Take one truck
...and build a business. That is the story behind Prime Invest Transport, which has now built a successful trucking business that extends across South Africa, as Ruari McCallion discovers.
Prime Invest Transport started in Cape Town in 1994 with just one truckÔÇöand that was rented. It now has seven distribution centres, 170 vehicles and around 450 employees. Laurence Edwards was the co-founder, along with Andy Van Wyk, and they are now joint managing directors. The business is characterised by attention to detail, technology, a close focus on costs and above all, a commitment to serving its customers by delivering on time, in full, every time.
ÔÇ£We purely provide transport services,ÔÇØ Edwards says. ÔÇ£Our market is South Africa, with some cross-border shipping into Lesotho.ÔÇØ The companyÔÇÖs biggest market segment is clothing and related goods but it also carries tyres, cosmetics, books, furniture, crockery, cutlery and other kitchen equipment. ItÔÇÖs pretty much all high-value.
ÔÇ£Moving high-value goods is challenging, thereÔÇÖs no doubt,ÔÇØ Edwards explains. ÔÇ£When we are making deliveries at our customersÔÇÖ distribution centres, we have to make appointments. Our trucks may be driving 1000 miles and have to be there at a specific time. It is challenging but we built our business knowing those were the requirements. We grew by being flexible. We revolve around what the customer wants.ÔÇØ It could be expected that scheduling to tight delivery windows would require long lead times, with lots of planning ahead, but that isnÔÇÖt the Prime Invest way. ÔÇ£We usually work no more than two days ahead.ÔÇØ
When Edwards and Van Wyk set the company up, they identified an opportunity in clothing and related products. As everyone knows, fashion is a fickle business and rapid response is essential for retailers and design houses.
ÔÇ£The manufacturers actually act as design houses,ÔÇØ says Edwards. ÔÇ£They ship the production work out to CMT (cut, make and trim) operations, who deliver back to the design houses. From the start, we focused on that transport space.ÔÇØ Prime Invest was in very much the right place at the right time, with a strategy that harmonised with the clothing sectorÔÇÖs development. ÔÇ£Edcon, the retailer, decided to outsource their distribution centre and delivery work in the Western Cape in 1998; we tendered for the contract and got it.ÔÇØ That win effectively doubled the companyÔÇÖs size. At the time it had six trucks, it acquired six more from Edcon with the contract and proceeded from there, region by region and state by state. ÔÇ£They outsourced the Free State at the time we were looking to expand, and we got that contract, too. Then we got northern KwaZulu Natal; then the north and south coast of KwaZulu Natal.ÔÇØ
When Boardman Stores was purchased by the Edcon Group and the tender for distribution became available, based on its previous performance Prime Invest was able to secure it, starting with Johannesburg and followed by other areas around the country. Piece by piece, step by step, Prime Invest Transport was expanding. Its distribution centres are now in the key locations of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Ladysmith, Johannesburg and Bloemfontein. As its customer base grew, so did Prime InvestÔÇöby delivering to the standards required.
Also essential to Prime InvestÔÇÖs growth strategy is building its people. Everyone in management knows transport inside out. ÔÇ£Two of our directors began as drivers, and weÔÇÖre all actively involved in the business,ÔÇØ Edwards explains. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre very hands-on and watch all aspects of our operations. We have great regional managers.ÔÇØ Prime Invest complies with South AfricaÔÇÖs economic empowerment laws pretty naturally. It is 26 per cent black owned; and previously disadvantaged groups are represented at all levels, from loaders to supervisors and managers. It invests heavily in training, teaching new recruits to become truck drivers, constantly upgrading their licences, from which they will perhaps go on to become managers.
ÔÇ£We have people training to become accountants: we put them through their exams. Our HR people go through courses learning to handle people, how to conduct hearings and so on,ÔÇØ says Edwards. ÔÇ£We are helping our staff to improve, which helps us as a business and almost incidentally helps us to score well on the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment scorecard.ÔÇØ In fact, the company is rated as a level 3 contributor on the scorecard.
All of which is excellent but itÔÇÖs the performance of the company in practice, in serving its customers, that is the key to growth and success. Prime Invest runs a tight ship and has invested in technology to ensure its costs are under control. They have to beÔÇötransport is a competitive business and cost can be the difference between winning, keeping and losing a contract. All its vehicles have tracking devices fittedÔÇöEdwards is able to look on his computer as we are talking and see where every single truck is and whether the engine is running or not.
The companyÔÇÖs Global Telematics Orchid system enables complete trip records to be printed out, covering where the truck went, its speed, driver breaks and so on. ÔÇ£We can set exclusion zones on the software. If a truck goes into an exclusion area, alarms go off. Whether itÔÇÖs a hijacking, piracy or an unauthorised detour, we know about it immediately,ÔÇØ says Edwards. ÔÇ£We use it as a tool for driver debriefing, which enables us to help them to be better, to drive more economically and to identify route improvements.ÔÇØ
Planning itself is a busy process. ÔÇ£We get our daily requirements for carriage and set our schedules accordingly,ÔÇØ Edwards explains. ÔÇ£Tomorrow we need 13 trucks in Durban. Where are we going to get them? We source and arrange them appropriately. WeÔÇÖre always planning and making sure our trucks are working as effectively as they can, which means carrying economical loads both ways.ÔÇØ Prime Invest TransportÔÇÖs customers appreciate that it is working to deliver the best service possible. ÔÇ£We take responsibility for their transport issues; they can leave the headaches to us.ÔÇØ
Naturally, the companyÔÇÖs success relies heavily on its fleet. ÔÇ£We run a fleet that is predominantly Isuzu vehicles; without the support of Isuzu Truck Centre in Cape Town, the rest of the Isuzu dealerships around the country and General Motors South Africa, we would not be the success that we are,ÔÇØ says Edwards. ÔÇ£Isuzu helps us by servicing after-hours or on Saturdays.ÔÇØ
Edwards has clearly been able to recognise that a strong relationship with not only customers but suppliers is invaluable. ÔÇ£Standard Bank, WesBank, Vebody and Caltex have all made our success possible as well,ÔÇØ he concludes.
