South Africa’s leading fresh fruit exporter, Capespan, has designed a series of proposed organisational changes as part of ongoing efforts to improve its efficiency, performance and position in a highly competitive and changing industry.
Employees in South Africa have been asked to re-apply for their jobs, as Capespan re-evaluates the nature of its relationships with growers and international customers. Capespan’s overseas offices will be encouraged to have more direct contact with growers, as the South African office reduces its numbers.
“These initiatives”, said Louis Kriel, ceo of the Capespan Fruit Division, “are intended to deliver substantial overhead savings in the South African based procurement subsidiary of Capespan. We operate in a highly fragmented, competitive market where in order to continuously deliver value to our customers and suppliers as well as provide job security for our employees in the future, we need to react to the changes and that sometimes means making tough decisions.
“After months of extensive research and consultation, we have come up with a proposed new structure for the organisation which we believe will allow us to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Although every effort has been made to minimise the impact these changes will have on our employees, it is inevitable that the process will lead to some job losses. Decisions about where in the organisation the cutbacks need to take place will only be made after further careful consultation with our employees and stakeholders”.
Kriel emphasised that he remains extremely optimistic about the future of Capespan and its ability to provide a world-class service to South Africa’s fruit growers. “The Capespan Fruit Division has excellent market access in the UK, Europe, Russia, Middle East, Far East and North America and as a lean, market focussed procurement and supply chain structure, we will continue to make a valuable contribution to the country’s agricultural sector as well as the economy in general.”
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