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EF: What is DSV's healthcare footprint in South Africa, and what other priorities do you have besides sustainability?
AD: We had seven warehouses that stocked products across the country when I first started at DSV, and we have significantly consolidated our reach to improve efficiency. We currently have two stock holding facilities, one in Cape Town and the other in Johannesburg. There are a few reasons for this consolidation. The main one is that I felt we were completely over-servicing the market. We could provide the same level of service, with fewer facilities and at less cost. We have considerably fewer facilities today, but our clients and their customers receive the same service, if not better, more efficiently and at less cost.
Our network gives us the ability to service all of South Africa, as well as our neighbouring countries. Over the past few years, we have focused on building a fully compliant ambient temperature-controlled distribution network. Historically, we saw the authorities and certain of our clients focus more on the warehousing component of the supply chain, but this has changed considerably. Now there is a focus on maintaining temperature from end to end. It has taken time and a considerable investment, but we are probably the only 3PL in the South African market with a fully compliant end-to-end solution. We take this industry, product efficacy, and quality at DSV very seriously.
EF: Given that you offer a wide range of services, what are the top priorities you are working on currently, and how significant is the healthcare industry to DSV?
AD: Our company is substantially different now than a few years ago. We were founded by four multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers. Had we continued this path, we would have remained a distributor of originator brand medicines. Our focus has been to broaden our exposure in the healthcare sector, and today we are a broad healthcare provider. We have continued on the medicines front, but now we offer services to the generics, devices and diagnostics, consumer and animal health sectors. This has been very good for us. The research and data show that the traditional medicines market is not growing at a unit level in South Africa. We are seeing slight growth, but it is very slow. Our growth has come through diversifying our services and opening ourselves up to the broader healthcare market. The devices, diagnostics, and animal health sectors have shown strong growth recently, and we have been able to capitalize on this. To be honest, this was not a simple switch. Whilst there are similarities in what these various sectors do, there are also many unique requirements we have had to come to terms with. It took us time to understand and build the distinctive capabilities and competencies the market and our clients seek.
We have also spent considerable time and effort building our data analytics and self-help capabilities. This is a long journey, but we have made huge strides if we compare ourselves today to where we were even 2 years ago. Our reporting capabilities have evolved from static monthly KPI dashboards to interactive data sets run through Business Intelligence (BI) platforms. The discussion and review sessions we have with our clients today are so much more insightful and valuable.
We are also advancing with process automation. We have made significant progress in expanding our self-service capabilities to enable our clients to handle certain tasks independently. Removing steps in the process speeds up the entire transaction and reduces the impact of errors through manual interventions.
Another key focus area of ours is sustainability. I suppose, and I hope, that this is on everyone’s agenda, but we are taking it incredibly seriously. There are several initiatives that we are driving internally to reduce our environmental impact, but we are also having great discussions with our clients around our combined impact. There is only so much we can do alone, but when we link our clients into the discussions, the impact is much greater.
EF: Considering the challenges and higher costs associated with logistics and distribution in Africa, what specific strategies or partnerships does DSV plan to implement in the near future to effectively replicate your successful model?
AD: DSV has a broad logistics offering, and what we do for healthcare in South Africa is limited to warehousing and then some last-mile offerings. The other business entities within DSV offer import and export (DSV Air & Sea) capabilities and a very strong parcel and full truckload solution through DSV Road. DSV Air & Sea have a strong network in Africa. Here we have a blend of owned offices and a very good network of agents. In certain instances, we have found it better for our clients if we partner with an entity that understands the requirements and nuances of the local market.
I want to replicate what we do in South Africa, into the rest of Africa. We have a model that works incredibly well, and that offers huge value to our clients and their customers. It is not a simple exercise, but I am excited about the future.
EF: What achievements are you most proud of, and what do you anticipate as DSV in the upcoming years?
AD: Being one of the largest players in the market is tricky since controlling such a large share of the market makes expansion difficult, and our bosses in Copenhagen expect growth. The thing about which I am most proud is how we have expanded this company beyond its original scope. Today's business differs substantially from when I started, and we have significantly reduced our risk. We can be proud of this from a DSV and business continuity standpoint. I am pleased with how this business has expanded, how it has become more diversified, and how we have come to understand various components of the larger healthcare landscape.
My greatest joy and fulfilment come from seeing our people flourish. Notably, during the height of the pandemic, 84% of our employees were working from the office while most of the country was in their homes, taking precautions to keep themselves safe. My employees were in the office every day taking care of business. Although I cannot compare ourselves to the medical and hospital professionals, I am proud of our team's work during that period. It was an interesting time, and I think my staff did an amazing job supporting what we wanted them to do and what South Africa needed them to achieve, which I find particularly noteworthy.
