currency and good prices in the overseas markets. One thing is for sure, in the perishable industry no two seasons are ever alike. It is the ability to adapt under constantly changing conditions which will enable your success.
There has been much talk in recent years about the chaos and inefficiencies of South African ports, John says that these days Cape Town is fairly efficient, "A lot of hard work has been done in the last five years following pressure from the industry and the shipping lines. There will always be delays due to the winds between November and March, but this year Transnet National Ports Authority brought back older style gantries which can operate in higher winds and this has helped improve productivity this year."
Durban is now the biggest concern because expansion has been left too late according to John, "It is a continuing cause of concern to us. The delays here mean exporters and shipping lines have a lot of hidden costs which arise during the peak season. The potential is for a negative effect on schedule reliability which not only increases unnecessary costs to the services which call upon Durban but also put the arrival times of perishable products in the overseas fruit markets at risk. We continue to work closely with the national ports authority in Durban to minimize the delays."
There are other alternatives to Durban port. There are only two trains in South Africa fitted out to take perishable goods, "Safmarine have tapped into this with our customers to move citrus from the Northern Provinces to Cape Town port for the European market," explains John. "In South Africa we are very reliant on trucks as transportation and most production areas are very far from the ports."
Shipping companies need to become ever more efficient and reduce their impact on the environment. Safmarine have recently upgraded their South African Europe fleet from 4,200 TEU vessels up to 6,600 TEU, the last of eight vessels is just about to take to the water. This allows them to combine two services with very little impact on the schedule.
The shipping industry in a very competitive one and when asked how Safmarine distinguish themselves from other shipping lines, John explains, "It is about people making the difference. Back in 1946 Safmarine entered the game as the underdog, but now we have been around a long time and proved our ability to operate in the challenging global arena. In South Africa we have the nick name of 'the shipping line with a conscience', Over the years we have taken part in many initiatives such as containers for schools. In these initiatives we have used 8000 refurbished old containers helping over 3000 different project in the past 21 years to in some way improve the standard of living in rural areas. Our core focus has been education – as we believe this is a key success factor for a prosperous South Africa."
Recently we rebranded our corporate tag line to "Together we go places", John explain that this is the foundation of the company, “At Safmarine we want to build long term relationships, shipping is about interaction and loyalty, we strive to build partnerships with the cargo owners. It is a bit like a good marriage, you can’t always win but rather about the ability to compromise with a healthy give and take, for it work. In This way you both can win and this is what builds solid partnerships."
He goes on to say that the shipping industry has changed over the years, it used to be all played very close to the chest. The process has been streamlined and these days everyone has to take accountability, be more transparent and be honest when things go wrong. "What makes us different is that we look at the people involved and we have a passion which drives commitment. We want our customers to succeed, if they don't we won't either."
For more information:
John Mac Donald
Safmarine
Tel: +27 21 408 6738
Email: John.MacDonald@safmarine.com
www.safmarine.com