Supply chain challenges have hit the IT channel particularly hard – but we are not alone.
As the global supply chain comes under pressure from many different sources, companies are having to pivot to overcome the challenges.
We asked Bremer Pauw, chief commercial officer and MD: Middle East and Africa at DHL Supply Chain, to unpack the challenges and solutions.
What are the global challenges impacting supply chains?
The biggest challenge facing supply chains today is not any single disruption. It is the compounding effect of several disruptions happening at the same time.
Businesses are navigating geopolitical uncertainty, changing trade policies, disruption across major shipping routes, climate-related events, infrastructure constraints, technology shortages and growing cybersecurity risk. Many supply chains were designed for a relatively predictable world and optimised primarily for cost and efficiency. We are now asking them to perform in a far less predictable one.
Cost and efficiency still matter, but the cheapest supply chain on paper is not the lowest-cost supply chain if it cannot deliver when conditions change. Visibility, flexibility and resilience have therefore become equally important.
This is particularly relevant to the technology sector. Manufacturing of semiconductors, memory, storage and other critical components remains concentrated across a relatively small number of locations and suppliers. A disruption in one part of that ecosystem can quickly affect production and availability across global markets.
Technology businesses also face short product lifecycles and rapid changes in demand. A delay does not only create a stock shortage; it can mean missing an entire sales window or being left with inventory that is already becoming obsolete.
Resilience does not mean duplicating everything or holding excessive inventory everywhere. It means understanding where the critical risks sit, positioning inventory closer to demand where appropriate, building alternative sources and routes, and having the visibility required to make decisions quickly.
The question is therefore no longer simply, “How do we reduce supply-chain costs?” It is: “How quickly can we detect disruption, make a decision and protect the customer promise?”
The companies that answer that question well will not only survive disruption. They will use their supply chains as a competitive advantage.
How are these challenges impacting Africa in general, and South Africa specifically?
Africa does not experience global supply-chain disruption as distant news. It shows up directly in the price, availability and delivery time of the products businesses and consumers rely on.
Many African markets remain heavily dependent on imported technology, machinery, equipment and specialist components. When shipping routes are disrupted, manufacturing slows or freight costs rise, the impact is amplified by distance, infrastructure constraints and currency volatility.
Currency volatility is particularly important for the technology sector. Products are generally purchased in US dollars or other hard currencies but sold locally, sometimes weeks or months later. A sharp currency movement between ordering, importing and selling can quickly erode margins or force price increases that weaken customer demand.
This creates a difficult decision for distributors and resellers. Holding stock locally improves availability and customer service, but it also ties up significant working capital and exposes the business to currency movements, financing costs and rapid technology obsolescence. Holding less stock reduces that exposure but increases lead times and the risk of losing sales.
The challenge is therefore not simply having enough stock. It is having the right stock, in the right market, at the right time and being clear about who carries the financial risk while it is sitting there.
South Africa has a particularly important role to play. It is not only a significant market; it is one of Africa’s most established logistics and distribution hubs and a gateway into the wider region. However, its full potential depends on the reliability of its ports, rail network, road-freight capacity and border processes.
When goods are delayed at a port, on a road or at a border, it is never only a logistics problem. It ties up working capital, increases currency and financing exposure, delays customer projects and ultimately weakens business confidence.
The opportunity across Africa remains enormous. Growing cities, expanding consumer markets, increasing technology adoption and stronger regional trade can create significant long-term growth. But trade agreements alone do not move goods. Infrastructure, simpler border processes, connected data and reliable logistics networks do.
The real opportunity is bigger than responding to the next disruption. It is to build supply chains that make Africa easier to trade with and easier to trade across. For South Africa, that means using its scale, infrastructure and geographic position not simply to serve its domestic market, but to become a more effective launchpad for growth across the continent.
In your experience, because the challenges are global, do you see South Africa specifically and Africa as a whole pushed to the end of the queue when supplies are limited?
There is a real risk of that happening. When supply is limited, it tends to follow certainty – larger volumes, stronger currencies, predictable demand and markets where products can be moved and sold quickly.
Many African markets are disadvantaged by fragmented demand, currency volatility, longer lead times and more complex import and border processes. For global manufacturers deciding where to allocate scarce technology products, those factors can make other regions appear easier and less risky.
South Africa is better positioned because of its market size, established distribution capability and role as a regional gateway. However, it is still competing for supply against much larger global markets. It cannot assume it will receive priority simply because the underlying demand exists.
There is also a danger of creating a self-fulfilling cycle: Africa receives less stock, sales are constrained, and the resulting lower sales are then used to justify allocating even less stock in future.
The answer is not simply to hold more inventory locally. That could create significant working-capital, currency and obsolescence risk. We need better demand visibility, stronger supplier commitments, regional inventory hubs and logistics networks that can reposition products quickly as demand changes.
What measures can supply chain providers take to alleviate the problems? What kind of effect are you seeing from interventions?
Supply-chain providers cannot eliminate geopolitical uncertainty, currency volatility or infrastructure constraints. What we can do is reduce the customer’s exposure to them.
There is no single solution because every supply chain has a different combination of products, markets, risks and economics. However, the starting point is consistent: resilience requires visibility and options before disruption happens.
This begins with reviewing how the network is designed. Many supply chains were built mainly for cost and efficiency in a more predictable world. Companies now need to understand where they are too dependent on one supplier, port, route, carrier or inventory location and what alternatives they can activate when conditions change.
We are seeing businesses diversify suppliers, develop alternative transport routes and position selected inventory closer to demand. Regional hubs can be particularly effective in Africa because they allow companies to serve several markets without carrying excessive stock in every country.
For technology businesses, the answer is not simply to hold more inventory. That would increase working-capital requirements, currency exposure and the risk of products becoming obsolete. The objective is to hold the right inventory in the right regional location and have the flexibility to move it quickly when demand becomes clearer.
We are also seeing stronger demand for integrated solutions. Warehousing, transport, customs, distribution and returns cannot be managed as separate activities when each decision affects product availability, cost and working capital. Connecting these functions provides a clearer view of the total supply chain and enables faster decisions.
The effect is not that disruption disappears. It is that businesses detect problems earlier, understand the commercial impact faster and have more options available. They can reroute shipments, reposition stock and protect customer commitments before a disruption becomes a crisis.
Ultimately, resilience is not about predicting every possible disruption. It is about building a supply chain that can respond faster than the disruption can damage the customer promise.
What advice do you have for IT distributors to help them navigate this period of disruption?
My advice would be to think like a supply-chain orchestrator: connecting demand, inventory, capital and risk to make faster decisions and protect availability, cash and margin.
First, plan earlier and forecast honestly. The sooner you understand real customer demand, the more options you have to secure supply, select the right routes and position inventory effectively. In Africa, a poor forecast can quickly become expensive stock sitting in the wrong market or a missed sale because the product is unavailable when the customer needs it.
Second, protect your landed margin. Technology products are generally purchased in hard currency and sold in local currency, often several weeks or months later. Distributors should consider shorter price-validity periods, appropriate customer deposits, currency protection and clear price-adjustment mechanisms. Revenue growth means very little if currency movements remove the margin before the product is sold.
Third, earn priority with suppliers. When global supply is constrained, products tend to follow certainty. Distributors that provide credible forecasts, communicate consistently and honour their commitments are more likely to secure allocations. During these periods, the strength of the supplier relationship can determine whether you receive stock – or find yourself at the back of the queue.
Fourth, build options without carrying inventory everywhere. Avoid becoming overly dependent on one supplier, sourcing market, port or route. Regional inventory hubs, alternative routes and approved substitute products can create flexibility without exposing the business to excessive working-capital, currency and obsolescence risk. The objective is not simply to carry more stock. It is to have the right stock in the right place, with the ability to move it quickly.
Finally, be completely transparent with customers. Start conversations early about lead times, pricing risks, availability and possible product alternatives. Customers can manage difficult news; what they struggle with are late surprises. In uncertain markets, trust and speed of communication become genuine competitive advantages.
Ultimately, distributors must continuously balance three things: product availability, working capital and margin. Getting one right at the expense of the other two is not a sustainable strategy.
How are companies like DHL using technology to improve their supply chain operations?
The most important shift is not simply from manual to automated operations. It is from reacting to what has already happened to seeing earlier, deciding faster and acting before the customer is affected.
At DHL Supply Chain, data provides the foundation. Visibility platforms connect information across demand, inventory, warehousing, transport and delivery. For technology distributors, that visibility is particularly valuable. It helps them understand not only where stock is, but where demand is developing, how quickly products are moving and where working capital, currency exposure or obsolescence risk may be building.
AI and advanced analytics then help turn that data into better decisions. Predictive tools can improve demand planning, inventory positioning and route optimisation, while risk-monitoring systems can identify potential disruption earlier. Digital twins take this further by allowing businesses to simulate different scenarios, such as a port closure, demand spike or supplier delay and test possible responses before making costly real-world decisions.
Inside warehouses, automation and robotics improve accuracy, consistency, productivity and safety. In transport, connected planning and visibility tools help businesses optimise routes, capacity and service levels. When these technologies are integrated across the operation, companies can manage the supply chain as one connected system instead of a collection of separate activities.
But technology does not replace people. Supply chains remain a people business, built on operational judgement, customer understanding and local market knowledge. Technology can highlight a risk or recommend an action, but experienced teams still need to understand the commercial consequences and decide what is right for the customer.
The real value of technology is therefore not the technology itself. It is putting better information into the hands of people early enough for them to make a difference.
Please add any advice you feel is relevant for the IT channel.
I would add one final thought: in the technology industry, the supply chain is part of the product and a major part of the customer experience.
Technology only creates value when it reaches the right customer, at the right time, correctly configured and ready to use. A device sitting in the wrong warehouse is not valuable inventory. It is trapped capital, a missed sale and potentially a disappointed customer.
We therefore need to look beyond the distributor or reseller to their customer and ultimately to that customer’s customer. It may be a business waiting to connect its employees, a school needing devices, a hospital depending on critical equipment, or a consumer expecting a seamless experience. Every delay can affect productivity, revenue and trust.
This is where technology-enabled supply chains can fundamentally change the game. Connected data across demand, inventory, customs, warehousing, transport, delivery, repairs and returns can help businesses see earlier, decide faster and serve customers better. AI, predictive analytics and automation should not simply reduce logistics costs; they should help convert demand into revenue more quickly and keep products in productive use for longer.
For DHL Supply Chain, that is the real opportunity: to build connected, resilient networks that help our customers sell more, protect their margins and create happier, more loyal customers.
The technology companies that win will not only be those with the best innovations. They will be the ones that make those innovations available, usable and unforgettable. Because ultimately, the best supply chain is not the one people notice, it is the one that helps them get what they need, when they need it, and keeps them coming back.