Interview of the week - ECS - Kenya

Morris is the Managing Director / CEO of Export Consolidation Services (k) Ltd since its incorporation in the year 2000. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, London, and an MBA holder in Shipping and Logistics. He worked with various logistics companies for years before founding ECS.

Tell us about ECS. Who owns the company?

Ecs was founded in the year 2000 as a family business and incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Kenya as a private limited company. The company has grown from strength to strength, from handling consolidation cargo to a fully-fledged logistics company in Kenya and the larger East African region.
 

Where are your offices located?

Our main offices are in Mombasa, Kenya.

We are serving the entire East Africa region, namely Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and parts of Eastern Congo. We are also transporting finished goods from Kenya to Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia.

What is ECS specialty and service range?

Our major business involves transport of OOG and containerized cargo. With the region being still under development in the manufacturing sector, there is a huge demand for finished products from all over the world.

The location of the Port of Mombasa makes it convenient for most of the landlocked countries to use this port as their port of destination. Additionally, as the region is developing, there are a number of major projects that are ongoing in the region in the construction, air, energy and gas sectors. This has seen us handling severally break-bulk projects.

We are a one stop shop as we offer entire supply chain services, from customs clearance up to door delivery.

Tell us about projects that you have handled recently.

With over 20 years in the industry ECS has handled various shipments including break-bulk, containerized cargo, classified cargo, hazardous cargo, as well as project cargo to mention but a few.

Recently we handled a power project. It was a wind mill project 700km from the port of Mombasa that took us 3 months to finish and to re-export the cranes that were used by chartering a ship.

Are there any tricky points one should consider when planning a project cargo movement in Kenya?

Common challenges are: 

• Poor infrastructure
  Most of the areas are still underdeveloped and have been major challenges in the maintenance of the existing roads especially during the rainy seasons rendering them impassible at times. 
   
• Civil war and political instability
  This is mainly affecting South Sudan and the democratic Republic of Congo. Movement into and out of these regions is sometimes restricted affecting the smooth flow of goods to and out of the areas. 
   
• Unfavorable Government Policies
  Some countries have polices in effect that are very punitive on the business community and this great affects our operation in such countries. These include but not limited to very high surcharges for over dimensional cargo, work permit for foreigners as well as higher taxes for foreign companies. 
   
• Corruption and police harassment
  In view of the above the process is affected but we appreciate that there is improvement in some parts from far countries like south Sudan and Congo where there is civil war.

What is your advantage against competition? Why do you stand out?

We have a team of professionals with a lot of experience in the industry and our capability to handle the entire process seamlessly with our own fleet all under one roof gives our clients the confidence to handle their shipment.

What made you join the industry?

The love and passion for the supply chain and the challenges involved that push for a solution. It makes the entire cycle complete.

What was the impact that COVID-19 brought to your business?

We are grateful that we are all well but Covid has really impacted our industry considering things had to change from the way we were used to, and being physically in Africa makes things worse.

The volume may not have increased but due to higher turnaround time we are always on the run to recover time lost by our drivers waiting for covid test results as mandatory testing has been put in place as a mitigation measure by various governments.

Who should be approached in ECS for inquiries?

You can contact me directly at mburu@ecs.co.ke or Ms. Dorcas Kamau, our General Manager at dorcas@ecs.co.ke