In South Africa, the hub for Pan African trade, Kuehne + Nagel is represented with 5 locations and over 400 employees. Together with the achievement of the level 1 B-BBEE compliance the company demonstrates its full commitment towards further development of both the country and the people of South Africa.

“I attribute this success to a brilliant team of dedicated colleagues but also our customers and business partners whom have been relying on our services and solutions, and willing to form a trust based corporation for now more than 65 years,” commented Dr. Detlef Trefzger, CEO of the Kuehne + Nagel Group, the celebrations last night in Johannesburg.

From humble beginnings, strong partnerships, a defined strategy, and the continuous expansion of projects such as the new Skycentre further enables South Africa to reach new heights as an integrated logistics provider driving innovative products and solutions.

“I am immensely proud to lead a team of dedicated people and I look forward to our future of endless potential in Africa, as we continue to create value for all our customers," said Marcus Balzereit, Managing Director of Kuehne + Nagel Southern Africa, during the event which hosted customers, business partners and employees to honor the anniversary.

“What a great way to start 2019, which is also the year we mark our 65 successful years in the country. We are very excited about this achievement, which is another important milestone, as we work together to support the sustainable growth of the local economy” says Marcus Balzereit, Managing Director of Kuehne + Nagel Southern Africa. “As a company, we are part of the society and actively take part in the transformation of South Africa. Our new BEE status is a clear demonstration of our commitment towards the country, and, in turn, it is a proof that we are fully committed to our customers and suppliers who seek out Level 1 business partners” explains Balzereit.

Kuehne + Nagel South Africa has entrenched transformation programmes based on its key strategic pillars “People, Customers and Technology”, with a strong focus on enterprise development, employment, and skills development initiatives within the communities it operates in.

Through the Kuehne + Nagel Inzuzo Trust, the company invests in the education and entrepreneurial development of young, female South Africans. This year, the Trust continues with the Bursary Program, which will offer bursaries to second- and third-year students studying towards a bachelor degree in logistics, transport economics, accounting, financial management, and information systems.

The new state of the art facility will be equipped with cold rooms, bonded areas, secure areas, high bay racking and the office for the national airfreight management. Marcus Balzereit, Managing Director Kuehne + Nagel Southern Africa: “With these features in an excellent location close to the Tambo Airport and inside the JT Ross Plumbago Logistics Park, the facility is an important milestone to support our growth in automotive, perishables and retail logistics. It is also an integer part of Kuehne + Nagel's KN PharmaChain network providing a GxP compliant Pharma Competency Center servicing Sub Sahara Africa."

Kuehne + Nagel with its 11 offices is one of the leading international freight forwarders in South Africa with 64 years of history and is a Level 2 BBBEE contributor with 30% Black Woman Ownership.

Never before has our world been as connected as it is today. The reason for this is the digitalisation that is conquering our world at a rapid pace. Africa and the Middle East are not remaining unaffected and their digital transformation is growing rapidly too. Kuehne + Nagel has recognised the opportunity to serve these growing markets and to keep driving new value chains and business models in a lean and agile environment through the launch of a new Innovation Lab for Middle East & Africa.

“In 2018 and beyond, digitalisation will provide an important avenue for African economies to leapfrog not only logistics development but also development across other sectors of the economy. Our clients and people are at the forefront of our business, and the launch of the lab for this region was the next natural progression. It is indeed a very exciting time for us in the region,” says Marcus Balzereit, Managing Director Kuehne Nagel South Africa.

Based in Johannesburg, the newly launched Innovation Lab will be focused on driving efficiency on both internal and external processes with a main focus on process automation, partner integrations as well as trade solutions. The aim is to develop a deeper knowledge of the challenges and opportunities in identifying the process, as well as the technological innovations that will help to build competitive logistics and supply chain networks in those markets. Whereas Kuehne + Nagel is able to expand its current global innovation footprint, customers are provided with competitive advantages and an organic growth can be accelerated in the region. Innovation in the supply chain management can not only facilitate the moving of goods from an efficiency and customer experience perspective but also on a safety perspective.

“Driving value chains through people, expertise and technology is a key imperative for the MEA focused Innovation Centre. Although supply chain issues are deeply rooted in the region, solutions are there. Collective thinking is the key to unlock barriers. We feel it is essential to collaborate among the private, public and education sectors as well as the growing start-up ecosystem in the region. Now is the time to call on the market to understand and expand opportunities,” says Tracy Vance Innovation Manager Middle East & Africa.