Tiger Brands and Transnova recognised for transforming national distribution through a world-class Logistics Control Tower
Tiger Brands and Transnova have been awarded a Gold Award at the 2025 Logistics Achiever Awards, recognising the companies’ joint achievement in building and scaling a Logistics Control Tower (LCT) that has redefined visibility, responsiveness, and efficiency across one of South Africa’s largest FMCG logistics networks.
The Logistics Achiever Awards honours excellence and innovation in logistics and supply chain management, celebrating organisations that deliver measurable results through effective, sustainable, and world-class practices.
This award acknowledges how Tiger Brands and Transnova’s collaboration replaced a legacy 3PL-centric model with a resilient, insight-driven logistics ecosystem – unlocking significant savings, improving service reliability, and embedding a unified, future-fit national transport capability.
A benchmark for supply chain transformation
Tiger Brands previously outsourced all outbound distribution to a single 3PL – a model that contributed to rising transport costs, limited flexibility during demand spikes, and reduced visibility and control. Manual processes and the absence of a TMS further restricted the organisation’s ability to scale or respond quickly to disruptions.
Tiger Brands appointed Transnova in 2016 as its lead logistics partner to undertake this logistics transformation journey. What started as a response to operational challenges has evolved into one of South Africa’s most advanced centralised transport platforms – a benchmark for sustainable logistics innovation.
Through a multi-year journey, Tiger Brands and Transnova deployed a Logistics Control Tower operation that integrates people, processes, technology, and performance governance into a single, cohesive ecosystem — one that responds to shifting market demands and continues to deliver new value year after year.
A world-class Logistics Control Tower powered by leading technology
The LCT – jointly staffed by Tiger Brands and Transnova – now serves as the nerve centre of Tiger’s national logistics operation. It integrates:
- Centralised order and transport planning
- Multi-carrier procurement and performance management
- Real-time visibility across 60+ contracted carriers
- Predictive ETA tools and exception management
- Automated settlement and cost accounting
- A best-in-class TMS with end-to-end workflow integration
- A performance-aligned commercial model
- Business Intelligence dashboards and advanced analytics
By bringing together real-time data, predictive modelling, and cross-functional expertise, the LCT has empowered Tiger Brands to scale smarter, respond faster to disruption, and embed continuous improvement into its daily operations.
Delivering measurable results at national scale
Since implementation, the Logistics Control Tower has demonstrated sustained impact across financial performance, service reliability, and operational efficiency.
Operational & Financial Impact
- Over R300 million in cumulative transport and efficiency savings
- R900 million+ in annual disbursements managed through the TMS
- 80 000+ loads planned annually
- Consistent achievement of key KPIs each year
Network Reach & Visibility
- 605 000+ loads delivered since the programme’s inception
- 190 000+ unique pick/drop locations serviced
- Nationwide and cross-border distribution
- Full visibility and control across 60+ carriers
Sustainability & Efficiency Gains (Ship More Direct Project)
The Ship More Direct initiative – one of the LCT’s flagship continuous improvement projects – has delivered substantial environmental and financial benefits:
- 54 000 orders redirected into the primary network
- R157 million in cumulative savings
- 456 000 km saved annually (≈ 2.7 million km to date)
- 2 400–3 200 metric tons of CO₂ eliminated
- Simpler, more efficient customer engagement with 75% of SMD orders routed to DCs
These improvements demonstrate how targeted optimisation, supported by analytics and system logic, can reduce waste, improve service, and enhance sustainability.
Building resilience through collaboration
“We are proud to be recognised by the industry with this Logistics Achiever Award, which shows that we are on the right path in our journey to build a more agile, data-driven, and customer-centric supply chain,” said Ruan Coetzee, Customer and Distribution Manager at Tiger Brands. “By partnering with Transnova, we have fundamentally transformed how we operate, improved reliability across our network, and unlocked real value that benefits our customers and our business.”
Neil Larkens, Operations Director at Transnova Africa, added: “Tiger Brands had the foresight and courage to rethink its logistics model and invest in a scalable, technology-enabled control tower. Together, we’ve built a high-performance ecosystem that continues to grow stronger each year – one that uses data, collaboration, and innovation to deliver world-class results.”
Future focus: accelerating innovation
The LCT continues to evolve through ongoing efficiency projects, visibility enhancements, and broader integration across Tiger Brands’ manufacturing and distribution environments.
Upcoming areas of focus include:
- Deeper predictive analytics and optimisation modelling
- Automated planning and exception management
- Enhanced carrier collaboration and performance governance
- Expanded environmental impact reduction initiatives
- Stronger upstream/downstream integration
“Our priority is to keep building a smarter, greener, more responsive logistics network for the future,” said Coetzee. “This award affirms the progress we’ve made – and the opportunity ahead.”