Current Edition >> Archive Section >> Special Features >> 1 - 17 August 2003
Wat het Elken Primarius Privaat Kollege en RVB Marketing in gemeen ? Nie veel op die oog af nie, behalwe dat albei uitdagende besighede deur dieselfde vrouehand bestuur word - dié van Hendrien de Klerk.
By Elken word die beste van twee wêrelde gekombineer tot 'n wenresep. Die studente het die geleentheid om in 'n pragtige landelike omgewing hoogstaande opleiding te ontvang, terwyl die kollege op die voorstoep van Bloemfontein geleë is - sowat 8 km uit die stad op die Petrusburg-pad.
Al die diploma kursusse duur twee jaar (voltyds), behalwe Sekretarieel wat een jaar (voltyds) duur. Studente kan in sekere kursusse hul studie met 'n jaar verleng om 'n verdere kwalifikasie te behaal. Klasgroepe is klein en studente geniet individuele aandag. Die bestuur en dosente van die Kollege streef deurgaans daarna om studente met die jongste tendense in die praktyk in aanraking te bring. Met praktiese sessies, word ook gebruik gemaak van spesialiste op verskeie terreine. Die Kollege bied ook koshuisgeriewe vir studente wat dit verkies.
RVB Marketing provides professional and accomplished services in public relations, graphic design and advertising, signage and other instances of corporate communication.
Currently it is arranging the 2003 competition for Dynamic Businesswoman of the Year, entries for which close on 29 August. Presented in conjunction with other sponsers, 14 finalists will be selected for a winner each in two categories, viz. Corporate and Entrepreneurial.
Amongst the large projects which RVB has recently handled, is the Sure Astra/OFM Tourism Expo in March 2003 at the Technikon FS. For coming September RVB is arranging a secretarial and PA course in Bloemfontein for Papillon of Cape Town.
Not long ago, the paperless office was deemed a near certainty. Electronic communication technologies were hailed as the office saviours - designed to reduce the amount of paper consumed around the globe, speed up business and put bottomlines in the black. Virtually no one anticipated the tremendous reverse impact the Internet, electronic mail, personal digital assistants and even electronic calendars would have on the number of documents we print and the amount of paper we use. But the unthinkable has happened. More documents are being created and printed than ever before.
The impact of these trends on the enterprise information technology infrastructure is startling.
• Printing is costing corporations an amount equal to 1-3% of their revenue,
• The average $1 billion corporation generates 88 million sheets of paper each year,
• Paper use is growing 6-8% per year,
• Up to 60% of help desk calls are output related,
• E-mail is increasing printing volumes by 40%, and
• Employees, on average, are printing 33 Internet pages each day.
What remains constant is that the hardcopy document is still a critical part of a corporation's information system. Nearly every business process whether loan applications, invoices, purchasing requests or payroll, requires information printed on a piece of paper. For most organisations, their antiquated printers, copiers and fax machines are ill-equipped to handle the myriad of complex files crossing corporate transoms every minute of every business day. These infrastructure elements are impacting business efficiencies more than ever before.
Footnotes:
Source: Gartner Group, “Rightsizing Output Fleets: The Hidden Gold Mine,” March 19, 2001
Source: AIIM
Source: XPLOR
Source: InformationWeek, November 24, 1997-Forrester Research
Source: XPLOR
Source: MarketTools
In layman's terms, the poor management of hardcopy and electronic documents is slowing down the pace of business, impacting customer service and significantly increasing costs. And, it's only poised to get worse.
To address these issues, organisations need partners to help them identify and deploy technology solutions that enable them to print, move and manage information more effectively and efficiently to reap the benefits of a more streamlined information system. A big part of reducing costs is encouraging users to print differently - only when they need to and use the right device for the job they are printing. For example:
• Printing duplex and multi-up (multiple pages on a single sheet) to reduce paper consumption.
• Eliminating the need to use outside vendors for printing colour documents can reduce costs and improve business responsiveness.
• Converting pre-printed to electronic forms can avoid waste, save significant dollars and speed up business productivity by enabling faster access to needed forms.
• Providing finishing capabilities such as stapling and off-set stacking close to the user can reduce cycle times and increase worker productivity.
But printing the document is only one small part of the challenge. It is when documents need to be shared between people that the equation gets more complicated and more costly.
Move
Generating information is easy. However, moving information quickly within the organisation to customers and suppliers is often a challenge. The goal should be to keep pace even in the midst of complex business processes. This requires both hardcopy and digital documents to be delivered to recipients in the format in which they are needed. Many of these business processes involve multiple people and steps and often hardcopy technology becomes the bottleneck that relegates business to a snail's pace. Given these challenges and the possible rewards, it's surprising that such little attention is paid to maximizing input and output technologies. The key to success lies in achieving a seamless interplay between hardcopy and electronic document formats, so that the pace of business speeds up, productivity is optimised and customer service is improved.
Manage
Although printing is operationally critical to a business, it often does not make the IT department's top 10 list. Many organisations find that even simple questions cannot be answered:
• How many output devices are there across the corporation ?
• Where are the devices located ?
• Who is using them and what for ?
• What percentage of help desk calls is hardcopy related ?
A hardcopy infrastructure is best managed with active monitoring by IT professionals using simple, yet sophisticated, printer management software tools so that device usage statistics are readily available and so that problems are resolved before they impact users.
The Lexmark Approach Customers of all types and sizes are looking for creative ways to reduce costs and improve efficiencies and are increasingly turning to Lexmark to help them achieve their goals. Our experience suggests that the savings opportunities can be up to 20% of an organisation's current costs. Regardless of the level at which customers work with Lexmark, significant savings and productivity gains can be achieved.
Lexmark is focused on helping customers choose and implement technologies that lower costs, improve processes, improve customer service levels and increase worker productivity. Lexmark has helped thousands of customers apply modern day technologies to address these real business challenges and reap the rewards.
As part of the implementation of its Integrated Development Plan (IDP), Mangaung Local Municipality is in an active process of formulating its Local Economic Development Strategy, a process in which the establishment of a Business Development Services Centre (BDSC) has come to the fore as one of the main priorities. In order to conduct a transparent process and with a view to obtaining optimal participation from all stakeholders, the Mangaung Local Municipality (MLM) deems it necessary to profile herewith the need for a BDSC in Mangaung.
Background
The primary objective of the LED Unit of the MLM is to Formulate an Economic Development Strategy for Mangaung with practical implementable programs and projects to unlock the latent development potential of the local economy. The ultimate goal is to improve the standard of living of the local community by identifying opportunities aimed at addressing job creation, economic growth and welfare creation.
This has resulted in the following economic development vision:
We envisage Mangaung as a powerful regional economic centre, a world city that is built on the foundation of a dynamic, vibrant, sustainable and investor-friendly economy.
Within this context the MLM faces a number of challenges in respect of economic development.
These include:
• Co-ordinating and supporting all economic development in the municipal area, in particular co-ordination with the activities of national government, the Free State Province, Motheo District Municipality as well as the private sector (business, NGO's, CBO's, etc.).
• Addressing the specific economic development priorities identified by communities in the ward planning process, as well as strategically in the IDP.
In order to address these challenges and facilitate economic development in the municipal area, the establishment of a broad stakeholder-based economic development strategy and partnership is seen as a key mechanism. Following from this, the firms Urban-Econ and Andani HR Consulting were appointed to assist MLM in the establishment of an Economic Development Strategy and Partnership for the Mangaung. The first draft of this Strategy has just been received and is currently being scrutinised by stakeholders.
Profile of Mangaung
Mangaung Local Municipality is a Category B Local Municipality, which includes South Africa's sixth largest city (Bloemfontein, the judicial & provincial capital), two other towns (Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu), and a rural area. Mangaung is one of three local municipalities comprising the Motheo District Council. An analysis of the key economic sectors within Mangaung revealed the following statistical trends as per percentage employment in economic sectors: (Mangaung Integrated Development Plan)
• Agriculture 5%
• Mining 2%
• Manufacturing 11%
• Construction 7%
• Trade, Catering, Accommodation 8%
• Finance, Real Estate 8%
• Community / Governance 46%
The economic profile is further characterised by the following:
Mangaung has a very small (4%) primary sector, followed by a small (14%) secondary sector and a disproportionately large (82%) tertiary sector. What is of concern, is that the secondary sector (where substantial production, value-addition and employment creation should take place) is too small in relation to the tertiary sector for a developing economy.
• The very small size of the primary sector is a cause for concern as it implies that Mangaung is likely to import many of its primary production inputs.
• No drastic changes in the profile of the Mangaung economy have occurred over the past 16 years under review.
• The Mangaung economy plays a significant (92,5%) role in the Motheo District economy as well as in the Free State economy, but is relatively small when compared to the national economy.
• The GGP per capita analysis shows that Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu have relatively more people than economic activity.
• Sectors showing strong growth in general, are transport and finance, while the construction and manufacturing sectors are experiencing negative growth.
• It appears that it is mostly the secondary economic sectors that are struggling in Mangaung.
• The aim of any future economic growth should be to diversify the local economy as far as possible.
Prioritised need for BDSC
It is against this background and within this profile framework that the dire need for a BDSC has come to the fore. The MLM LED Unit is being inundated with enquiries from people who want to start small businesses, or who are already in business, but require business advice, guidance and financing. The MLM is therefore seeking a solution that would ensure that SMME's that are directed from the LED unit to a BDS centre, where they will be assisted and serviced in such a way that they will grow (in numbers and quality), and thus improve the economy of Mangaung.
The benefits of the BDS centre would include, among others, the following:
• SMME's would get good quality Business Development Services
• SMME competencies would be improved
• There would be an increase in job opportunities through staffing for the BDSC as well as at a micro level with newly-created small businesses
• The quality of services and/or products in Mangaung would improve
• Establishment of an SMME service providers' network
As a result, the MLM, after a thorough investigation countrywide, has commissioned a proven successful model for small business support and development, namely COMSEC (Community Self Employment Centre) of Port Elizabeth, to assist in the planning and design of a BDSC in Mangaung based on their model, adapted to suit the local context. COMSEC subsequently conducted a research study into the feasibility of a viable business development centre for the Mangaung area and submitted the report to the MLM. At a meeting held in Bloemfontein on 16 July 2003, the merit of such a centre was discussed with BDS service providers and other stakeholders. At the workshop, there was overwhelming support for a BDSC that would serve as a co-ordinating point for BDS service provision in Mangaung.
Report profiling envisaged BDSC
In the COMSEC report the motivation for a Mangaung BDSC is being cornerstoned in the following quotation:
"The benefits of higher growth are obvious, particularly if this growth is broadly spread across the population. People have money including more capacity to pay for their own service and housing needs...
The municipality can and will play a critical role in creating the right conditions for sustained growth. At the same time we recognise that growth comes largely from the decisions and actions of business people and other economic roleplayers."(IDP, 2002-2003)
The COMSEC report mentions that the population size of Mangaung is estimated at 739 535 (2001 projections). Provincial SMME profiles as investigated by Ntsika have revealed a SMME population of 49 335. This accounts for an estimated 4,6% of the national SMME population. (State of Small Business, 2001). Therefore, one of the key strategies for ensuring that the local economic development objective (economic growth improved to 4,5% and 6000 new jobs created) is met by 2006, is to support the development of a well established and sound SMME sector, increasing the number of SMME's by 35%. (LED4). This can, however, only be realised if a sound support mechanism, in the form of competent BDS providers or a BDS Centre, is in place to ensure a conducive environment for small business development.
In developing the entire spectrum of small business, it has been clearly found that the strong value-adding and job-creating attributes of the manufacturing sector stands out and thus needs to be paid special attention to. This can be done through assistance available from the proven highly succesful National Manufacturing Advisory Centres (Namac) being deployed in all nine provinces. The establishment of FS MAC is on the cards. The profile of the composition of the SMME sector obtained from Namac bears out graphically the relationship between support services and SMME needs. Showing the various levels of small business development, the bottom level depicts the very large low productive, informal sector which needs to move toward the formal economy. Extensive services are needed at this level and is in the domain of the BDSC. Once a business moves into the formal sector, an expansion and intensifying of the BDS services is required. This is seen as a handover phase where the MAC could step in and assist manufacturing SME's on the level of a modern economy.
The following statistics illustrate the estimated % contribution of each SMME class size to the number of enterprises in the province of the Free State and the potential BDSC domain:
Survivalist 23,3%, Micro (0 employees) 24,3%, Micro (1-4 employees) 22,9%, Very Small 21,2%, Small 6,8%, Medium 1,0%, Large 0,5%.
Role of service providers
An SMME service provider survey was carried out in order to understand the way in which local service providers are responding to the needs of the small business sector. What stood out in meetings with service providers, was that most were private businesses that were started by individuals out of passion for SMME development, and/or out of seeing a need for business development services. This was a common factor with service providers, with the exception of the Institutes of Higher Learning and the Provincial SMME desk. Feedback from both SMME's and service providers have revealed that one of the most serious barriers to the delivery of effective support to small business has been the lack of both a local and provincial SMME strategy. As a result recommended guidelines were given on the nature and direction of the envisaged BDSC. One of the most important of these stems from a dire need for improved co-operation between the various SMME service providers and stakeholders.
It is thus recommended that the BDSC should encourage co-operation between the various stakeholders, provide market driven BDS to SMME's in conjunction with private SMME service providers, minimise duplication and competition by identifying core competencies within existing service providers. In line with this perception, it is further recommended that a comprehensive database of all service providers and the services they are offering, be developed and synchronised. The MLM LED Unit has started this process. In the COMSEC survey it was also found that some institutions were not keen to disclose information about their activities or client databases. To address this, it is recommended that a BDS Centre should promote active information sharing between service providers - possibly through monthly newsletters or regular SMME service provider forums.
Outreach and assessment
The report provides a clear indication that entre-and the services they are offering, be developed and synchronised. The MLM LED Unit has started this process. In the COMSEC survey it was also found that some institutions were not keen to disclose information about their activities or client databases. To address this, it is recommended that a BDS Centre should promote active information sharing between service providers - possibly through monthly newsletters or regular SMME service provider forums.
Conclusion
The recommendations in the COMSEC reports thus correspond with SMME needs within the MLM for the establishment of a BDSC. These SMME needs within the MLM area are prioritised in the report as follows:
• Access to finance
• Access to contracts/markets/tender opportunities
• Access to information
• Access to marketing support
• Human resource development (training)
• Business management skills
• Business linkages/matchmaking
An institutional audit of service providers as recommended could further assist in identifying which of them are capable of rendering the above services competently. There should be clear guidelines as to which services need to be provided by the BDS Centre.
Current analyses of service provider product portfolios have shown the probability that the core focus areas of the BDS Centre would be:
• Business information dissemination
• General business advisory services
• Tender/contract information and support services
• Big - small business linkages and
• Small business management skills training
Invitation
The above is then the intended profile of the proposed Mangaung BDSC as at this stage. The model and situation are, however, evidently fluid and the MLM is therefore currently not in a position to make any commitments. The final format of the BDSC should be the product of further deliberations and networking, but at this juncture the MLM herewith extends an open invitation to all stakeholders to contact the LED Unit and provide it with their inputs as deemed necessary and constructive.
Such inputs should be addressed in writing to the Acting General Manager: Economic Development, PO Box 3704, Bloemfontein or faxed to (051) 405 8310, or emailed to diane@civic.mangaung.co.za. Inputs should be received at the given addresses not later than 31 August 2003.
Dit was nou een van die heel lekker stories om te gedoen het - redaksioneel te skryf oor die vier markagentskappe geakkrediteer by die Bloemfontein Varsproduktemark. In intense kompetisie met mekaar, uit die aard van die saak maar elkeen op sy eie 'n tonika om mee te doen te hê. In die kompleks van die Bloemfontein Varsproduktemark net uit op die Thaba Nchu-pad nadat afgedraai is, met Rudolf Greylinglaan - kry jy hulle (in alfabetiese volgorde genoem):
Bloemfontein Algemene Markagentskappe, RSA Agente, Subtropico en Vrystaat Markagentskap.
RSA Agente is oorspronklik in 1974 by die Johannesburg Varsproduktemark gestig en het sedertdien stapsgewys landwyd uitgebrei totdat dit in September 2002 die meerderheidsaandeel in die agentskap A.Aboud & Co in Bloemfontein bekom het. Laasgenoemde agentskap is weer so lank terug as 1901 gestig en is sedertdien ononderbroke deur die Aboud-familie bedryf. Vandag is Zane Aboud aan die stuur van die Bloemfontein-kantoor van RSA Agente.
Met meer as 'n eeu se ervaring tot hul krediet, het die Aboud-familie diep spore getrap, nie net by die Varsproduktemark van Bloemfontein nie, maar ook by ander markte in SA, asook in die gemeenskapslewe van Bloemfontein. Hierdie trotse tradisie word huidiglik voortgesit in Bloemfontein deur Zane en sy span met hul vinger-op-die-pols benadering en hoë premie op integriteit.
Subtropico, met hoofkantoor in Johannesburg, het 10 jaar gelede met werksaamhede begin en gegroei tot waar daar tans meer as R350 miljoen se produkte op 'n jaarbasis namens produsente verkoop word. Nadat aanvanklik slegs op nasionale varsproduktemarkte besigheid gedoen is, word vandag sake as invoerder vir die landboubedryf gedoen, trekkers herbou, piesangs, avokado's en litchies verpak en avokado- en macadamia olies in Suid-Afrika en Kenia vervaardig en wêreldwyd uitgevoer. Die groep se markagentskap besigheid word bedryf in twee vol filiale, nl. Subtropico Vrugte Markagente (Edms) Bpk en Subtropico Johannesburg (Edms) Bpk, op 11 nasionale varsproduktemarkte, waarvan Bloemfontein een is.
Die ses agente in die Bloemfontein-kantoor openbaar kennelik 'n entoesiastiese spangees gekoppel aan gesamentlik meer as 'n halfeeu se markervaring - Ian (14 jaar), Philip (8 jaar), Div (10 jaar), Ogies (20 jaar), Tiaan (3 jaar) en Pieter (2 jaar). Tiaan is die seun van Ogies. Joviaal in die omgang, is hierdie manne by wie 'n saaklike en professionele besigheidsbenadering.
Vrystaat Markagentskap : Praat van 'n aangename klomp, dan is dit moeilik om die span van Vrystaat Markagentskap (VM) te klop. 'n Egte familiesaak, wat in 1970 begin is toe Charles Naudé snr. die markagentskap gestig het. Met sy aftrede het sy seun, Dries, as besturende direkteur oorgeneem. Vandag is Dries se seun, Charles jnr., ook in die besigheid, tesame met sy twee susters, Madeleine en Carika. Madeleine se man, David Lindecke, is as agent ook in die besigheid, terwyl Jannie Schwartz die swaer van Dries is en getroud is met Hester, wat ook 'n agent is !
Dries sê die vier pilare van hul jarelange besigheidsukses is eerlikheid, toegewydheid, kennis van die mark en vinnige uitbetalings. Hy sê hulle kliënte (produsente) is landswyd, tot in Limpopo provinsie, terwyl hulle koopkrag bestaan uit o.a. Lesotho groothandelaars en 'n sterk informele sektor. Laasgenoemde rugsteun VM met 'n stewige rekening tot hul beskikking. Met Vrystaatse produsente kom VM 'n lang pad en die feit dat VM ná 33 jaar steeds van krag tot krag gaan, is 'n getuigskrif op sigself.
Bloemfontein Algemene Markagentskappe (BAM): Steve Swanepoel sê hy het die besigheid in 1978 begin. Hy was destyds eers by Kloppers en dit is waar hy waardevolle verkoopsondervinding opgedoen het. In 1979 het August de Andrade as vennoot bygekom en vandag deel hulle steeds dieselfde kantoor. August met sy harde stem bekend as “die stem van die Mark” het as 12-jarige saam met sy ouers uit Portugal na SA geïmmigreer en het na 'n tyd by Captain Dorego as onafhanklike varsprodukte-agent begin werk.
Vra ons vir Steve hoekom 'n loopbaan in die vars-produktebedryf, dan sê hy hy het 'n passie vir varsprodukte “as dit eers in jou bloed gekom het… Veral aartappels - ek het nooit gedink aartappels sou so 'n rol in my lewe speel nie !” Steve en August sê hul wagwoorde is absoluut eerlikheid en regverdigheid, met geen ander opsie nie.
Comparing with the best
The Bloemfontein Fresh Produce Market has a monthly turnover of some R13 million, moving fresh produce of some 7 200 tonnes per month. As such it is the largest fresh produce market in the Free State and Northern Cape, the other two being at Welkom and Kimberley. The Bloemfontein Market is currently in a process of drastic upgrading, involving inter alia improved cold storage facilities, upgrading of technological communications and facilities for the agents and better security measures in and around the market. The premises and offices are also being renovated and painted. As for the future, direct access from the N8 route is being investigated, while fresh produce retail outlets in Mangaung, Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu are being considered. The overall aim is to develop the Bloemfontein Fresh Produce Market in one of the top 10 in SA.
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