Provincial logistics capability and economic development in South Africa

Abstract

The study involves the determination of Provincial Logistics Capability for South African provinces. Provincial Logistic Capability (PLC) is the effectiveness and efficiency of a province in facilitating logistics activities both within the province and outside its borders. The Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique (SMART) with Rank Order Distribution (ROD) was used to determine the PLC of all of the provinces. The PLC was calculated based on five weighted criteria: location, labour, service, administration and infrastructure. Each province was scored on each of these criteria as well as the sub-criteria. The results of this study show that infrastructure (capacity and condition) is the most important factor influencing PLC, with a weight of 34.7%, The second most important factor is labour force (availability and quality), with a weight of 26.9%. Gauteng has the highest logistics capability with a score of 17 while the Northern Cape is scored lowest with a PLC of 3. The PLC is then compared to the economy of that province. The comparison shows that there is a positive correlation between the PLC and the economy of the province.