Stacked with opportunities

Constant innovation and a “never say die” attitude is exactly what’s needed if you want to make it in the transport industry. JACO DE KLERK discovers that Logico Logistics Solutions has both of these attributes.

The company was established in March 2006, as Logico Logistics’ managing director Bryan Cuff explains: “After about 12 years in a corporate transport environment, I saw an opportunity within the market to go on my own.”

He adds that the company effectively worked as a broker for the first year, not owning any assets. “Initially we managed customers’ transport contracts and only in the middle of 2007 did we start buying our own vehicles.”

Logico Logistics built its base from there, focusing on long-haul transportation; with its primary regions including the greater South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.

“Right from the outset we found an extraordinary opportunity for our business in the form of a patented superlink trailer called Volumax,” says Cuff. “It has worked very well for us.” These units allow Logico Logistics’ clients to double-stack pallets in the vehicles, enabling them to carry 72 pallets, instead of the standard 36.

“You still operate within the parameters of the law,” says Cuff. “It just eradicates the ‘Manhattan skyline’ effect, ensuring that you transport a lot less air and a lot more products – resulting in full utilisation of the trailer’s space.”  These trailers are also 20 percent bigger, in terms of cubic capacity, than a standard superlink, resulting in a significantly lower cost per case, kilogram or pallet (dependant on your specific unit of measure) with almost zero damages while in transit.

However, Cuff explains that these are high-maintenance trailers, which can be a nightmare to manage if you’re not geared to handle them. “If you don’t know what you are doing in terms of the racking it can be a huge burden,” he adds. “We’ve developed and built our business around the structure of these trailers and the requirements of maintaining the internal racking system.”

Cuff says that as the business has developed, the market has become tighter and more cost conscious, with people looking for ways to optimise transport costs. “As a result we have had substantial growth over the last couple of years with these trailers, gaining some really big blue-chip customers in the process.”

Most companies’ canny approach to the cost of logistics was definitely spurred on due to economic considerations in 2009. “During this time we took a strategic decision to open a local transport division, in addition to our long-haul activities.” Cuff adds that this division is made up of a range of vehicles from one-tonne bakkies through to superlinks, including eight-, 12-, 16- and 24-tonne vehicles. These are used to serve both the local and regional fast-moving consumer goods industry, as well as the industrial and automotive industries.

Cuff notes: “We also offer value-added services in our local division including: the checking of stock in warehouses, full accountability of the delivery and communication back to our customers of deliveries completed.”

But Logico Logistics’ approach of not tying its customers down with contractual fleet obligations is the icing on the stacked cake. “We are flexible with our clients and charge them on a performance or pay-as-you-go basis,” Cuff reveals. “So, some days we’ll have 20 trucks at a customer and then the next day we’ll have six – it depends on their volume of demand.”

And if you add all these benefits with Logico Logistics’ BEE and health and safety accreditation, it isn’t hard to see why this company is stacked with opportunities.

Logico Logistics can be reached on 012 659 0469.