By Nkiruka Nnorom

Nduka Ude is the CEO, Simplified Corporate Logistics, SCL, an import, export procurement, documentation and clearing services company. In this interview, he says  lack of coordination among  supervising agencies in the export business is a big challenge.

What gap did exist in the logistics sector that your company, SCL, wants to fill?

There is a lot of gap in the industry. We look at the import side for example. When you look at fake clearing agents, you have companies that suffer serious damage as a result of their activities. One of the things we are doing is that we are giving a new face to clearing, helping companies with transparency. A lot is going on in the industry; customs is no longer doing things the way it was.

If you are a company and you are using agents who are not registered or bonded with the government, you could be in a serious problem in the next six months when you are audited and you discover that the duties you think you have been paying are actually not being remitted. So, there is a lot going on in the industry and we are trying to give a cleaner face to that aspect.

If you look at the export section, there is a lot going on in terms of government push for export and that is the main gap we are seeing,. There is still a lot issues surrounding export which we are going to delve into as we proceed, but the process is still cumbersome.

Just like import, you have well over 14 various agencies that have to sign in at the ports. For the export, it is still very complex. So, we are trying to take over the export role for most small and medium businesses, handle the documentation, the shipping and other aspects.

Now, the biggest challenge that exporters have is that most companies will only export a container load of shipment to may be, USA. So, that leaves a lot of businesses that don’t have that capacity. So, if I want to send a sample of my product, say one carton, it becomes difficult. We are working with Nigeria Export Promotion Council, NEPC, to provide an avenue whereby irrespective of the size of your company, we are able to help you export the quantity of goods you have.

What is SCL’s business model?

When you say business model, I probably look at it as who are customers are?Our key customers are the small, medium businesses, those that don’t have the capacity for now to be exporting full container loads. When we say small and medium, a lot of individuals are in that category.

Somebody who just wakes up and wants to send two shoes to the US because he has a buyer. Somebody who sees an opportunity to send, may be, ginger to the US or Europe because he has a buyer. So, that is the kind of people we are looking at. We try to group their shipment as well and send it to them. This group of people don’t have the capacity to reach out to buyers to handle the co-export process alone. Those are the key people we are targeting and that is the business model we are trying to develop.

One key issue with exporting from Nigeria is that most times, some of these produce are not acceptable in Europe and US. What are you doing to help the exporters you have mentioned to ensure that their goods are acceptable?

The challenge the exporters face is that a lot of them are not aware of the rules and regulations guiding the export process. You know the way we do things in Nigeria is not the way it is done in Europe or US. Whereas in Nigeria, I can just put my beans in a bowl and take it to the market, if you are sending that same beans outside Nigeria, you have to follow the laws.

The US, our key export destination, has FDA that governs the packaging of these products and that is one thing a lot of them don’t know. So, one of the key things we are doing is that when you come to us, you don’t need to go through the one hour or two hours training a lot of these organizations are doing now. We already have sample documentation that tells you what you need to do, how to package your products, the format of the invoice and the various forms.

Everything is there in a package for you. When you look at it, it is more of a check-list that says, ‘if  I am exporting yam, these are the things I need to bring’. It simplifies the process completely. We help you with links to do the FDA registration if need be. Not everybody needs to do that. But the key thing is that we help you with the whole documentation process.

There must be challenges. Can you highlight some of them?

The biggest challenge we and most small businesses face is the multiplicity of agencies and poor coordination among the various agents. When we started this business, I told my team to go out there and give us the breakdown of how export is done. When they brought the diagrammatic response of process for export, you think you are trying to send a rocket to space. You have so many layers; you have to get this form, get that form and you have to do inspection with all manner of agencies.

At times, when you go to the website, the addresses of some key government parastatals that are supposed to inspect your goods before they are exported, you will not find them there. So, these are some of the challenges that a lot of these small businesses are facing. They don’t know where to get what. For instance, You go to 90 per cent of bank branches in Nigeria to get the Export Proceed Form you have to fill with a bank before you export, they will tell you they have no clue where to get that from. Those are some of the challenges we face and these are some of the difficulties these small businesses face.

One organization that I really praise is the Nigeria Export Promotion Commission, NEPC. They are doing a lot in terms of training but when there is poor coordination among the other agencies, there is nothing that can be done. You take a product for export to some of the ports, to get the custom officer who is responsible for export becomes a  big challenge for a typical exporter. Except you persevere, you have do so much to get them. That is the biggest challenge that people are facing. So, what we have done is to bring all that process in one phase. You submit your documentation and we handle that process for you.

Is there anything you think the government could do to simplify some of these challenges you have mentioned?

Obviously, there is a lot the government can do. It is only the government that can simplify it and bring all these bodies together. I believe there should be a centralized export agency that handles everything that has to do with export. Can these agencies be in one location? Yes, it is possible. So if I am an exporter and I need to export yam for example, when I take my yam to one location, preferably near the port, the various agencies that I need to deal with are all there in one location. I meet the NEPC, I get the required forms; I meet the Customs, I get the required forms; I meet NAFDAC that has to check, I get the required forms; I meet the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and I get the required forms. But a situation where, let’s take for instance the inspection bodies, one of them is not even located in the South any more. They have relocated to the North.

So, if I am in the South trying to export and the company that needs to inspect my goods is nowhere near. I mean, it is discouraging. They need to get all these agencies in one centralized place, have one coordinating body that handles the whole export process. If I take my goods there, it is done by one body.

Let’s take a clue from China. When they were trying to make Hawaii, a telephone company, the leader in telecom industry, they had a policy that no Hawaii goods should be at the ports for more than 24 hours. They must have their export clearance within 24 hours. So, when companies were negotiating for big telecom deals, while Siemens would tell you that it will take a month for your goods to be there, in a week or thereabouts, the Hawaii products will be there and they are already being tested. That is the process we need to follow. Our lack of coordination is even killing the export business.