Mohamood Mohamed Duale Transport has grown from humble beginnings to become one of Central and East Africa’s most prominent liquid transportation and logistics solutions providers.
LIQUID LOGISTICS
Initiating with just one truck and one visionary back in 1984, the Mohamood Mohamed Duale Transport (MMT) that exists and thrives across Africa today is testament to the levels of innovation and continuous improvement instilled all those years ago.
Founder and current Director, Mr Duale is the man responsible for incepting this now market-leading enterprise, back then driving the one truck across Central and East Africa himself. By the 1990s the fleet had risen to four, and the hands-on entrepreneur micromanaged every element of the Company’s operations as it went on to diversify and expand its remit to the multi-faceted business it is now.
“By 1998, MMT had acquired a yard in the Saba Saba area, and established this as the base of operation,” Mr Duale’s son, Mr Mohamed Mohamood Mohamed picks up the story. “By this time, the Company had doubled in size to eight trucks, and so as the size, MMT’s reputation quickly grew into one of the most reliable and trustworthy companies in East Africa. Its reputation came from its drivers, who in an era of untrustworthiness, become symbols and the backbone of what companies even today, strive to be.”
Today, under the guidance of Mr Mohamed, the Company comprises more than 130 Scania trucks, with 70 percent of its fleet less than five-years-old. More than 200 employees now adorn the same red and white colours that grace its trucks; branding that is now recognised across the region as Tanzania’s best transporter.
Mr Duale today is still a vital component of the Company, while Mr Mohamed remains responsible for continued growth, development and the financial wellbeing of MMT across the domestic and international transportation business environment.
Such responsibilities embrace the implementation of continuous improvement strategies and ongoing innovations, whether they’re system or process-based.
“Also to assist in the overall Company’s development to achieve consistency, quality, marketing goals, training initiatives and employee development,” he adds. “Additional responsibilities include to maximise fleet and asset utilisation; to develop and execute business expansion and diversification plans; to establish ties with international offshore project companies; to capture market intelligence; and to deploy the strategic business plan of the Company with operational excellence, in order to meet customer expectations.”
TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICAL SOLUTIONS
Assisting Mr Mohamed is Associate Director, Yassin Mohamud who is similarly responsible for deploying the Company’s strategy in line with the retention and development of lucrative business.
Encapsulating areas of financial management, customer engagement, human resources, operations management and technical management, his influence from a continuous improvement perspective has been vast as Mr Mohamed emphasises: “It will be the endeavour of Mohamood Mohamed Transport to provide liquid transportation and logistical solutions to an identified group of customers using both rail and road modes of transport.
“The operating policy for MMT is to provide equipment that will enhance safety and capacity; to provide regular communications that will keep the customers informed of the status of their cargos; to provide professional standards at a price that adds value to the existing infrastructure; and to offer professional services to the transport of bulk liquids to a selected group of core customers with significant and stable regular volumes.”
Ultimately culminating in a turnkey provision of transportation and logistical solutions, the business is now able to be selective in regard to its clientele and business network, working only with those that fit within the MMT ethos and overriding principles of best practice.
“Our key priorities are to deliver on time, satisfy the client, garner respect and mutual trust, to respond and support in a timely fashion, to communicate with stakeholders effectively, and to problem solve collaboratively,” Mr Mohamed notes.
Yassin Mohamud’s final objective then revolves around the critical component of supply chain management, an area of work that bridges all that MMT is renowned for, and all that it needs to keep on top of in order to remain regionally ethical and successful.
Mr Mohamed details: “He needs to ensure total compliance with HR, legal, liability, health & safety, security and quality; applying each of these strands to specific international procedures.”
A CLIENT-BASED ORGANISATION
These aforementioned international nuances currently refer to the DRC, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda and locally in Tanzania as the ultimate evidence of how far THE influence OF Mohamood Mohamed Duale Transport can reach. With a recent focus on Rwanda especially, the business has proved itself as a locally sensitive, but internationally viable option in the market, and inevitably this has led to the attainment of numerous high-profile contracts across East and Central Africa.
Mr Mohamed believes that such success comes back to six core attributes, the first of which being the Company’s almost-40 years of experience.
“Our technical logistics knowledge is world-class, and our local knowledge of the industry is outstanding,” he states. “We are one of the most successful and experienced logistics providers in Tanzania. The second pillar is our good logistics practice which covers all good principles with logistics in mind.
“We are probably one of the few logistics companies in Tanzania to have a well-documented and practiced ethics and governance policies guideline handbook, and this is a critical success factor for customers’ operations.”
Capability and commitment is cited as the third reason for MMT’s market prevalence, taking into account a willingness to adapt in light of ever-changing IT, equipment and supply chain trends; as well as health & safety which Mr Mohamed lists as the fourth element.
“We are committed to safe handling and delivery of partners’ products. We serve companies that have very stringent needs of transportation safety requirements due to the nature of their goods. And that leads into the next attribute which is service excellence.
“We are a client-based organisation that ensures high-level responsive communication channels with dedicated personnel in charge.”
AN INDUSTRY LEADER
The final, and potentially most significant pillar is the Company’s people, who Mr Mohamed describes as a committed and experienced team of professionals.
He says: “Our employees contribute to the success of our organisation and that of our clients. Mohamood Mohamed Duale Transport ensures that all employees are not deprived of their basic human rights. Furthermore, our employees have an obligation to the business, our clients and themselves to observe high standards of integrity and fair dealing. Unlawful and unethical business practices undermine employee and client trust.”
In return for this ethical and dedicated service, the Company repays each individual with a promise of remuneration, welfare, health, safety, security and personal development courtesy of periodic training programmes and motivational initiatives.
A happy workforce inevitably then contributes to successful project delivery, but also to a more flexible work ethic amenable to new industry trends. One recent example, as Mr Mohamed pinpoints, has been the notion of tracking.
“Tracking is one of the main components of MMT,” he affirms. “Tracking enables us to view a vehicle’s last received position on the map. MMT’s whole fleet of trucks are being tracked using GPS and Navirec Feet Manager provides us with a real-time view of all assets’ current positions.
“The innovative software displays other useful information such as speed, driving directions, ignition status, driving violations and a trail of where the assets have been moving. Tracking through GPS enables MMT to efficiently and effectively manage the fleet.”
Remaining vigilant to technological advancements will be a primary portion of MMT’s strategy moving forward, as it continues to evolve into a supply chain management company of international repute. With 40 years of successful development already accounted for, and an ever-expanding geographic footprint to show for it, the road to even more success is now laid out in front of the Company.
Mr Mohamed concludes: “MMT distinguishes itself from competitors by taking time to study a client’s challenge and design a solution for the client with minimum losses to fuel. MMT accomplishes this target by creating a family atmosphere within the Company and instilling bonuses for good behaviour.
“We have a state-of-the-art consignment delivery system; a support service system and tracking system for the purpose of increasing supply chain visibility and efficiency; and a fleet of 140 Scania trucks.
“As a result, Mohamood Mohamed Duale Transport is an industry leader thanks to a unique combination of combining people and processes.”
