Modeling and Analyzing Logistical Processes in Cameroon from Douala Seaport to the Hinterland

INTRODUCTIONMany countries in sub-Saharan Africa experience severe poverty and hunger and, as a result, the life expectancy of the inhabitants is low in comparison with those in industrialised countries. With a view to statistics from the World Health Organisation, health, nutrition, development, and other factors are at levels considerably lower than in the more industrialised countries (WHO, 2014). Bottlenecks in the logistical processes are among the reasons for the situation (Arvis et al., 2014). Many challenges have to be addressed to overcome the existing situation; that is, the performance of logistical processes must be enhanced so that the supply of food and medicines flows smoother. In addition, the infrastructural conditions, educational level, and political circumstances have to be taken into account.This paper addresses the opportunities and challenges of logistics in sub-Saharan Africa with a special reference to the logistical processes and bottlenecks at Douala seaport in Cameroon to the hinterland in Cameroon and neighbouring countries such as Chad and the Central African Republic. The Douala seaport in Cameroon is representative of other African seaports, such as the Dar Es Salaam seaport in Tanzania. Both seaports are important for the respective country, but also for people and countries in the hinterland, and problems such as long delivery times and high logistics costs, also occur in both seaports. The findings of this paper are based on scientific literature sources and statistical analysis, as well as on more practical oriented sources from on-location inspections and expert-interviews in sub-Saharan Africa, with special reference to Cameroon.In this paper logistical processes and bottlenecks from the seaport in Douala to the hinterland in Cameroon will be highlighted by concentrating on one representative logistics chain from the seaport to a recipient in one of Cameroon's neighbouring countries. A standard for business process modelling "Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN)" will be applied to develop the model and to illustrate the current logistical processes and chains employed.Recommendations will be made to improve the logistics chain and to provide individuals in sub-Saharan Africa with an effective supply of food, medicines, and other goods. Aims and goals which are familiar to logistics experts - such as logistics costs and logistics service - are applied to evaluate the status quo and to identify improvements for this sub-Saharan African country.CHALLENGES FOR CAMEROON AS A SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRYWangari Maathai refers to farming in Africa and typical unsustainable processes as follows: "Whether it is in the middle of a big city like Yaounde, Johannesburg, Dar Es Salaam, or Nairobi, or in the countryside, the story is the same: slash and burn, plant, harvest once or twice, and move on to new land to repeat the same unsustainable process" (Maathai, 2010:12). This statement can be transferred to other challenges and problems with view to sub-Saharan Africa, such as leadership, governance, national identities, land ownership, development, dependency, corruption, and also the situation of infrastructure, education and available technologies - "they are not uncommon in many other cities and towns throughout the vast African continent" (Maathai, 2010:12).Considering this example and the special challenges of sub-Saharan Africa in mind, the situation of bottlenecks and lack of efficient logistical processes can be compared and widely transferred from one country - in this case Cameroon - to several other countries. The view of Wangari Maathai on Sub-Saharan Africa is a widely-held view on the macro-level, and it should be considered when dealing with logistics and logistical processes in Africa.Several statistics illustrate the situation in these sub-Saharan countries and the challenges that their people face. The World Health Statistics 2014 published by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2014) provides statistics on health, nutrition, and other central information with regard to the supply of food, medicines, and other goods for development. …