Power cuts, theft, strikes put South African supply chains at risk: MIT survey

SOUTH AFRICAN supply chains are at risk because of power failures, theft and labour disputes, according to the MIT Centre for Transportation and Logistics Global Risk Survey.


Commissioned by the Association for Operations Management of Southern Africa and Imperial Logistics, the MIT survey studied different forms of risk management, reported the UK's Transport Intelligence.


The survey found that extended loss of electricity is five times more likely to occur in South Africa against a world average. Employee theft and executive wrongdoing come in four times higher. Labour disputes are 2.5 times more likely and disease and infestation are 2.3 times higher.


South Africa is more like developed than a less developed country, but power failures and software systems breakdowns are problems more typical of poor countries.


The survey also found South African companies rated raw material supplier failure as the top supply chain risk, followed by finished goods manufacturing failure, product quality failure, transportation carrier failure and economic recession/market collapse, said Ti.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)