N3.46 Trillion Naira. That is the amount of money Nigeria loses every year due to poor infrastructure, poor implementation of policies and corruption at Nigerian ports.

Lack of Infrastructure, ineffective customs, poor international shipment, logistics incompetence, lack of tracking and tracing, and untimeliness are factors that have contributed to the terrible state of our logistics and supply chain sector.

Nigerian roads alone carry more than 90 percent of domestic passengers and freight, yet only three-fourth of federal roads are in fair condition while the larger majority of roads (regional roads) are in poorer conditions

Despite all this wahala, we strongly believe that your organization can still gain a competitive advantage if you pay attention to what we are about to share.

The right Infrastructure is absolutely critical to the success of any logistics and supply chain endeavor. The health of available infrastructures and level of integration between them directly impacts logistics access, cycle-time, reliability and cost.

And so our first recommendation is that the Nigerian government must begin to put necessary infrastructure in place to increase ease of doing business and reduce high risk and losses.

But while we wait for the government to take action (you know how government matters take time) it’s necessary for your organization to adopt strategies that offer a competitive advantage.

And that’s why we recommend that you embrace digital transformation

Not so long ago, a logistics startup in Nigeria-Kobo 360, secured a whopping 30 million dollars in seed funding. This is primarily because they took a digital approach in solving the logistics problem in Nigeria.

Kobo 360 uses an “Uber for logistics” model to connect drivers and fleet operators to companies bringing goods into and around Africa’s most populous country,

By doing this, they have introduced a cashless, app-based paperless system to an industry known for much paperwork and handshake relationships.

Kobo 360 offers truck financing, discounts on diesel, healthcare, school fees assistance, per-trip insurance and upfront payments for her truck drivers who prior to this time were used to waiting two or three weeks to get paid. The company also offers customers the ability to track their deliveries in real time.

They recently revealed their plans to expand into 10 other countries and launch a blockchain-enabled logistics platform that brings together all their services.

Quite interesting right? You see, we strongly believe that apart from putting the right infrastructure in place and implementing key government policies, technology can play a critical role in improving the industry performance of Nigeria’s logistics and supply chain sector.

One of the unique benefits of implementing digital technology within supply chain companies is that they can integrate better methods for collaboration into the company’s processes and prevent the company from regressing to its previous, less effective methods.

Integrating digital transformation into supply chain entails improving supply chain performance by deploying digital applications that can improve service, agility, and inventory levels while also consistently implementing processes and organizational changes that use these technologies to drive operational excellence.

Improving supply-chain performance is not just a matter of buying and installing new systems or software. Supply-chain management is a collaborative endeavor.

Most efforts to improve supply-chain performance should therefore involve changes to the ways that employees and teams share information, consider problems and opportunities, reach decisions, and carry out actions they agree on. It is the automation of both physical tasks and planning that boosts supply-chain efficiency.

The right approach to digitizing supply chains integrates suitable leading-edge technologies with revamped operations. In other words, the latest digital technologies make it possible for companies to comprehensively evaluate the way that their supply chains operate.

At each step of the supply-chain transformation, a company should focus on the biggest obstacle preventing it from realizing its goals.

Digital transformation and the use of smart technologies can stimulate exponential growth for players in the supply chain industry.

A recent McKenzie Survey reveals that on average, companies that aggressively digitize their supply chains can expect to boost annual growth of earnings before interest and taxes by 3.2 percent—the largest increase from digitizing any business area.

Without doubt, innovation and technology can drastically improve several of the existing limitations that currently exists in the Nigerian supply chain sector. The critical factor however is centered on the willingness of industry players to exploit the opportunities that digital transformation offers.

In a post-covid world, the global supply chain industry is rapidly embracing digital transformation in other to remain effective in delivering value to customers and in solving supply and demand problems. The companies that would remain relevant are those who take the bold step to embrace innovation on time.

In the next article, we would discuss practical steps that supply chain companies can take in order to begin integrating digital transformation within their business.

We at kedrus Consulting exist to serve the needs of African enterprises through our host of digital technology solutions and strategy consulting. We can help your company setup a complete digital transformation solution that will improve performance and drive your profits to new levels.

Contact us toaday @ www.kedrusconsuling.com or call: 08063495382