Value proposition

We are a leading provider of integrated services focused on growing our clients’ business through specialised and bespoke services. As a supply chain services company, the greatest value we bring to our clients is through our ability to provide innovative, customised, and integrated services and solutions to meet their specific needs. 

The core of our business is to develop safe and innovative transport, warehousing, and supply chain management solutions specifically to meet each customer’s needs, as these vary widely according to sector. 

We operate across the following sectors within South Africa and 10 other sub-Saharan markets:

Food and consumer

Agriculture

Fuel and Chemical

Mining

General freight and warehousing

Commuter and personnel transport

We use information technology and best-practice solutions to deliver value-added services for our customers.

We provide real-time vehicle monitoring and driver behaviour management services through our Unitrans Control Tower (‘UCT’), which not only improves efficiencies and secures the safety of goods in transit, but provides critical real-time management information. One of the benefits of this is that on-road operational issues can be resolved rapidly, again securing both efficiency and the safety of vehicles, goods, and drivers. Our monitoring system enables us to improve the fuel efficiency of each vehicle, which reduces costs and carbon emissions, making a positive contribution towards a more sustainable and environmentally sound future. We also continuously investigate and invest in new-technology vehicles to improve the fuel efficiency of our fleets. 

We consistently strive for zero harm to our drivers and third-party road users. All of our drivers are fully trained and undergo regular refresher courses and testing. In addition, we use leading in-vehicle systems to monitor driver behaviour and fatigue. All vehicles are monitored for speeding, driving hours, and route adherence on an exception management basis. Drivers and monitoring staff are warned of potential accidents through impact alerts and panic alarms so that they can respond immediately. This technology has assisted in systematically reducing road traffic violations and distracted driving behaviours, which potentially lead to accidents.

Our maintenance and driver training standards meet the requirements of the OEMs, which is a critical factor in an industry in which safety and reliability is so important. 

In the agricultural sector, we provide integrated supply chain, estate, and precision farming solutions that are embedded into our customers’ estates. Working with our customers, we have developed a wide range of precision mechanisation services in the areas of planting and fertilising, which are designed to improve efficiencies and increase yields. We have introduced drone-based spraying and mapping services and GPS-guided land levelling. We have also introduced GPS-guided, variable-rate fertilising. We integrate various technology to apply fertiliser, map yields, manage and analyse data relating to planting and harvesting cycles, and ensure efficient and cost-effective loading and haulage. 

In the mining sector, we provide not only transportation and logistics services, but also bulk handling services, deploying a fleet of mining equipment. We have many years of experience in providing safe, high-payload combinations using performance-based systems that present our customers with a comprehensive service. These core services are supported by value-added services such as stockpile measurement and management, staff transportation, and road maintenance. 

We provide safe and efficient personnel transport, commuter services and manage passenger contracts, for example the Gautrain bus contract. 

Unitrans is focused on providing innovative, safe, efficient and cost-effective services, adding value throughout our customers’ value-chain. We aspire to be recognised as the leading provider of integrated operational services, partnering with strategic clients. 

Certification & accreditation

Our operations are certified and accredited according to the standards for relevant industries or sectors and include:

ISO 9001 (Quality Management System)

ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System)

ISO 45000 (previously ISO 18001) (Occupational Health and Safety System)

ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System) (currently in the implementation phase)

Driver and operator training programmes are ISO 9000 and NOSA certified

RTMS (Road Transport Management System), for road-use self-regulation

AFMA (Animal Feed Manufacturers Association), for agricultural transportation protocols

SQAS (Chemical and Allied Industries Association (‘CAIA’) accreditation), for chemical transportation protocols

How we add value

We develop and provide safe, innovative, and often bespoke solutions and services for customers with specific needs.

Our services are integrated into our customers’ supply chains, thereby creating real value for our customers.

We are committed to continuous improvement in our operational procedures to ensure that we add value throughout their supply chain.

Our large fleet enables us to offer a broad range of services and creates agility to meet our customers’ changing requirements.

We monitor our routes constantly and adjust our services and vehicle configurations in response to changes in demand or customer requirements.

We pride ourselves on having the most skilled and well-trained drivers in the industry.

We invest in learning and development to secure and grow scarce industry skills.

Innovation

Unitrans is focused on offering specialised operational services within specific sectors in order to free up our clients to focus on growing their businesses. We believe innovation is crucial in order to meet needs that are specific and changing within different sectors. At Unitrans, we want to move away from supplying expected capabilities and offer a broad spectrum of services that enable our customers and help them perform optimally. A good example of this is our drone services that help farmers manage water and yield better. Continual innovation around safety is always a priority of ours, and our mitigation of risk and an increase in control allow our customers to manage their reputational risks and deliver success. 

Looking ahead

While we operate in a highly competitive environment in which economic growth is expected to remain muted, we continue to focus on renewing and expanding existing contracts, entering into new contracts, and entering into complementary territories, markets, and segments. We also continue to pursue opportunities to partner further with our existing customers through increased integration into their supply chains and through the provision of complementary and adjacent services. This allows them to focus on growing their own businesses, while we focus on their operational efforts.

We continue to pursue applicable new technologies and focus on testing and introducing new technologies and systems that add value for our clients and secure a solid foundation for future growth. We will continue to introduce new services that leverage off current capabilities and infrastructure in order to grow revenue and improve returns.