AMI MANICA
AMI MANICA
Local Knowledge
Takes Freight Global PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder
“With a local footprint in 15 countries and 50 offices worldwide, we make our collective knowledge, expertise and global network available to our clients,” states AMI Worldwide. Taking care of the entirety of customers’ logistics needs, AMI Manica is on hand to fulfil freight transport, warehousing and distribution, project management, storage and many other value-added services. www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: TRANSPORT / LOGISTICS
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“AMI Worldwide provides global logistics solutions” - for a company which specialises in some of the most technically challenging freight movement imaginable, its mission statement is surprisingly straightforward. It is one which AMI lives and breathes; these are global freight services for everyone, and across its sea, air, land transportation, and warehousing and distribution divisions AMI has all bases covered. Manica, for its part, has strong roots in sub-equatorial Africa, and has built itself up to be a key player and supremely established brand. Primarily involved in the logistics business and customs clearance, it has an unparalleled office and facilities network paired with experienced and skilled personnel, helping it stay ahead in an ever-demanding environment. AMI IMPACT The addition of Manica to the AMI stock has been one of the most important milestones in a long and
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distinguished history, which Enterprise Africa asks Arjun Menon, General Manager of AMI Manica’s South Africa arm, to unpick further. “Manica was originally started by a Portuguese family based in Mozambique in the late 1800s,” he outlines. “The business grew into Zimbabwe and through Zambia and Malawi; there was a lot of movement through the hinterlands. It then expanded into South Africa. “It went through a couple of different iterations, and also gained offices in Namibia. The company was then bought by Bidvest in 1988, and continued under Bidvest management until late 2016 when AMI bought the company. This was actually the culmination of a process which had begun some 20 years previously, which saw AMI build up a solid reputation of handling cargo coming into central Africa from Dubai - in Uganda, Rwanda and North-eastern Congo areas. “They had established offices in Kenya, in Tanzania and in Mozambique, and saw southern Africa as the next
logical extension to the existing model,” Menon continues. Manica Freight Services was one of the largest Mozambican companies with a distinguished history in the market of shipping agencies, shipping and freight services, which fitted perfectly with AMI’s business model. “In setting up their own operation, AMI decided to work on acquiring an
// THEY HAD ESTABLISHED OFFICES IN KENYA, IN TANZANIA AND IN MOZAMBIQUE, AND SAW SOUTHERN AFRICA AS THE NEXT LOGICAL EXTENSION TO THE EXISTING MODEL //
AMI MANICA
// THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BELIEVES THAT A GOOD IDEA IS JUST THAT, NO MATTER WHERE IT COMES FROM // established outfit, which happened to be at a time when Bidvest was interested in selling the company. The sale went through in January 2017, and ever since then we have been running under the AMI Manica banner.� AMI’s history is only slightly shorter, founded in Belgium in 1919 since when it has embarked upon its growth into a leader in the freight forwarding and transport industry.
“There was so much brand equity already there that the Manica branding hardly changed at all,� underlines Menon of the impact of the acquisition and the merging of these two legendary outfits. “The name contains so much legacy and heritage. If you travel into central Africa, or Zimbabwe, or Zambia, people know automatically. We could not lose that.� Menon goes on to delineate how the pairing of these two formidable forces has helped AMI Manica to craft valuable niches in the African market. “The South African freight industry is quite dynamic. We do not occupy the space of a tradition European or American freight forwarder. This is where we see our greatest opportunities; because of our footprint in Southern African and the eastern seaboard of Africa, we find that there
are a lot of opportunities which are very unique to us. We do not have very much competition in those areas. “Within Zimbabwe we are also quite asset-driven,� Menon continues of what sets AMI Manica apart from the crowd. “We have our own warehouses, our own heavy lift equipment, and the necessary partnerships in place with the government rail companies of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa to make that strategic relationship work as well. “With AMI’s acquisition of Manica we found that there was a real introduction of an international way of thinking, or ethos,� Menon rounds off on his overview of the business. “The urgency of accomplishment and wanting to get things done were renewed, while from a technological point of view AMI brought a lot of their
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: TRANSPORT / LOGISTICS
// WE HAVE OUR OWN WAREHOUSES, OUR OWN HEAVY LIFT EQUIPMENT, AND THE NECESSARY PARTNERSHIPS IN PLACE WITH THE GOVERNMENT RAIL COMPANIES OF ZIMBABWE, ZAMBIA, MOZAMBIQUE, BOTSWANA AND SOUTH AFRICA TO MAKE THAT STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP WORK AS WELL //
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Dubai-based thinking and was able to adapt it for the South African context, a mature African market and a lot more developed than a lot of its neighbours.” POWERING THROUGH CHALLENGE The Kazungula Bridge project is just one of the recent major success stories for AMI Manica, where it provided its unparalleled fourth party logistics services, managing resources, technology and infrastructure on the awe-inspiring bridge linking Botswana and Zambia over the Zambezi River. “Large listed engineering companies reach out to us directly,” Menon explains, “or we have the world’s largest freight forwarders reach out to us in order to achieve last mile fulfilment in southern and eastern Africa. These are complicated markets where not everything goes to plan all the time, and so we are chosen to get things done because of our long expertise in these areas. “A large Indian engineering firm was contracted to build a 600 km
power line in northern Botswana, and we were awarded the job to move those containers from South Africa into remote locations in Botswana and then return the empty containers to Durban.” Alongside what Menon calls AMI Manica South Africa’s ‘bread and butter’ work - moving tobacco from Zimbabwe and Malawi, tea from Malawi, polymers and packaging material from South Africa - currently emerging is a trend which sees it taking on more and more work linked to major power projects. In Botswana, it provided transport of large amounts of materials and equipment from the port to the Palapye project site, also facilitating the port collection of the containerised consignments and break-bulk transportation to Palapye. “We are also busy with the feasibility of a potential hydroelectric project which will potentially commence in Malawi almost on the banks of the lake,” Menon adds. “At present, as well, we are doing the
AMI MANICA
// WITH AMI’S ACQUISITION OF MANICA WE FOUND THAT THERE WAS A REAL INTRODUCTION OF AN INTERNATIONAL WAY OF THINKING, OR ETHOS // initial study into the movement of coal from Zimbabwe to India, via Durban - 50,000 tonnes of it. We are now waiting for the kick-off of the transit of the coal.” None of these is a simple, everyday task in an easily accessible location. Each requires every ounce of AMI Manica’s combined experience alongside the crucial local knowledge it can offer. “It’s all about improvising and having ideas to hand,” sums up Menon of AMI Manica’s approach to the nearconstant challenges it faces. “We figure a way out. It’s about having a back-up plan, and a back-up to the back-up, and then a fourth fallback plan.”
ECONOMIC IMPACT AMI Manica has remained sturdy and profitable throughout the recent financial volatility spanning the territory. Partly down to the strength of its service offering, and partly because of the major jobs it is picking up which are funded by private entities and large banks, rather than local governments. “We came through the recent difficulties in the country without being knocked out,” sums up Arjun Menon. “However, it had some impact on our business, especially because to a large extent we are restricted in our movement,” he qualifies. “I cannot just transport cargo as I please; I have to be mindful of the fact that there are protesters and others looking to torch trucks and to steal loads.” Summing up the typical AMI Manica resourcefulness in the face of adversity, though, Menon adds: “We ran a lot of our trucks at night as a result. “The economic and political uncertainty has put something of a dampener on future prospects, as people are not prepared to spend too much or to gamble on something that is not a sure bet,” he continues. “They are very wary of spending any money; everybody is looking to continue doing what they are currently but better, and leaner.
“Especially in places like South Africa, however, these things always manage to course-correct through the sheer will of people. These times of disruption, and of turmoil, are exactly the times we should be going out and buying, too, as when the inevitable upswing comes around, we will be perfectly placed to profit.” Arjun Menon lets slip the secret to AMI Manica’s success to date, and what will inevitably keep it ahead even during times when spends are low: it lies in the perfect marriage between the two formerly separate businesses. “I have a lot of freedom as the senior most manager for South Africa, in terms of decision making,” he enthuses. “The executive committee believes that a good idea is just that, no matter where it comes from. If something makes sense, and the merits of it have been assessed, then there really is no reason why we shouldn’t be acting on a great idea.”
WWW.AMI-WORLDWIDE.COM
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