International leader in the contract logistics market, ID Logistics has committed to working in South Africa and has outlined plans to expand its local operations in the country as a provider in the chilled distribution market.

“Our activities in South Africa have experienced solid growth in 2016. We opened our network in 2014 with one customer, Danone. Now we have become the second largest provider in the chilled perishables’ market, with a multi-client approach and the confidence of big branded names in South Africa,” said Eric Hémar, CEO and Chairman, ID Logistics,

“Our team has strengthened its infrastructure, consolidated and expanded its client portfolio and offering. We are excited to continue to welcome some more world renowned multi-national brands and some more South African brands into the fold during 2017,” he added.

The company is aiming to build on its perishables’ platform and extend its warehouse facilities and convince clients in other sectors – such as retail and FMCG to outsource these and enjoy the benefits of faster turnaround times.

Etienne Juillard, MD, ID Logistics, expanded and said, “This will open up new opportunities, such as collaborations between suppliers and other providers. At the same time, we are developing and growing our services in other vertical markets, namely e-commerce, cosmetics and fashion, leveraging our experience from other countries. What is also important is to upsell to our existing client portfolio and offer more value added services.”

Juillard added that in line with the group’s commitment, the South African subsidiary is investing in new technologies and innovations with the objective of increasing productivity and improving experiences for clients.

“We will include route optimising software, in-truck live navigation and delivery status, digitalisation, narrow aisle and flexi-reach trucks. Hand-in hand with these innovations is the upskilling of personnel to handle the new technologies.”

According to Juillard, the group’s global standards have had a positive impact on upping the bar in terms of skills in South Africa. “We deploy overseas’ resources to share and support these processes. What we really hope to achieve is a good balance of local and international skills, which ultimately benefits our clients and the industry at large,” he added.

The CEO concluded and said, “All the investments we made in 2016 will drive our growth over the next few years in order to achieve our aim of becoming a leading name in contract logistics in Europe and Africa.”