As disruption becomes part of the normal operating environment, Jaimé Manuel of Unitrans considers why resilient African supply chains will depend on clearer processes, stronger partnerships and solutions designed for local realities. 

For years, supply chains were judged largely by how efficiently they could move goods, reduce cost and maximise output. But in an operating environment shaped by persistent disruption, changing customer expectations and increasingly interconnected value chains, efficiency alone is no longer enough. 

That was one of the clearest reflections I took from SAPICS 2026. Its theme, “Legacy to Leadership: 60 Years of Connection, Collaboration & Transformation”, invited the industry to consider not only how far supply chains have come, but what leadership now requires of us. I believe it requires a shift away from static models and isolated decisions to adaptability and collective problem-solving. 

Jaimé Manuel Executive Growth at Unitrans

Disruption is now the norm for supply chains, which face infrastructure, regulatory, climate, and technological challenges. The task is not to design a system that never experiences disruption, but to build the capability to respond when conditions change. 

This shifts competitive advantage, as it now depends on whether an organisation can see change early, bring the right capabilities together and adjust its operating model without compromising safety, service or control. 

Stronger Supply Chains Require Clearer Roles 

A recurring idea at SAPICS was the need for organisations to become more deliberate about their core competencies. Delivering an end-to-end outcome does not require one organisation to perform every component independently. It requires the lead partner to integrate the right internal expertise and specialist capabilities, establish clear accountability and keep the customer’s operational outcome at the centre. 

It’s better to start by understanding where an organisation creates the most value, where specialist capability is required and how the right partners can be brought together around a defined customer need. 

This is particularly important in complex African supply chains. A logistics provider, customer, technology business, equipment manufacturer and local operating team may each understand a different part of the challenge and bring a different capability to solving it. None has the complete answer in isolation. The value lies in creating an effective interface between those capabilities, supported by shared accountability and a clear outcome. 

Collaboration requires greater visibility across the value chain and a willingness to share relevant information to support decisions, while protecting commercially-sensitive information. 

The real test of a partnership is whether it helps solve the customer’s actual problem. A challenge that initially appears to be about transport or technology may have its roots in an inefficient process, a safety constraint, limited connectivity or an operating practice that no longer serves the customer. Listening and defining the problem correctly must come first. 

Technology Cannot Repair a Broken Process 

Technology was understandably prominent in many of the conversations at SAPICS, but its value depends on whether the operation is ready to use it effectively. 

Before introducing another platform/application, businesses must understand and simplify the underlying process. Who performs each task? What information do they require? Where are delays/errors introduced? How will the user’s role change? What governance is needed when the system identifies an exception? Without those foundations, digitisation adds complexity instead of reducing it. 

The same applies to mobile devices, which must be integrated into operations to deliver value. Human judgement remains essential. Technology can improve visibility, identify patterns and automate routine decisions, but people must interpret, manage exceptions, and ensure technology is useful. 

Practical Improvement Starts at the Frontline 

A Unitrans agricultural operation provides a practical example. In remote sugarcane environments, manual field inspections and connectivity constraints made it difficult to capture and share information consistently. 

Unitrans worked with a specialist technology partner to digitise the existing inspection process through a custom mobile application. This meant that operational teams could record field conditions, identify hazards and make more informed decisions before vehicles entered an area.

The real value was in operational knowledge, not just the app. This approach improved decision speed and safety, reducing in-field rollovers.

The example shows why adoption matters. Technology creates value when it strengthens frontline expertise rather than replacing it. When employees see that a tool helps them work more safely and effectively, compliance becomes curiosity – and operational teams begin driving improvement themselves.

Continuous improvement is rarely one dramatic intervention. More often, it comes from questioning existing practices and using data to make targeted changes.

African Solutions Must Reflect African Conditions 

Common principles can be applied across a supply chain network, but implementation cannot be one-size-fits-all. African countries and operating environments differ in infrastructure, regulation, language, culture, connectivity, road conditions, skills and customer requirements. A solution that works in one market may not in another. 

This requires closer collaboration with all stakeholders and a realistic view of what operations can support now and in the future. The next era of supply chain leadership will be defined by how well leaders connect people, processes, information and expertise around real operational needs. 

While efficiency will remain fundamental, the supply chains best equipped to grow will be those that can adapt without losing control, share information without losing accountability, and collaborate without losing sight of their own strengths. 

In practical terms, leaders must clarify the outcome, map the process, identify where specialist expertise is needed and assign someone to be accountable for each decision. Technology should then be introduced against that operating model, with frontline users involved early enough to shape how it works in practice.

The greatest opportunity lies in building collective capability to solve problems, together.

A significant milestone has been reached in the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA’s) ongoing modernisation of KwaZulu‑Natal’s rail network, with the installation of a new diamond crossing at Crossmoor Station.

The crossing was delivered by Maziya Group subsidiary, Maziya General Services, in partnership with voestalpine South Africa (VAE SA).

Athanacious Makgamatha, PRASA Executive: Group Capital Delivery and Execution

“The upgrade forms part of PRASA’s multi‑year Passenger Rail Recovery Programme and will dramatically improve reliability, safety and travel times for thousands of daily passengers,” says Athanacious Makgamatha, PRASA Executive: Group Capital Delivery and Execution at PRASA.

A Flawless Design

Designed and manufactured by VAE SA at its Isando, Johannesburg facility, the crossing is built on durable concrete sleepers, offering improved longevity, reduced maintenance and enhanced ride quality for passengers.

“This diamond crossing is a highly specialised piece of rail infrastructure that enables trains to switch between lines in areas with limited space, replacing a worn‑out installation that previously sat on wooden sleepers,” explains Sizwe Mkhize, Business Development Officer at VAE SA.

Sizwe Mkhize, Business Development Officer at VAE SA

The installation of the diamond crossing and associated turnouts in Crossmoor was performed by PEM-LEM turnout replacement machines, together with a specialised, dedicated track installation team.

Rails, turnouts and diamond crossings ensure safe train movements. Their installation requires a high level of precision, coordination, and specialised railway engineering skills to complete. The PEM-LEM team managed and executed the placement, gauging, levelling, and securing of these elements to ensure the track geometry meets strict operational and safety standards.

Impact Felt in More Ways Than One

According to Heinrich Mostert, Signalling Director at Maziya General Services, the upgrade is about far more than technical renewal. “This work restores mobility, restores dignity and restores opportunity,” he says. “For years, large sections of the line have been operating on a single track due to vandalism. Once all upgrades are complete, trains will be able to run in both directions on both lines again—10 minutes apart—instead of one hour apart.”

Heinrich Mostert, Signalling Director at Maziya General Services

For the communities served by Crossmoor Station and neighbouring areas, the benefits are already being felt. The previous speed restriction of 15 km/h over the old crossing has been lifted to 60 km/h now that installation, testing and commissioning are complete. The improved track geometry also reduces vibration and noise, resulting in a smoother, more comfortable passenger experience.

A South African Solution, Built for Local Needs

Kedibone Madiba, Head of the Perway Department at Maziya General Services, explains that the design and installation process is uniquely tailored to the constraints of the Crossmoor site.

“This is a brownfield environment with limited space, curves and a platform very close to the installation. A diamond crossing is the only viable solution,” he explains. “We designed everything locally, conducted the surveys, modelled the geometry and worked closely with VAE SA to ensure every component meets the required standards. The result is a system that fits perfectly and performs reliably, even under challenging operating conditions.”

Kedibone Madiba, Head of the Perway Department at Maziya General Services

“VAE SA’s local presence is critical. When you run a railway, you need immediate support during derailments or faults, and VAE SA has always responded quickly. Their quality and reliability give us unshakeable confidence,” states Madiba.

Partnership Delivers Real Community Impact

Ultimately, the crossover project forms part of PRASA’s long‑term commitment to rebuilding a safe, modern, dependable public transport system.

“The Crossmoor upgrade is one step among many, but its impact on the surrounding communities will be profound. Reliable rail transport transforms lives. It connects people to jobs, education and economic opportunities. We’re proud to revitalise a network that many people rely on,” concludes Makgamatha.

By Sahil Affriya, Founder & CEO, Shiprazor

I find myself having the same conversations with business owners in late November – always too late to make a difference. They typically have three strong trading days as customers work through their wish lists. Then a public holiday comes and nothing moves, followed by a new week that opens with forty parcels sitting on a late collection and customers on WhatsApp politely asking where their orders are. You know that courtesy has a shelf life.

Most merchants treat that new week as something to survive, but working with them day-to-day has shown us that it is far more useful to use these long weekends as a dry run for the biggest shopping weekend of the year – Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

The upcoming Women’s Day long weekend provides an excellent opportunity to dry run the three pressures that define Black Friday: an order spike, a pause in collections, and a backlog clearing while new orders land. Get it wrong in August and you could lose a few customers; in November, you stand to lose the season.

This matters more each year as larger retailers keep shrinking the gap between order and doorstep, and shoppers expect everyone to match it. Services like Checkers Sixty60 have passed 100 million orders across close to 700 stores. The delivery speed shoppers expect from their grocery run has become the benchmark every other vendor is measured against. More people are placing more orders, and growing less patient with a poor delivery service.

Business owners have roughly ten weeks before an October system freeze locks things down. Here are four things you can do to stress test for Black Friday before it’s too late to make code changes.

1. The gap between purchase and waybill

Your first possible bottleneck sits just past checkout in the time between an order landing and you being able to create a waybill. Ideally, that gap is seconds. If it takes hours, or you are typing an address into a courier portal, you have found your first problem and higher order volumes will only worsen it.

Get ahead of this by tracking what stalls: failed connections, duplicate shipments, orders stuck on pending, anything needing a manual fix. On a well-integrated platform, that count sits near zero and the waybill follows the sale automatically, freeing your team to focus on the customer, not the admin.

2. What the customer sees after dispatch

Late parcels don’t automatically lose customers but silence can. A shopper who cannot see their order assumes the worst and messages you. Each assumption puts the success of your weekend and reputation at risk. Your focus should be on tracking exceptions, non-delivery reports (an NDR is logged when a courier cannot complete a delivery), return-to-origin rates, repeat attempts, and “where is my order” messages piling up.

Many failed deliveries are caused by a wrong or incomplete address, and each one comes with costs: a redelivery, the time cost of a support call, and sometimes the sale itself. Proactive tracking systems that keep customers up to date answer most of those questions before they are asked.

3. Courier performance on your own routes

Most merchants set their courier rules once and never look at them again, and many take advertised transit times at face value rather than as a claim to test. Testing these systems and asking critical questions of your courier partner is the key to getting ahead of any problems.

Testing lets you quantify the value you are getting from each courier and plan for contingencies. Relying on a single courier means your only backup plan is hope. The stress of managing multiple delivery providers, however, pulls your attention away from your customer. Platforms that give you the option to choose from multiple couriers enable stability even when systems are under pressure.

4. Every step that still needs a person

Question every manual process: courier allocation, waybill generation, address correction, customer notifications, status updates. When you are small, doing some of these by hand is manageable; for a business that is scaling, this quickly becomes unsustainable.

Note every point where someone had to step in to complete a routine task and treat each one as something to automate or rewrite. The right setup takes that work off your team entirely: a single integrated platform that turns a sale into a waybill, multi-courier routing that reroutes in seconds, and tracking that keeps customers informed before they need to ask.

Read the data the week after the holiday, fix your three biggest weaknesses by the end of September, and confirm the fixes hold before the freeze. Do that and the calm forty-order weekend and the frantic four-hundred-order one should feel the same to your team. Leave the diagnosis until Black Friday and you will learn the same lessons at a far higher price.

Sahil Affriya, Founder & CEO, Shiprazor