Studying Logistics Performance Improvement Of Containerized Cargo Delivery From Mombasa Port To Kigali

The economic development of landlocked countries depends on a well-coordinated and enhanced international trade system and this entails optimal performance of all the ports connected to that country.However,containerized cargo delivery in Rwanda is flawed and has a lot of inefficiencies such as the inability to clear cargo quickly in the port,poor quality and high cost of land transport linking to the ports.In 2014 users of ports lodged complaints on delays and surcharges accruing to them due to cargo delays caused by low productivity at Mombasa port.The low productivity has made containerization a huge challenge.This poses a huge challenge to landlocked countries like Rwanda that depends on neighboring countries for all the shipping needs.Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the port translates into significant increase in revenue for both Kenya and Rwanda.Considering the fact that delivery delays are as a result of a number of factors that can range from legal framework to port management.This study is aimed at the performance of containerized cargo handling at Mombasa port and how it affects cargo distribution in Kigali.The study started with a survey of containerized cargo handling at Mombasa port that is destined for Rwanda only.Rwandan companies were used to collect due to ease accessibility.The findings reveal that customers are not satisfied with cargo handling,handling equipment,berthing,coordination and IT integration all showed low efficiency.The storage function was found to be below average across all the six factors i.e.loading/unloading,receiving,container movement,packaging,sorting and loss prevention.It was further discovered that containerization contributes significantly to delivering right products to right customers,bridging producer-customer gap,improving business efficiency,service quality and finally cost serving.However,the biggest contribution was towards bridging the gap between produce and customer as well as improving business efficiency.All activities performed at terminal have a significant bearing on the performance of inland transportation and efficient handling of containerized cargo logistics.This is among the main reasons why landlocked countries like Rwanda face problems when it comes to timely delivery of cargo.This entails that the problem emanates from the port and spills over to inland transport and distribution in Kigali.Therefore,containerized cargo handling requires adequate loading/unloading equipment with berths and freight yards that can achieve logistics efficiency.