Inside Cotton On's new R300m head office and warehouse in Gauteng

[Lauren Hartzenberg] For the Cotton On Group, the investment in the new headquarters is a display of its confidence in the SA market, and the larger distribution centre will help the company ramp up speed of delivery...

JIT manufacturing at the core of an optimised FMCG supply chain

[Andrew Dawson] The ability to manufacture 'just enough' stock to cover orders and deliver 'just enough' product to every retailer is the optimal supply chain scenario in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry...

Constant surveillance of goods in transit reduces crime

[Laurence Smith] Crime is part of life in South Africa, and goods in transit are often subject to increased criminal activity, particularly with regard to easily saleable, high value or small items...

Building local supply chain aids food franchises

[Jonathan Herbert] While it may be tempting for big food franchises entering South Africa to import their goods from suppliers in their 'head office' country, there are many good reasons to set up a strong, effective local supply chain...

Intimately understanding the supply and demand chain in Africa

[Graeme Pitt] The Africa rising business paradigm has lost a certain amount of traction due to plummeting oil prices and economic pressure globally, with many businesses shifting focus to their local operations. There is, however, still immense potential for business growth on the African continent, but companies do not have the same scope for a trial-and-error approach and have to get it right the first time. This is where business-driven market research really comes into its own...

Supply chain trends for 2016

[Grant Marshbank] Supply chains - the series of events needed to get goods and services to customers at the right place, time, quality, and price - face a number of impending challenges in 2016...

The ombudsman cometh

[Neville Melville] Has the culture of non-compliance and non-payment that is increasingly prevalent amongst the general population spread to businesses? If the recent experience of the office of the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) is anything to go by, it may well have done so...

Supplying locally with global quality

[Danette Breitenbach] In the UK, the debate raging is about the end of seasonality, with many young people not knowing when the season ends for a particular produce...

Emerging markets key to SA's growth

[Kate Stubbs] The annual supplychainforesight survey, conceptualised by Barloworld Logistics and based on independent study by international research firm Frost & Sullivan, has released its 2013 results.