Local Is Lekker: Why South African Problems Need South African Solutions

“Local is lekker” is a familiar phrase that was first coined in the late 80’s, but at BD-Nav, we see it as a strategy.

Yes – you read that right. In South African FMCG, where distance, infrastructure and consumer dynamics vary sharply by region, a global one-size-fits-all playbooks fall short. We have always believed and felt that South African suppliers do not need generic dashboards. Instead, they need decisions grounded in local reality - by people who know the routes, the rosters, the DC constraints, and the buying patterns that shape sales in Pofadder, Mthatha, Musina, and Umhlanga all on the same day.

The market is unique - act like it

South Africa’s retail network is defined by a channel of complexity, long lead times, and uneven infrastructure. The same SKU can be a key value item in a coastal destination store and a slow mover in a small inland town with limited footfall and long replenishment cycles.

Strike rate, OTIF, DC capacity, and roster timing look different when a store sits 400km from the nearest distribution centre. If your analytics ignore this, you are unfortunately only managing theory and not operations.

Distance changes the maths

Every extra kilometer compounds cost, risk and delay. Long hauls shift the economics of minimum orders, pallet configurations and forward cover. That is why we see “overstock” and “OOS” not just as numbers on a chart, but they reflect real trade-offs between delivery windows, shelf life, and roster constraints. A plan that works inside the ring road will fail on the N1 between Beaufort West and Upington if it cannot adapt to the reality on the ground.

Data must be retailer-aligned and store-specific

South African suppliers succeed when their data mirrors the retailer’s master data and operational cadence - barcodes, active vs discontinued status, nominated order/delivery dates, price files, and ranging per store. Mismatches drive pricing claims, late deliveries, and disputed service levels.

Local expertise matters because small misalignments create big leakage. You cannot fix what you cannot reconcile.

Seasonality and shocks need context

Local context turns noise into signal. A cold front in October can stall beverage ROS. A regional sports weekend can lift snack sales in pockets while leaving neighbouring clusters flat. Load-shedding patterns, while less disruptive this year, still influence freezer capacity, spoilage risk and returns.

Historical data only becomes useful when interpreted by people who understand why a spike or dip occurred, and whether it will repeat.

Local resilience is a competitive advantage

Being based here means we are accountable to the same calendars, public holidays, rosters and Four-Four-Five retailer-aligned calendars. We use the same vendor portals, and understand the operational definitions behind OTIF, fill rate and order compliance.

Historical truth, operational action

Three principles define local advantage:

1. Align to retailer reality. Your master data must mirror the retailer’s. If it doesn’t, your pricing, orders and claims will not reconcile.

   
   

2. Plan by distance and roster. Forward cover, Minimum Order Quantity s and lead times must reflect geography, not averages.

   
   

3. Explain with history. Use 36 months of comparable data to separate anomalies from trends and convert insight into action at store level.

Here to stay

South African FMCG rewards consistency. Suppliers need a partner who will still be here next quarter, next peak, next range review. Local insight, local accountability and local access are not “nice to haves”. They are the difference between a plan that reads well and a plan that ships well.

Bottom line: “local is lekker” because simply, local works.