By Ingrid Du Buisson, ICFF CEO
Professionalizing the forwarding and clearing sector in South Africa is a strategic necessity for unlocking trade potential, improving customs efficiencies, and positioning the country as a competitive logistics hub. Enhancing South Africa’s global trade competitiveness is a strategic imperative that all employers and employees in this sector need to heed, as it is this sector that facilitates 95% of our international trade. This article seeks to share some insights into why professionalization is so important for this sector and country.
Our trade facilitation can become more efficient, by ensuring that clearing processes support faster movement of goods, which is vital for time-sensitive industries like agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and automotive manufacturing. The streamlining of customs processes can be achieved if professional forwarding and clearing agents ensure accurate documentation, tariff classification, and compliance with customs regulations, reducing delays and penalties.
All these aspects will certainly support and effect economic growth and investment. Having professional agents reduces bottlenecks at ports and borders, improving turnaround times and lowering costs for businesses, this will also ensure export and import efficiencies. Professionals are also better positioned to use digital platforms for e-filing, cargo tracking, and automated clearance, as well as they can leverage analytics to optimize routing, reduce costs, and forecast demand and facilitate smoother coordination between government agencies (e.g., SARS, Transnet) and private logistics firms.
Investor confidence will improve if we have a well-regulated and professional sector signalling reliability and transparency and thereby attracting foreign direct investment and encouraging multinational partnerships. Regulatory compliance and risk mitigation is another important factor as it reduces corruption and fraud, trained professionals are more likely to adhere to ethical standards and regulatory frameworks, minimizing illicit trade and customs fraud, as professional members of the ICFF they must commit to a signed code of conduct and ethics, failing which professional designations can be removed. This will overall improve governance within a single organization and broader sector respectively. Professionalization supports the implementation of national customs modernization programs and aligns with international standards like the World Customs Organization’s SAFE Framework and FIATA minimum standards for freight forwarders. It is within this context that the ICFF has commenced with the process of onboarding SARS onto our journey towards professionalizing this sector.
Investing in training and professional certification equips employees with the knowledge to handle complex shipments and regulatory changes, given the current global environment and technological advancements, continuous professional development becomes the norm. At the ICFF a professional is required to maintain their professional designation by ensuring continuous professional development, we also provide industry approved career pathways for individuals which supports their career and professional advancement. Professionalization creates structured roles associated to industry competency standards and advancement opportunities, reducing unemployment and improving job satisfaction.
In the South African context, where a large portion of the industry employees do not have formal qualifications, the ICFF can provide recognition of knowledge and experience through our competency framework and evaluation process. South Africa have accredited training providers and institutions, as well as the required qualifications and programs available to support the industry in professionalizing itself. If one looks at other economic sectors such as engineering, human resources, medical, legal all of which require professionalization to practice, why not this strategic sector? Global standards require our colleagues globally to be professionally certified to practice as a customs agent or a freight forwarder. The time is long overdue that we raise our credibility as an industry and become professional.
Freight forwarding and supply chain management is no longer just about moving goods, it’s about navigating a maze of risks, regulations, and rapid change, and they play a critical role in facilitating international trade. Our industry employees are the backbone of it all, industry leaders need to have learning and development strategies in place, its importance has earned a place at the board room table. Developing our people and staying relevant and competitive in a changing world has become the new norm.