Page 28 - Logistics News - Issue 02 - 2024

D I S TRI B U T I O N C E N TRE S

The SPAR Group drives

logistics innovation across DCs

By Solly Engelbrecht, National Logistics Executive at The SPAR Group in South Africa

In the movie Any Given Sunday, Al Pacino gave a motivational speech on driving
forward towards success. He stated: “The inches we need [for success] are
everywhere around us.” Logistics is all about the small inches that result in a
continuous forward drive towards success.

etail logistics supply chains continue to evolve The rollout of solar is a powerful solution in the
rapidly. At The SPAR Group, with six distribution fight for cheaper, reliable and renewable energy. Due
R centres (DCs) nationwide and a fair size fleet, to the 24/7 nature of our operations and the need for
keeping pace with these changes (and focusing refrigeration in our perishables warehouses, we will
on the inches) will be integral to success. The key be adding to our solar capacity at three of our DCs
going forward will be building on our strengths while in 2024.
navigating the various challenges in the South African
landscape – disruptions through protests, attacks on While initially we spent capex on solar plants, we
drivers, failing infrastructure, load-shedding and port are now using Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to
chaos... avoid major capital outlays through partnerships. While
this rollout depends on available roof space, it is a win-
It is imperative that major retailers, such as The win for all involved. In addition, we are looking at the
SPAR Group, on which people depend ensure stock possibility of wheeling power into our DCs and at other
levels are healthy, demand is matched and the power generation options.
supply chain is working like clockwork no matter
how challenging the environment outside. Driving At all our DCs, we have seen a more managed
excellence, reliability and efficiency is key for success, increase in our electricity costs due to the solar
but we will need to keep innovating to stay ahead to solutions. We will still need to rely on Eskom to take
get the ‘inches’. care of night-time cooling and power needs for now,
though our planning does include reducing this reliance
From a safety perspective, we are very fortunate in the long term.
that only a few trucks were lost to crime in the
past three years. We are also moving forward with Going forward, the focus on efficiencies across the
technology, harnessing data insights and benefiting entire retail supply chain, from trucks and the cold chain
from tracking and other high-tech solutions to ensure to people, production and supply, will only intensify and
trucks are rerouted away from high-risk areas to require new thinking and approaches to all parts of our
ensure our drivers remain safe. business.

Meanwhile, technology is driving efficiency on It would be remiss to not note that we have faced
other fronts – two of our DCs are offering paperless significant challenges with the rollout of a new SAP IT
deliveries to our retailers and, this year, we intend to system, but I am pleased to say that things are beginning
extend this solution. to settle and we are starting to see improvements. I have

26 NO V E MB E R/D E C E MB E R 2024 www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a