The winners of the 2025 Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards (ASCEA) have been announced, shining a spotlight on the most transformative, resilient and forward-thinking supply chain projects across the African continent.

Now in its fourth year, ASCEA recognises the critical role that supply chains play in economic development, health systems, sustainability and business success. This year, more than 60 entries were received from across Africa, with 47 progressing to the final judging stage and 40 named as finalists. The judges, comprising distinguished experts from across the supply chain field, voluntarily dedicated their time to evaluating entries that reflected innovation, excellence and real-world impact.

Award Winners

This year’s event featured 13 categories in which the following organisations and projects took top honours:

Humanitarian & Health Supply Chain Management

VillageReach and SA Harvest were named the joint winners in this category. Working across Sub-Saharan Africa, VillageReach improves access to essential medicines and vital health products through data-driven insights, public-private collaboration and local capacity-building. Its Outsourcing Toolkit and government engagement strategies have enhanced performance tracking and resilience in health supply chains in countries like Mozambique, Kenya and Malawi.

Through a tech-enabled reverse logistics network, SA Harvest rescues surplus food and redistributes it efficiently and sustainably, at no cost to recipient organisations. In just five years, SA Harvest has scaled from a single vehicle to a national supply chain across four provinces and has delivered over 83.8 million meals and rescued nearly 21 million kilograms of nutritious food.

Demand Planning and Management Category

The winner was Alstom for its “Demand Side Time to Shine” project. The improvements introduced in Alstom’s supply chain operations at Ubunye led to R20 million in savings by increasing productivity, lowering labour costs and optimising inventory.

Innovation & Change Management 

Winner GLS Supply Chain Equipment has reimagined the pallet pooling model to suit Africa’s logistics landscape. With advanced tracking systems, data-driven insights and robust partnerships, GLS has elevated delivery performance, transparency and productivity while tackling a traditionally monopolised industry.

International Trade

Category winner AECI entered the Papua New Guinea mining sector by constructing a modular emulsion plant on Lihir Island, supported by a cross-continental logistics network. This project highlights outstanding on time, in full (OTIF) delivery, safe handling of IMDG (dangerous goods code) cargo and a scalable model for international expansion.

Inventory, Warehousing and Distribution Management

Winner Unitrans in partnership with Isanti glass made significant progress in inventory, warehousing design and distribution management through a change to operations and efficiencies and a strong partnership with their client. This multi-faceted approach to excellence reduced stock variance by 85%, halved stock take time from four days to two, cut truck turnaround times by over 12% and improved safety incidents by 25%. Customer complaints dropped, audit scores improved and most product recall time was cut by 53%.

Manufacturing and Production Management

Alstom Rolling Stock, which manufactures locomotives, took top honours in this category for a project that has significantly reduced time spent on painting processes. The paint time reduction project integrated cutting-edge technologies to enhance efficiency and reduced time spent on painting processes by adopting automation systems and innovative materials, significantly improving the turnaround time of the paint shop.

Preservation of the Environment

Digistics’ drive to achieve Africa’s greenest supply chain led to the organisation winning this category at ASCEA this year. The installation of 4 084 kWp rooftop solar panels and 7 719 kWp battery storage across its distribution centres has reduced its CO2 emissions by up to 15%, while delivering energy cost savings and ensuring business continuity during power outages. Operating Africa’s largest fleet of AxlePower trailers, Digistics generates and stores kinetic energy while in motion to power refrigeration units without diesel. This innovation lowers CO2 emissions and is expected to save approximately R600 000 in fuel costs over its lifecycle. Digistics’ solar truck technology also improves fuel efficiency, saving 3.49 litres of diesel per hour and reducing CO2 emissions by 2.2 tons per vehicle monthly.

Procurement and Supply Management

Africa Resource Center for Excellence in Supply Chain Management (ARC_ESM) won this category with its “Zero Stock-out of Essential Medicines” project. In partnership with Nigerian states, ARC achieved zero stock-outs of essential medicines in Kaduna, Nigeria, by strengthening local governance, last-mile delivery and capacity building.

Supply Chain Coordination and Collaboration

In an ecommerce rollout for a new client in Africa, winner CEVA Logistics exceeded all expectations by delivering zero missed shipments and meeting all KPIs.

Technology, Information Systems and Related Fields

The joint winners in this category were Takealot and a technology partnership featuring Opsi Systems and DP World. In the latter winning project, DP World migrated to Opsi’s Tramm SaaS transport solution. Operational efficiencies and cost savings were achieved. Takealot was recognised for its successful automation project featuring autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

Training and Talent Management 

This category was won by Stellenbosch University’s EV bikes project which saw a team ride over 6 500km, from Nairobi to Stellenbosch, on solar-powered electric motorbikes. This African-led innovation showcased off-grid mobility, local supply chains and clean transport solutions tailored for Africa’s geography and needs.

Transport (All Modes and Intermodal)

There were three joint winners in this ASCEA category. DSV Road and Everlectric partnered to bring the benefits of electric vehicles to the DSV fleet. RnR Technologies’ platform to digitise fleet maintenance and repair delivered a 64% drop in breakdowns and improved monthly fleet uptime of some 2 000 hours for leading clients. Vanguard’s specialist designed trailer transported 75 wind blades, each over 90m long, from Richards Bay to inland laydown areas. This was a South African first, overcoming significant handling and space limitations.

Unique Supply Chain Projects

The Unique Supply Chain Projects category was won by Vanguard for an abnormal load transport solution. Vanguard transported a 338-ton cold box across 2 700km from Namibia to Zambia, involving 11 bypasses, extensive roadworks and a 45-day journey. The project showcased engineering excellence and generated national interest with over 1 million spectators in Lusaka alone.

Judges Award

This year, the prestigious Judges Award was presented to SA Harvest in recognition of their outstanding contribution to fighting food insecurity in South Africa. SA Harvest has revolutionised humanitarian supply chain management in response to South Africa’s

severe food insecurity crisis, where over 18 million people face hunger and child malnutrition is widespread. With 22% annual growth in meals delivered, SA Harvest is a scalable, replicable model redefining humanitarian logistics in South Africa, according to the ASCEA judges.

A Salute to African Excellence

“All of the 2025 ASCEA entries, finalists and winners showcase the power of supply chains to solve social, environmental and operational challenges. These trailblazers exemplify what African ingenuity, collaboration and resilience can achieve,” said Garry Marshall, head judge.

The ASCEA organisers thanked the judging panel, who represented leading associations

including CILTSA, SAPICS, RFA, SAEPA, CSCMP, Commerce Edge, ARIA, iqbusiness, SAIIE and more. They also expressed their gratitude to this year’s

sponsors, including prime sponsor Forte Supply Chain Solutions; category sponsors RFA and Ceva Logistics; and support sponsors BidAir Cargo, DP World and Standard Bank.

“As supply chains continue to shape Africa’s future, ASCEA remains committed to recognising and amplifying the efforts of those driving real, sustainable change across the continent,” the organisers stated.