Abstract
Africa’s potential for economic development is largely dependent on sustainable logistics and supply chain operations. This chapter explores these opportunities and associated challenges in relation to supply chain network design. The opportunities arise from Africa’s abundant resources, which are in demand from developed economies. Africa is also considered to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. However some challenges are caused by gaps in the infrastructure, affecting logistics and supply chain performance. Logistics managers will need to address these challenges when designing their supply chain networks for the foreseeable future.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
China is a major importer of coffee from Uganda; wine from SA, olive oil from Tunisia and tobacco from Zimbabwe. However the FT (December 2015) reported a contraction of Chinese imports from Africa, although the exports to the same region show an increasing trend during the same period.
- 2.
Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced impressive and sustained economic growth and development. Some of that growth is powered by natural resources and policies that are opening up more markets and attracting investments (Canning et al. 2015).
- 3.
Southern Africa countries suitable for livestock raising include SA, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- 4.
For example, the national malaria strategy for Kenya lacked a supply chain component until it was reviewed in 2009. This limitation resulted in ineffective supplies and poor accessibility to essential drugs for the programme (Riungu 2016).
- 5.
“Manufacturing is a vital engine of economic development, but Africa’s economies overall have under-performed. As Africa’s economies have grown and diversified over the past two decades, there has been a steady increase in manufacturing output—indeed, a rapid increase in Ethiopia and Tanzania, in particular” (MGI 2016). MGI projects that manufacturing capacity in Africa is likely to double by 2015 resulting in demand for logistics and supply chain operational activities.
- 6.
“In 2010, the aviation industry in Africa supported about 7 million jobs, including 257,000 direct jobs, which were worth about US$67.8 billion of the continent’s GDP. 57 Air transport plays a critical role in facilitating healthcare access, humanitarian assistance, the movement of products to global markets, tourism, and the creation of businesses” (Schlumberger 2010).
- 7.
The new port of Kribi, 150 km south of Douala, will effectively replace the latter as the country’s principal port, and with a 16 metre draught, it will be capable of handling vessels of up to 100,000 tonnes (Kgare et al. 2011).
- 8.
Operational dwell time is mainly the time to unload vessels and store goods in yards. It mainly depends on the efficiency of the port and the availability of equipment combined with the level of occupancy of the storage facilities. Transactional dwell time mainly concerns the transaction time between the importers/port services and customs. Discretionary storage is the residual after having taken into account operational and transactional dwell times (Kgare et al. 2011).
- 9.
For example, TRC, Tazara, and Transrail carry freight an average of 1000 km. On the other hand, some smaller railways—such as the Mozambique and Uganda lines—feed freight to other railways, which subsequently carry traffic a few hundred kilometres further (Gwilliam 2011).
- 10.
According to a PIDA report, “Africa’s continental infrastructure investment needs as defined in PIDA are estimated at US$360 billion up to the year 2040. Of these, priority investments up to the year 2020 comprise 51 projects and programs defined in the PIDA Priority Action Plan (PIDA PAP) comprising projects in Energy, Transport, ICT and Trans-boundary Water at an investment cost of US$67.9 billion” (ADB PIDA 2013).
- 11.
The project is developed as a collaboration between the United Nations Economic Commission for Arica (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB) and the African Union (AU) to promote trade and alleviate poverty in Africa.
- 12.
The World Bank’s World Development 1994 estimated that, “timely maintenance of $12 billion would have saved road reconstruction costs of $45 billion in Africa in the past decade” (Easterly 2001).
References
Adewole, A. (2003). Information Sharing and Supply Chain Relationships in Small and Medium Sized Garment Manufacturing Firms in the UK. PhD Thesis, University of the Arts London, London.
African Development Bank. (2013). PIDA: The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa: Transforming Africa Through Modern Infrastructure. Tunis: African Development Bank. 4 pp.
Bozarth, C. C., & Handfield, R. B. (2016). Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management. Harlow: Pearson.
Bvepfepfe, B. S. (2015). Perspectives of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Comparative Analysis of Organisational Corporate Social Responsibility in South Africa and the UK (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis). Birmingham City University, Birmingham.
Bvepfepfe, B. S. (2017). Sustainability of Logistics and Supply Chain Operations Through Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives. Logistics and Transport Journal, 36(4), 25–42.
Bvepfepfe, B. S., Griffiths, J., & Foster, D. (2006, September 6–8). Corporate Social Responsibility for Companies and Their Supply Chains in Emerging Markets: A Comparison Between Southern Africa and UK. In Proceedings of the Logistics Research Network Conference, Newcastle University.
Canning, D., Raja, S., & Yazbeck, A. S. (Eds.). (2015). Africa’s Demographic Transition: Dividend or Disaster? Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.
CAPA. (2013, August 7). Air CEMAC Moves Closer to Launch in Partnership with Air France.
Chingosho, E. (2013). 45th AFRAA Annual General Assembly Report of the Secretary General. http://www.afraa.org/
Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & Supply Chain Management. London: Pearson.
Easterly, W. (2001). The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics. Cambridge, MA: MIT.
Ellram, L. M., & Cooper, M. C. (2014). Supply Chain Management: It’s All About the Journey, Not the Destination. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 50(1), 8–20.
Evans, P., & Wurster, T. S. (2000). Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Trade and Markets Division (EST). OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook: 2014–2023. Available online at: www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda
Foster, V., & Briceño-Garmendia, C. (2010). Africa’s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Gwilliam, K. M. (2011). Africa’s Transport Infrastructure: Mainstreaming Maintenance and Management. Washington, DC: World Bank Publication, Directions in Development.
Hausman, W. H. (2005). Financial Flows & Supply Chain Efficiency. Visa Commercial Solutions.
IMF. (2015). Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington: IMF.
Kearney, A. T. (2014). Seizing Africa’s Retail Opportunities: The 2014 Retail African Development Index.http://www.atkearney.com/consumerproducts-retail/african-retail-development-index. Accessed 5 July 2017.
Kgare, T., Raballand, G., & Ittman, H. W. (2011). Cargo Dwell Time in Durban (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 5794). Washington, DC: World Bank.
Manners-Bell, J., Cullen, T., & Roberson, C. (2014). Logistics and Supply Chains in Emerging Markets. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Mathew, J., John, J., & Kumar, S. (2013). New Trends in Healthcare Supply Chain. In International Annual Conference, Production and Operations Management Society, Denver.
MGI. (2016). Lions on the Move II: Realizing the Potential of Africa’s Economies. Philadelphia: McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).
Njoya, E. T. (2016). Africa’s Single Aviation Market: The Progress so Far. Journal of Transport Geography, 50, 4–11.
Ojala, L., & Çelebi, D. (2015, March 9–10). The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and Drivers of Logistics Performance. Queretaro: International Transport Forum.
Raballand, G., Refas, S., Beuran, M., & Isik, G. (2012). Why Cargo Dwell Time Matters in Trade (English). Economic Premise no. 81. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Riungu, J. M. (2016). A Comparative Analysis of In-Market Pharmaceutical Distribution Channel Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Kenya. Doctoral Dissertation.
Rodrigue, J. P., Comtois, C., & Slack, B. (2016). The Geography of Transport Systems. Florence: Taylor & Francis.
Rushton, A., Croucher, P., & Baker, P. (2014). The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management: Understanding the Supply Chain. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Schlumberger, C. E. (2010). Open Skies for Africa: Implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.
Traub, L., Yeboah, F. K., Meyer, F., & Jayne, T. S. (2015). Megatrends and the Future of African Economies.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bvepfepfe, B.S. (2019). Supply Chain Network and Logistics Management. In: Adewole, A., Struthers, J.J. (eds) Logistics and Global Value Chains in Africa. Palgrave Studies of Sustainable Business in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77652-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77652-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-77651-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-77652-1
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)