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| Charles Brewer, DHL MD, SSA: |
DHL has taken a
snapshot on Africa’s technology market saying that estimated 60 per cent of Information
Technology (IT) hardware growth in 2013, will come from tablets and smartphones.
Charles
Brewer, Managing Director for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, gave this insight
to DigitalSENSE Business News,
noting that competition within the technology sector has become intense and
Asia’s importance as both a manufacturing location and a consumer market is
growing.
“Technology
companies who locate themselves in Africa will spend significantly less on
logistics” he said.
Brewer
also said that although Asia is still key to the sector, Africa has also
witnessed an explosion in technology adoption recently and is set to develop as
a region.
According
to him, a recent DHL global technology conference revealed these trends around
the changing dynamics of the technology market.
He
equally says that due to the increased competition within the sector, suppliers
need to adapt and improve products and services in order to retain and grow
market share.
“This
presents an opportunity for suppliers to be innovative and provide consumers
with the best possible products, services and prices. Both of these trends also promise to amplify the role of
logistics as a competitive differentiator in the technology industry, notably
as global companies are looking for strong and established partners to support
and simplify access to the African market,” he said.
Brewer
that within Africa, although there has
been a significant rise in demand for electronic consumer products, the
continent is still in need of increased investment from international
technology companies, in order to become more than just an end-user for
technology products.
He
says that more than any other industry, the technology sector is driven by
constant innovation, short product cycles and new sales channels. “From a
logistics perspective this is a great challenge, but it also provides
forward-thinking brands with an opportunity.”
Brewer
says that by setting up shop in Africa, these brands are able to service this
growing market and spend significantly less on logistics costs as they are
based in much closer proximity to their customers.
According
to a recent report by Deloitte entitled The Rise and Rise of the African Middle
Class, the continent has a disproportionately young population with 62% of the
population in Africa under 25 years.
“This is positive from an outside
investment perspective, as it effectively means that there is a guaranteed
customer base for years to come when compared to a territory such as Europe,
which has a shrinking population.”
The
Deloitte report also forecasts that if the African middle class continues on
its current growth trajectory Africa’s middle class will grow to 1.1 billion
(42 per cent of the continent’s population) by 2060.
The
trend of mobile devices preferred over PCs as the access tool for the internet
was also highlighted at the conference. Florence Noblot, DHL’s Technology
Sector Head for Europe, Middle East and Africa, estimates that 60% of all
IT hardware growth will come from tablets and smartphones this year. “Both
devices also elevate a trend towards high innovation cycles, which demands
logistics providers to improve time to market while supporting competitive
price positioning.
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