The South African Freight and Logistics Association (SAFLA) has officially launched as a new industry body dedicated to representing the ground-level interests of freight forwarders and logistics operators across South Africa.
As Africa accelerates its industrialisation ambitions under frameworks such as the AfCFTA, a critical question emerges: Is Southern Africa equipped to manufacture at scale and compete globally?
Archie Vermeulen is an industry veteran who previously headed national logistics operations for Vodacom as well as Cell C. During our visit to record a video tour of RAM’s new facility (view it here), we spent some extra time chatting to Archie and he shared some insights on people, process & equipment in warehousing. There were some real nuggets in the 9 minutes that we recorded and if you’re involved in warehousing operations, we encourage you to listen to it.
One of the key topics of discussion to be explored and debated at the 2026 Manufacturing Indaba will focus on how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can be translated from policy into practical industrial growth through the development of Pan-African manufacturing value chains.
