M24 Logistics

ENABLING E-COMMERCE GROWTH ACROSS AFRICA

OF CHOICE THE PARTNER

Carried on a tide of continual evolution, M24 Logistics is the go-to partner for accessible and affordable e-commerce solutions. General Manager, Rika Swart, unpacks the company’s growth and customer-centric outlook

Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Cameron Lawrence

As an enabler of e-commerce logistics across Africa, the name of the game is growth for M24 Logistics (M24L) – both in facilitating the growth of its customers, and in pursuing its own expansion.

The company sits within a dynamic market, as an industry

segment defined by significant growth potential in line with everincreasing customer demand and the heightened expectations of consumers for ever-evolving solutions and service types. Indeed, as researched by World Wide Work, e-commerce jumped in 2021 from 2.8 percent of total retail sales to four

percent, reaching 4.7 percent of the expected R1.16 trillion retail sales in 2022.

To accommodate this burgeoning market, M24L has developed an expansive reach from its base in Johannesburg with a distribution network encompassing over 30 countries across Africa. Despite this vast geographical footprint, M24L is proud to maintain a delivery lead time of 1.79 days from order placement from its Johannesburg facilities for South Africa deliveries.

“We are one of the leading one-stop solution providers for B2B and B2C e-commerce clients in South Africa,” opens Rika Swart, General Manager of M24L.

“In our previous 12-month cycle, we shipped more than 11 million units and 1.6 million parcels with a fulfilment rate above 99 percent,” she shares.

M24L’s e-commerce solutions span four different pillars, namely imports and exports, B2B, last mile solutions, and e-commerce fulfilment. The latter is operated from the two facilities in Johannesburg, which boast a combined fine-picking storage capacity of 43,000 square metres.

“From the moment of receiving stock, each stock keeping unit (SKU) is tracked individually, enabling us to maintain real-time inventory levels for our roughly two million units stored,” Swart elaborates.

“Over the past decade of growing our business, we have gained valuable experience in handling diverse product ranges with the number of current unique SKUs handled averaging 250,000 monthly.”

THE M24L FAMILY

Throughout the significant growth and evolution that M24L has undergone in the past 10 years, the company has successfully retained a loyal base of customers. “Our long-time customers will remember our early beginnings more than a decade ago as On The Dot, a

AFRICA OUTLOOK: COULD YOU EXPAND ON YOUR ONGOING WAREHOUSE EXPANSION STRATEGY?

RIKA SWART, GENERAL MANAGER: “We launched our second warehouse in Johannesburg in Eastport in October 2022. This world-class e-commerce fulfilment centre was the first of a significant investment by the group in gearing us for the future growth of our existing customers as well as further enabling e-commerce growth. Next on our list is the Cape Town warehouse, which will be opening during our FY24 financial year.”

business associated mainly with book distribution and one of South Africa’s e-commerce fulfilment pioneers,” shares Swart.

It was during this time that On The Dot was incorporated into Media24’s media distribution operations. Assuming the new brand name of On the Dot (OtD) Contract Logistics and working closely alongside On the Dot Media Distribution, the operation began to evolve towards specialised e-commerce logistics and supply chain solutions. As such, a split from

GMS Systems

10 years ago, GMS Systems partnered with M24 Logistics, formerly ‘On The Dot Contract Logistics’, and they never looked back. At the time, GMS was asked to propose a storage and materials handling solution at the Epping DC in Cape Town. In addition, M24 Logistics was looking for a company to partner with them in their challenging growth projection.

The project started small but grew rapidly into a 3,000m2 storage facility on three levels. During this same period, M24 Logistics established another facility in Olifantsfontein. GMS extended the facility first to 5,000m2 over three levels, then to 9,000m2 over four levels.

GMS was then asked to develop a more comprehensive range of storage equipment to improve the density, accessibility, and protection of the products. After installing a variety of innovative prototypes for testing and evaluation, a range of bespoke storage products was selected by M24 Logistics. This substantially improved their ability to meet their clients’ demands.

At the end of 2021, GMS Systems was honoured to win the tender to provide a 7,500m2 3-level storage and picking system at M24 Logistics’ newly acquired Eastport facility, implementing the improved offering. This project provided the opportunity to further strengthen the partnership by delivering another inventive, quality solution under budget and within a demanding schedule.

GMS Systems congratulates M24 Logistics on their bold investment, phenomenal growth and achievement in helping retailers become e-commerce successes.

www.gms-systems.com

Innovative e-Commerce Storage Solutions

GMS Systems is a trusted market leader that has been providing specialised materials handling equipment and integrated warehouse solutions for over 40 years. We offer innovative solutions to help retailers, manufacturers and logistics providers in South Africa, India, Europe, the UK, the Middle East and the United States store, move and distribute goods faster and more efficiently than before.

• Mezzanines

• Storage Systems

• Pick & Pack Systems

• Overhead Monorail Conveyer Systems

• Robotics & Automation

• Goods Lifts

the brand and a new name ensued. M24L was chosen to reflect the business’ relationship with Media24, with a new slogan to match‘enabling e-commerce growth’.

“Our slogan reflects our passion for enabling e-commerce growth through diversified solutions, delivering service levels that meet our customers’ expectations at competitive rates,” she says.

Today, Swart credits M24L’s ongoing affiliation with its parent company as a crucial differentiator.

“Being part of the Media24 family gives us access to the latest technology and system support, ideally positioning us to unlock technology driven solutions,” she outlines. “It also presents the unique opportunity to coordinate interactions with our print, digital, television and events teams to grow e-commerce and to offer a larger range of services.”

CUSTOMER FIRST

It is this range of services that makes M24L stand out from its competitors, whether within fulfilment, customer service, or last mile solutions. Its storage and distribution ecosystem enables clients to increase reach and margins without having to outlay capital on infrastructure or back-end system development.

Meanwhile, up-to-the-minute realtime tracking is smoothly integrated with the M24L customer service portal, which is backed up further by order tracking via the website or call centre. Complementing this is the in-house expertise in import and export capacity to enable international fulfilment, unlocking new markets for all M24L customers.

“Our role in enabling e-commerce growth is twofold. Firstly, we provide facilities and platform solutions that facilitate and enhance e-commerce for various business models. Secondly,

we execute the fulfilment of the order and manage the last mile to deliver on the promise made to the customer,” Swart shares.

In acting as a dark store for the retailer and providing various last mile solutions, M24L maintains a customercentric outlook. Indeed, the customer

“WE ARE ONE OF THE LEADING ONE-STOP SOLUTION PROVIDERS FOR B2B AND B2C E-COMMERCE CLIENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA”

– RIKA SWART, GENERAL MANAGER, M24 LOGISTICS

acts as a polestar to guide M24L’s evolution, on the understanding that this perspective is vital to be a true partner for growth.

“We pride ourselves on our customer obsession and living the values that are deeply embedded in our culture,” she continues. “It may sound like a cliché, but for us, being a true partner that focuses at all times on supporting our customers’ efforts to grow their e-commerce is what energises us.”

LOOKING TO THE LAST MILE

Channelling this customer-first philosophy into future endeavours, M24L is currently further developing its last mile solutions. By so doing, the company leverages its extensive geographic footprint to offer competitive pricing on what is typically the biggest expense in e-commerce for its customers. As a result, they can benefit from the scale of M24L’s pricing and its robust

Sambro Civil & Construction

What we offer:

Pre-construction-Architectural & Engineering Drawings

General Contracting & Turnkey Projects

Steel Fabrication

Warehouse Extensions

Building Maintenance

Why choose us?

Sambro Civil & Construction (Pty) Ltd aims to provide world class turnkey services in civil engineering and construction. The company is committed to honest and trustworthy relationships in its growth path. Providing long-term solutions with the highest quality and standards the construction industry has to offer.

072 745 8937 / 010 012 6013 avinesh@sambrocc.co.za www.sambrocc.co.za

relationships with courier partners for competitive delivery costs while capitalising on its imports and exports capability.

“Last mile solutions are a major focus area for us to enable e-commerce for those in the wider e-commerce market that don’t necessarily want to be in our warehouse but still need to get their product to their consumer,” explains Swart.

“We are excited about this new chapter that will see us launch advanced integrated omnichannel e-commerce fulfilment solutions, including on-demand delivery from store with optimised last mile solutions. It is all part of our commitment to enable our customers’ e-commerce growth.”

Staying true to this core mandate, M24L will continue to enable growth by supporting D2C, B2C and B2B with customised solutions through its four service pillars.

This is no simple feat, especially as the current economic climate has put a damper on growth in the sector as pressure on the disposable income of customers appears to be slowing e-commerce’s expansion. Nevertheless, as a reliable partner of choice, M24L remains steadfast in its commitment.

“My key priority this year is staying close to our teams as we navigate this ever-developing landscape and continue evolving our services to anticipate and respond to the needs of our customers,” concludes Swart.

M24 LOGISTICS

Tel: +27 21 406 2121

info@M24logistics.com

www.M24logistics.com