Industry body the Road Freight Association and industry collaboration platform the Transport Forum of South Africa have announced that the first small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) Road Freight Summit will be held on October 24 and 25.

The summit will provide practical advice and see industry experts, regulators and academics share best practices with road freight entrepreneurs and SMEs to assist in building and growing their businesses. The summit's theme is resilience and sustainability, business consultancy RSH founder and MD, and summit convenor Florence Musundwa said in a June 30 webinar.

“The summit will promote conversations about practical solutions to the various challenges SMEs face, as well as for the industry to work with the public and private sector to create a more conducive environment for SMEs to thrive in,” she said.

The summit would provide information for SMEs to form growth strategies for their operations, foster collaboration in the ecosystem, and unpack financial and non-financial business support for SMEs in the road freight industry, she added.

Road freight SME owners and entrepreneurs participating in the webinar were given insight into the types of content that will be provided at the summit.

MLM Logistics CEO Mark Makhubalo gave attendees insight into the initial struggles that new businesses in the logistics sector face, and provided them with advice on everything from fleet management best practices, regulations and compliance, to money management and some of the early strategic considerations that are important to ensure that they can reach their growth vision.

“There will be lots of learnings for SMEs at the summit, including learning more about the industry,” he said.

Makhubalo also highlighted that the convenors of the summit, which include a range of logistics companies and organisations, would establish a mentorship programme for new entrants into the sector as part of the summit's work into the future.

Logistics and transport consultancy Gecko Group economist Sheina Gokool reminded attendees of the central role SMEs play in providing employment, highlighting that SMEs employ more than 80% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and that they will be central to growth and creating more jobs.

She also highlighted that digitalisation is helping SMEs to scale-up much faster and leading to more startups. Technology-driven advancements and plug-and-play design are at the forefront of the agenda, she said.

Meanwhile, she also emphasised that Africa must determine what actions to take at a micro-level to ensure that it can participate and get the maximum benefit from new and growing supply chains at a macro-level. SMEs in the road freight industry will play a central role in these supply chains.

Further, supply chain and enterprise supplier development advisory company TK Global Experts CEO Kamogelo Mampane highlighted that logistics and supply chain professionals could do a lot to help support SMEs in the industry by changing the way they source logistics services.

However, he also provided attending entrepreneurs and SME owners with advice on how to manage their businesses, including regulations and compliance, customer needs fulfilment and satisfaction, staff input and feedback, and also provided them with advice on management styles and their approachability as leaders of their companies.

Additionally, University of Johannesburg Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management Associate Professor Rose Luke provided the attending road freight professionals with an overview of enterprise compliance, sustainability and corruption management.

“Compliance may be the easiest of these topics to describe but can be a minefield for small businesses. They must be aware of and familiar with those aspects of regulations that their businesses will require. Similarly, startups should be familiar with employee laws, otherwise they may struggle with bargaining councils and unions and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, among many other regulatory hurdles.”

Luke also highlighted the benefits of voluntary compliance with various regulations and standards, as a means of assuring clients about the capabilities and sustainability of their businesses.

Further, she also highlighted some of the common risks to sustainability, such as margin squeeze leading to underinvestment in repairs and maintenance. She emphasised that entrepreneurs and owners should invest in the foundational elements of their businesses, such as running vehicles, accordingly.

Meanwhile, while noting that endemic corruption may be difficult to avoid, SMEs must carefully consider their long-term reputations and the unintended impact on their ability to fulfil customer requirements, without which they would not exist, she added.

Standards and certification company JC Auditors CEO Oliver Naidoo gave attending road freight professionals an overview of environmental sustainability, health and safety, and operational excellence standards.

“Standards help to ensure that the business is sustainable, profitable, protects the environment and people, and has a beneficial impact on society, all of which improve the sustainability and resilience of SMEs,” he said.

“The event, to be held at the Maslow, in Sandton, is a platform designed to unpack the various challenges and possible solutions to improve the success rate of SMEs in the road freight sector,” said Musundwa.

“It will improve support given to SMEs in the road freight space, so as to ensure the design of effective intervention and support programmes, which will enable SME growth,” she added.