Allison Grealis

The top supply chain trends in Africa right now include ecommerce, sustainability, technology and skills development. The e-commerce boom that was fuelled by Covid-19 is showing no signs of slowing. It is predicted that in 2025, e-commerce transactions in South Africa will grow 150% to R225 billion. While African consumers are clearly sold on the speed and convenience of online shopping, they are also increasingly recognising that there is an environmental price to be paid, and they are demanding greener e-commerce supply chains. African businesses also recognise that to compete on the global stage, and for Africa to rise as the supply chain powerhouse that many predict it can be, they must align with global environmental standards. Integrating sustainability into supply chain and logistics is therefore a growing imperative in Africa. African companies are investing in technologies like electric vehicles, renewable energy sources and advanced data analytics to measure, manage and minimise their environmental impact. They are optimising transportation routes to have fewer vehicles on the road and to cut CO2 emissions. They are adopting circular supply chain models, to get more use out of products and move beyond the traditional “take-make-waste” approach. Takealot, which is South Africa’s largest online…

Stay up to date on all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes we released this week here at Supply Chain Now! We kicked the week off with a special episode of Digital Transformers with host Kevin L. Jackson and Scott Luton. This episode also featured the Vice President of Strategic Customers at Ratelinx, Andrew Hooser. During this episode Andrew talks about how Ratelinx helps companies unite their data and take action. For This Week In Business History Kelly covers stories from plumbing inventors to a black woman holding incredible records for having a substantial amount of patents. For this episode of Supply Chain Now host Scott gets to chat with the CEO and co-founder of Tommy Run, Bernard Parks and Tandreia Bellamy. One topic that is discussed includes why logistics is an important part of EVERY business model because “everything has to touch a truck”. On Wednesday we released an episode of Logistics With Purpose with host Enrique Alvarez and Kristi Porter. This episode also features Audra Weddle, Shipping Director and Ryan Grabill, Director of International Disaster Service, for Convoy of Hope. This episode focuses on Convoy of Hope and the logistics of disaster outreach. For this special Thursday feature…