Supply chain management has been quite transformative in African commerce, but how?
Whether globally or in Africa, you can generally trace supply chain advancement to the advancement of technology. By the turn of the century, it was clear that every economic sector would change drastically. Little did we know that supply chain management would be one of the most impacted.
You may recall that for a long time, the role of the supply chain was generally overlooked because the concept wasnโt clear to many economists until the 1980s.
The African economy and its commerce are undoubtedly the fastest rising in the world. With its many cultures and diverse people, the continent has no shortage of beauty. But more than its diversity, policies, and leadership, supply chain has been primarily responsible for this growth.
How is this possible?
1. Goods are now more accessible to customers
Since the beginning, there has never been an issue with manufacturing or selling. And there was never an issue with potential customers. The primary concern was always connecting the manufacturer or vendor to the customers.
The result was a huge gap or divide between the two parties, but with logistics and supply chain, that divide has been fixed. Today, there are several distribution channels and systems by which the manufacturer or business can reach its customers.
Bridging the gap is what led to an economic and commercial boom on the continent. With the supply chain, customers can now make informed decisions, creating a society where money exchange thrives.
2. Rise of E-commerce across the continent
There are over 2.6 billion online shoppers across the globe. However, 388 million of those are Africans. This is a major increase from pre-pandemic numbers. And yet, all these numbers are unimaginable considering the challenges and reviews of the first e-commerce businesses.
Today, it will be near impossible for you to find a city across the world without a striving e-commerce business. However, all of these are not just because of tech advancements.ย
With supply chain, tech has been able to help African businesses meet their customers’ needs without interacting with them physically.
3. Building a robust Agricultural sector
Although African nations are blessed with fertile lands and hard-working farmers, it wasnโt until businesses in the agricultural sector started exploring supply chain concepts and using them to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Coincidentally, the sector is now one of the largest on the continent, whether you are solving for impact or market share. It has also contributed significantly to the African economy, making the list of the top GDP contributors to many nations across the continent.
4. Driving policies and infrastructural development
Despite continued growth, it is obvious that infrastructure is still a huge problem across Africa. Think of the constant power outages major economies like South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria still face.
However, all of these are now changing, with many nations taking measures to ensure supply chain operations are as seamless as possible, which also helps the economy.
More roads are built, investment in energy resources is now common, and stringent custom laws are relaxed across the continent.
As this momentum continues to pick up, Africa will be competing with the major economies and commerce operations in no time.
๐๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐, ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ.
Obinabo Tochukwu Tabansi is a supply chain digital writer (Content writer & Ghostwriter) helping professionals and business owners across Africa learn from real-world supply chain wins and setbacks and apply proven strategies to their own operations. He also crafts social content for logistics and supply chain companies, turning their solutions and insights into engaging posts that drive visibility and trust.
