The Durban University of Technology (DUT) Wholesale Retail and Leadership Chair recently organised an industry visit to one of South Africa’s leading fashion retailers’ Distribution Centre. A collective group of academics from DUT, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of Johannesburg, Mangosuthu University of Technology, University of Zululand and DHET TVET sector was assembled by the Retail Chair as part of its industry engagement agenda to visit the state of art Mr Price Distribution facility nestled amongst other distribution warehouses in Hammarsdale.
The visiting group was given a first-hand experience of the level of technology and the advancements made in supply chain. According to the DUT Retail and Leadership Chair, Yunus Doba the primary objective of the visit was to get institutions of higher learning to visit the plant, to reflect on innovation and advancement and evaluate curricula alignment. Lenesh Singh from Mr Price, an alumnI of the W & R SETA International Leadership Programme, expertly took the team through all aspects of the technologies and seismic shift in the supply chain process of fashion apparel retailer which also now trades in sports equipment, furniture and linen.
Together with its core clothing stores, the retailer has also pivoted its business to include Mr Price Sport, Sheet Street, Milady’s and Mr Price home with the warehouse facility catering for all its divisions. The entire inbound and outbound of goods is digitised, managed by sensor cameras and conveyor belts with boxes resembling a multi-level highway with each carton programmed to a destination be it a truck for dispatch or storage for seasonal delivery, namely summer or winter orders. International supply chain is governed by a three-month lag time from order to the customer via the distribution centre. Deliveries are a mix of direct distribution to stores and cross docking which is a global norm. The Group visiting was in awe with the supply chain process and the seamless flow of inventory from supplier to customer.
Doba stated that the Mr Price warehouse facility management system and supply chain process was comparable with the best world and was on par with Amazon a leading global ecommerce company. He enthused that technology is right on our door step and wider industry engagement, it will augment teaching and learning experiences for all institutions of learning. Mr Gwala from MUT was impressed with the facility and stated that it is important for students to have exposure to such industry facilities so that they gain awareness and knowledge of the world of work.
The industry visit was exciting and ground-breaking in that a rich blend of academics representing different academic institutions engaged in a collaborative programme, initiated by the DUT Wholesale and Retail Leadership Chair, to link industry experiences with programme development and curriculum conversations.
The delegation included:
- Professor Fulufhelo Netswera (Executive Dean Management Sciences DUT)
- Professor Virimai Mugobo (CPUT Retail and Leadership Chair)
- Dr Beate Stiehler-Mulder (UJ Retail and Leadership Chair)
- Mr Gwala (HOD Marketing MUT)
- Mr Thozamile Thusani (W & R SETA – Career Orientation Head)
- Mr Shalen Heeralal (Business Management Lecturer Unizulu)
- Mrs Khumalo (Acting Director DHET – TVET)
- Mr Yunus Doba (DUT Retail and Leadership Chair)
- Mr Peter Cleophas (W &R SETA – KZN Provincial Manager)
Pictured: The delegation that visited the Mr Price Distribution facility.
Article supplied by the DUT Wholesale Retail and Leadership Chair.
