Logistics provider Dachser South Africa (SA) has, over the past three years, seen a 50% increase in growth, driven by the South African mining industry as well as by growth in the South American mining industry, says MD Detlev Duve.

“As there [is still] tremendous growth opportunities for logistics in the mining industry, Dachser is investing more into countries with active mining industries, particularly in Africa and South America,” Duve says, noting that he expects additional growth to stem from the Southern African region in future.

The company’s current growth is underscored by a significant logistics project for a coal mine in Zambia, where Dachser SA has partnered with a project engineering company that supplies transformers to the mining sector.
Transformers – critical ‘mega- components’ that function at the heart of a mine’s power or load centre – enable energy transformation that allows the operation of bulk machinery.

The transformers are imported from Europe, while the transformer casing, which protects the transformer during operations, is manufactured and fitted locally in Gauteng. Once the casing has been fitted, the transformer is tested at a separate facility prior to being dispatched to its destination mine, Duve explains.

The client required a logistics partner that could manage the complex logistics process of transporting 105 transformers, of three different weights, ranging from 400 kg apiece to 8 t apiece, from Germany to the final destination at a coal mine in Zambia.

Currently, Dachser SA is preparing 29 transformers for transportation, with 12 already in the process of delivery. The transformers are delivered two at a time to the mine in Zambia. A three- to four-day transit time is anticipated from South Africa to Zambia.

In addition to being able to handle the complexity of multiple stops before the destination, Dachser SA was also required to provide expert packing and loading expertise to maintain the integrity of the transformers and their casings during transportation. The project is set to run to January 2017, Duve says.

Meanwhile, Dachser Global CEO Bernhard Simon highlights that digitalisation, integrated with logistics, will increase efficiency in the mining industry and shape it for the future.

He suggests that integrated supply chain management, including inspection management, will provide efficiency and value for the mines when combined with effective identification and digitalised processes.

“While mines place significant importance on mining equipment, there is a need for mines to be able to know, understand and incorporate the logistics of the equipment, such as the location or condition of the equipment, as well as knowing when there is another cycle of inspection or renewal of components required by the mines,” Simon says.

He stresses that a key industry challenge is understanding the logistics that incorporate the identification and digitalised processes.

Simon therefore highlights the company’s focus on cyber physical systems (CPSes), and socio-cyber physical systems, which he believes will change logistics in the future.

Duve also highlights that, “while transport from A to B is only one aspect of a multidimensional supply chain, Dachser has implemented advanced systems to anticipate – and meet – the multidimensional needs that arise, including those in the mining industry”.

These include the use of the CPSes, which involve the reconciliation of logistics and information technology. The CPSes seek to intelligently link the real and virtual worlds of logistics. In other words, as goods flow through fully developed physical networks, they are mirrored by networked information and data flows.

Dachser makes sound use of the digital-flow-of-goods model in its logistics systems, Simon stresses, noting that the company believes that a critical offering has been the ability to adopt digital processes.