Vanessa Wieners

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…

At Manifest 2026, Scott Luton caught up with Marina Mayer, Editor-in-Chief of Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive, and Co-Founder and Content Director of the Women in Supply Chain Forum, for a conversation that cut through the tech buzz and landed squarely on what matters most: people. Marina leads two influential digital publications covering the full spectrum of supply chain — from temperature-controlled cold chain logistics to e-commerce and retail — along with four major industry awards programs and the rapidly growing Women in Supply Chain Forum, now entering its fifth year. But amid all the innovation on display in Las Vegas, her message was refreshingly grounded.   Disruption Is the Baseline. Proactivity Is the Shift When asked about dominant themes shaping the industry, Marina didn’t hesitate. One common theme linking 2025 and 2026 is that “disruptions obviously still exist,” she said. From tariffs to trade wars to Mother Nature, the hits keep coming. What’s different in 2026 isn’t the disruption itself; it’s the response. Instead of dwelling on what’s gone wrong, companies are getting proactive. Leaders are “acting on it and being proactive about getting in front of it,” she noted. Since COVID, organizations have learned that…