A Preferred Logistics Company in Africa – PSL Platinum Shipping & Logistics

Interview with Kofi A. Boateng, Managing Director of PSL Platinum Shipping & Logistics

What would be your personal insight into the logistics and transport sector in Ghana?

Currently, as compared to a few years back, the sector is down because of several factors. The main factor is the energy crisis but we also have to deal with exchange rates and there are other factors such as the quality of roads. Strategically Ghana is placed close to landlocked areas like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and we used to have a lot of transit cargo through Tema which we then tracked up north. Because of the energy crisis and the high cost of fuel, transporting cargo is difficult. There are no problems with the Ghanaian ports, going through clearing is fast and it is cheaper than in Lomé and Ivory Coast. Our problem is the transport i.e. getting the cargo from Tema to let’s say Burkina Faso or Niamey is more expensive compared to trucking from Lomé and Abidjan.

Presently it is ok, but compared to last year, this year has registered a significant drop particularly because of the energy crisis. The energy crisis is affecting a lot of companies and obviously we work for the companies by moving cargo for them, so if they are not doing well, automatically this industry also suffers.

Are there any measures that you are taking to counter these issues?

Being so strong in logistics we want to add relocation services to our portfolio i.e. the relocation of factories and other big companies from one country to another.

The only thing we can do is to make sure our offices are always online by using plants and generators and talking to our customers who mostly have generators. Obviously it is more expensive for us to use generators than getting power from the national grid. The bottom line is that doing business this way is much more expensive than when you can use the national grid.

Tell us the story of PSL Platinum Shipping & Logistics.

My brother and I started PSL together. It is a small company. We both worked individually for other companies and then we decided to set out on our own five or six years ago. We are quite young in the industry but we are making giant strides. Two or three years later we partnered with Hellmann Logistics. They did a survey of the companies in Ghana and they decided to work with us. As a result of this partnership, our presence can be felt the whole world over. We have our own offices here in Ghana and in Lomé, Sierra Leone and in Liberia. The partner offices with Hellmann are in 137 countries worldwide which means we are represented on the ground everywhere.

Can you summarise the services you offer?

Actually, our team is going to change as of next month. Basically we make sure that our clients are satisfied. We don’t want any complaints from our clients so from day one we make sure that everything is done perfectly and with no problems. If the client is not happy about something, we gladly do what we have to do to fix it; if we have to offer the services for free, we do that. We make sure that the client has nothing to complain about. That is basically our motto and our guidelines for working.

Who are your clients? What segments do they come from?

Our clients come from all sectors, for example from the diplomatic sector, we also handle time sensitive cargo for research by the universities and for Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, and we handle cargo for oil and gas, and for mining. Our major client for mining is Bauer, and Mantrac as well, and they both handle support services for almost all the mines in Ghana. We have clients from the trading industry. So we have clients right across board from all industries.

What are the current projects that you are working on?

Currently we are working on the shopping malls. We handle cargo for a subcontractor for WBHO. We played a major role in building the West Hills Mall and we are now handling the Achimota Mall called the Achimota Retail Centre, which is almost complete. Then we shall move on to the biggest mall project in Ghana which shall be in Kumasi. Presently that is the major cargo that we are handling.

We are also going to start working on a government project but with a Chinese contractor, for bulk oil and gas storage. They are going to build a new site for bulk oil and gas storage at Kpone and we are going to handle all of the logistics for it. It will be oversized cargo so it will be a lot of work. I believe we are starting that soon.

How would you summarise the company’s short-term strategy?

Strategically we are on the verge of rebranding. We have started locally and we are gradually spreading to other African countries. Going forward over the next let’s say five years, from the beginning of next year we are going to rebrand as an African Logistics company instead of being a local logistics company. Our name and everything is going to change slightly to Africa Logistics because we have plans of moving into so many other African countries. Based on the work we have done, our experience, and the recommendations from other companies that we work with, we believe we are going to succeed.

Will you be adding any new services to your portfolio?

Yes, we are planning on adding more services. Being so strong in logistics we want to add relocation services to our portfolio i.e. the relocation of factories and other big companies from one country to another. That is our main focus for the next year. We are going to be strong on the ground in relocating factories and companies. Presently we are on the verge of relocating a cement factory from Denmark or Germany to Tema. The whole factory is going to be knocked down and brought to Tema to start production. We are working hard to make sure that it is successful, and then we will base our focus on that.

Are you going to be doing this relocation on your own or with partners? Would you be looking for some kind of partnership in terms of expertise?

No, we are doing this on our own. Obviously we have support from Hellmann. We are not looking for other partnerships because we provide constant training for our staff, especially in terms of cargo and perishable cargo, so we are up to the beat so to speak. I think we are fine for now because the training for our staff is constant and it is worldwide training, our staff are often trained elsewhere with other logistic companies or at other Hellmann offices worldwide, so it is of excellent standards.

What is your personal vision for the company? Where would you like to see it in two years’ time after you rebrand the company?

In between two and five years, I am looking at PSL being the preferred logistics company in Africa and worldwide, so for PSL to be among the big boys, maybe even being better than some of the big branded names that we have around, because of our services and our promptness in offering services.