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Industry logistics strategy proposed
The South African wine industry is preparing new strategies to improve logistics management to provide a consistent quality service to customers in the highly competitive international market.
According to a statement by Winetech, its Vision 2020 project has identified a pressing need for an effective logistics system which should impact not only on each element of the wine industry value chain, from terroir to customer, but also embrace the complete chain as a whole.
Research has shown that while South Africa's wine industry has achieved remarkable success in the global marketplace, it stands to lose ground against more aggressive competition from other "New World" producers who are beginning to outperform local industry by implementing state-of-the-art systems to deliver value, as required by the customer.
Problems identified most often by international sources regarding the SA wine industry are "late delivery", "insufficient volumes of quality product" and "inconsistent quality performance".
To meet this challenge, the Winetech Vision2020 strategy is being crafted within the framework of a 10 point Strategic Agenda. This involves a shift from a production-driven to a market-driven wine industry, the implementation of value chain management, and the implementation of total logistics management.
To be effective, a logistics system should impact on each element of the value chain and on it as a whole. It should improve the efficiency of the value chain as a system, improving the characteristics of all output to customers in all the dimensions important to those customers. In fact, attempting to improve a single element, or value dimension of the value chain in isolation could deteriorate the overall value resulting from the value chain to the detriment of customers as a whole.
Effective logistics normally require five elements. These are Information, Supplies, Products/Results, Labour and Facilities. Each of these elements need to be optimised individually and in context of the whole to deliver what the customer wants.
To compete internationally, the country's quality management should comply with international benchmarks, such as the highly successful ISO9000 Quality Management System (QMS) Standard.
The Winetech Vision 2020 Logistics Project has recently distributed a first draft of a set of standards and intends to formalise a Wine Industry Quality Forum as a representative body from the industry, with representation by all relevant role-players. It is intended that this forum establish and manage the implementation of a Wine Quality Management System based on the ISO9000QMS Standard, complemented by the existing Integrated Production wine system. It aims to establish and manage a dynamic Register of Conforming Industry Participants.
It is proposed that the role of the regulatory bodies and processes currently prescribed by The Liquor Products Act be analysed and streamlined to remove unnecessary delays from the production phase.
The Logistics Strategy also entails the establishment of an Information Logistics Network specific to the wine industry - inclusive of all regulatory agencies and organisations and accessible to all the role-players, while its use must be mandatory for all Quality Conforming Industry Participants.
The proposed "Wine Net" could be the vehicle for the process of Electronic Certification, a data warehouse of producer and product quality information, customs and excise information, provide an Internet-based application service for all aspects of the value chain, and provide a base for the exchange of planning and supply information with key customers to ensure quality and reliability to sales and distribution logistics.
A consortium of service providers, inclusive of Information Technology, Financing and Logistics Services, is addressing and designing a Wine Net as a commercial service to the wine industry. SAWIS, the SA Wine Industry Information and Systems organisation, is equipping and positioning itself to utilise the Wine Net for e-certification of wines and the online availability of wine industry statistics and information.
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