The event was well attended by representatives from across the fresh produce value chain, including producers, exporters, shipping lines and industry role players.

During the presentation, SATI and its logistics partner, Transnova Africa, highlighted the achievements of Phase 1 of the project, which examined three key scenarios: the baseline scenario, the optimised baseline, and the optimised network. These simulations offered crucial insights into improving the table grape export supply chain, enabling efficient logistics solutions to ensure that South African table grapes reach international markets with superior freshness and quality, in an optimal time frame.

Key takeaways from the discussions included:

• Supply chain agility– the ability to respond rapidly to market changes, supply-demand fluctuations and logistics challenges.
• Cost savings– simulating different scenarios allows for optimised planning and reduced costs.
• Industry collaboration– importance of industry stakeholders working together to achieve common goals and objectives.

“The logistics landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, and we are proud to have taken a proactive approach towards evolving with it,” said Mecia Petersen, CEO of SATI. “This digital twin project with Transnova is a bold step forward in maintaining South Africa’s reputation for high-quality table grapes in the global market. We deeply appreciate the contributions of all stakeholders and are excited about the future opportunities this model can offer to the broader fresh produce industry.”

Looking ahead, SATI is eager to continue this collaborative process with industry stakeholders as we look at rolling out Phase 2 of the model which aims to have a more tactical approach by providing bi-weekly insights to improve decision-making across the value chain.