By Solly Engelbrecht, National Logistics Executive at The SPAR Group
Potential water insecurity poses a significant threat to the integrity of retail supply chains across South Africa. The ongoing water shortages across Gauteng – our nation’s economic hub – serve as a stark reminder of the vulnerability faced by both businesses and households when confronted with water scarcity.
If left unchecked, disruptions to water supply and water quality pose very serious operational and financial risks to the SA economy.
The key is to plan, innovate and adopt solutions that save water and increase capacity of alternative water usage. A major wholesaler like The SPAR Group, on which millions of shoppers, suppliers, employees, and stores owners depend, must ensure its broad nationwide network works like clockwork 24/7, no matter how challenging the operating environment. The redevelopment of our logistics strategy to drive an agile, reliable, sustainable supply chain network to ensure retailer success, has been the key driving force for this.
We must comply with food safety and hygiene requirements and standards for storing and selling food and ensure clean water usage in SPAR’s refrigeration systems. Therefore, current, and future water supply and quality must be potable.
We anticipate that future dependency on the supply of recycled/produced water will increase as The SPAR Group continues to invest in alternative water solutions and adopt water-efficient technologies. So, as part of our logistics planning, we have already implemented some strategies to increase capacity and savings.
Water-efficient technologies, like adiabatic cooling system, can save between 70% to 80% of water usage for refrigeration cooling as compared against traditional methods. This technology uses more air cooling, rather than water cooling and focuses on using less water for the cooling of cold-stored products.
This technology has already shown what it can do at SPAR Western Cape, during the devasting drought of 2017/18.
Fortunately, we had already acted in 2017 to remove the old cooling technology and install new adiabatic cooling systems, despite the cost, as it is more expensive to install than a normal cooling plant and takes up more space. However, the benefits are immense and sustainable, and it was worth every cent at SPAR Western Cape.
Half of the Eastern Cape distribution centre’s (DC) cooling system has been replaced with an adiabatic cooling system, and the water savings are equally impressive.
Our broader logistics planning includes increasing the borehole capacity at key sites, adding Jojo tanks for storage, and finding new ways to reduce water usage to increase water savings.
All these small steps add up and make a big difference when multiplied across the various SPAR sites. We use recycled/produced water for washing trucks, in ablution facilities and for watering, as and where applicable. The supply and quality of recycled/produced water is important to The SPAR’s Group’s operations, as it reduces operating costs and the reliance on municipal water sources.
Meanwhile, we have installed backup water supply at several of our DC’s cooling plants.
The rollout of waterless urinals also significantly reduces the need for water in ablution facilities.
I expect the above water solutions to be expanded to ensure more security and stability in the current year, because every small step matters in a water-scarce country like SA – and at The SPAR Group, we will continue to take the lead in driving water solutions that matter.