Along with economic growth in Africa comes increased pressure on supply chain infrastructure, creating challenging business conditions and difficulty in matching supply with demand.

“If we want to execute supply chain design effectively in Africa, we need creative and flexible solutions,” says Arno Haigh executive director at Resolve Capacity, a division of supply chain specialists Resolve Solution Partners.

The healthcare industry is a particular focus, as many African countries have experienced a surge in volumes of medicine and healthcare products moving through their public health facilities, putting strain on existing infrastructure and affecting supply chain efficiencies.

“With warehouses already built or underway in Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda, we are making strides in improving supply chain infrastructure in Africa, particularly in healthcare,” says Haigh. “This is in addition to facilities already built in South Africa, including clinics that use our modular infrastructural solutions.”

One of Resolve Capacity’s recent projects is for USAID Mozambique, for a $7.6-million pharmaceutical warehouse in Mozambique’s Nampula region. “This warehouse will enhance their pharmaceutical distribution network, as well as storage capacity for the distribution of quality medicines,” explains Haigh. “Pallet storage capacity is an impressive 6 000 plus pallets within the 3 500 m2 warehouse.”

Although some warehouses were constructed traditionally, others utilise Resolve’s unique Warehouse-in-a-Box design, which enables the rapid commission and installation of a prefabricated warehouse with all the componentry required to deliver a total solution, packed and ready for delivery in 40 ft containers.

Warehouse-in-a-Box addresses lack of supply chain infrastructure, limited storage space and lack of quality storage facilities. Suitable for both urban and rural settings, the standards and operational benchmarks are aligned with international supply chain principles.

In Tanzania, for example, Warehouse-in-a-Box was the solution for the country’s expanding need for a scalable, secure, reliable and sustainable means to store and distribute medicines and healthcare commodities. The design can deliver between 500 m² and 10 000 m² of pharmaceutical warehouse space, and long-term scalability is possible through a modular design, which is readily adjustable to accommodate future growth demands.

“The materials used in producing Warehouse-in-a-Box facilities are up to 30% cheaper than traditional building methods, and boast a 30 year-plus lifespan,” says Haigh. “We also focus on sustainability – each one can be built to four-star green building standards, and they are designed with water, heating, ventilation and air conditioning condensate and solar harvesting. They feature water and waste treatment, and reduced energy costs due to efficient design.”

As Haigh points out, facility deployment in Africa is complicated by limitations in developing countries. “Warehouse-in-a-Box, however, overcomes these limitations,” he says. “Our warehouses may fit in a box, but our thinking certainly doesn’t.”

Resolve Capacity does not only specialise in pharmaceutical and healthcare facilities, however, and was recently awarded a R160-million contract to design and project manage the development of a high-tech, 25 500 m² cold storage warehouse in Johannesburg for Imperial Cold Logistics and its client McCain.

Its development comes on the heels of Imperial’s recently concluded contract with McCain, which will see the group distributing some 190 000 t of frozen vegetables annually, as well as providing world-class warehousing for the frozen foods leader. “Resolve Capacity is designing and project managing the warehouse’s internal layout, as well as all materials storage and handling equipment,” says Haigh.
 

Haigh is excited about the projects Resolve Capacity is involved with. “We know that in addition to job creation and local business development during construction, our projects have a significant positive impact on distribution networks in their regions,” concludes Haigh. “We are also helping alleviate the supply chain infrastructure challenges our continent is facing, and moving the African economy forward through enabling growth and development.”