SHIPPING and Forwarding Agent Association of Zimbabwe (SFAAZ) chief executive officer Washington Dube has urged players to prioritise environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and artificial intelligence (AI) in the transport and logistics sector to reduce costs.
Speaking during the SFAAZ Transport and Logistics Awards held last Friday in Harare, Dube said AI and ESG adoption could catapult the transport and logistics sector.
“Logistics is no longer a silo. Today, we need end-to-end logistics that ensures comprehensive management from the point of manufacture to the delivery of goods. It is essential to understand what happens to the commodities during transportation,” he said.
“We should embrace technologies like artificial intelligence, the internet of things, block chain and what the earlier speaker said, autonomous vehicles, to reduce the cost of logistics and supply chain cost. Things like robotics, they are transforming how goods are transported and managed.”
Innovations like robotics, as an example, are already transforming goods transportation and management, enhancing sustainability and customer satisfaction, according to SFAAZ.
Dube acknowledged the hurdles the industry faced and encouraged players to be innovative as transport and logistics played a key role in business.
“We have heard of the inefficiencies within the transport sector. We have heard of the inefficiencies within the supply chain. Indeed, our way is cut out. We need to be innovative,” he said.
“We need indeed to leverage technology to ensure that our logistics, our transport operations are efficient as transport plays a vital role in shaping our industry’s future as it connects people to the goods and services across our country and beyond.”
During the awards, Zimbabwe Institute of Transport and Logistic chairperson Robert Mandeya said there was a need for organisations to establish dedicated fleet management departments to mitigate unexpected losses in the supply chain.
The Transport and Logistics Awards is a prestigious annual event that honours organisations and individuals who excelled remarkably in their industry in the past year.
“The awards are divided into corporate categories and individual categories recognising a wide range of achievements which then include sustainability, technology implementation, customer service excellence, supply chain management and all these diverse approaches ensure that all phases of transport and logistics sector are celebrated. The challenges that we encountered during the research process, they included data accuracy, engagement levels and understanding of ESG issues,” Daisy Muvadi, Chartered Institute of Customer Service research and development officer and one of the adjudicators said.
“So, on data accuracy, ensuring the accuracy of information provided by nominees proved a bit difficult because some organisations were hesitant to disclose certain operational metrics which could hinder thorough assessment.”
About 480 nominations for the awards were received, with engagement levels varying among different organisations.