Interroll SA, partnering with company SICK Automation, for the largest e-tailer, Kalahari.com, recently commissioned a fully automated tote and parcel handling system for the picking, packing and sorting of goods.

The conveyor system manages the in-bound receiving of goods, the put-away and then onto order processing, to finally be automatically sorted to different destinations for the delivery process to follow. "By having such an integrated system, Kalahari.com has been able to meet the increasing demand with ease, build for the future capacity and have complete visibility through the entire processes", says Annes Schreuder, Supply Chain Director.

Hilton Campbell, Managing Director for Interroll SA comments, "Partnering with South Africa's largest eCommerce company and to be part of the build for the growing industry has been a fantastic experience. There were a number of parties involved to satisfy the complete integrated solution, from getting the go-ahead in November last year to having the system in complete operation in middle of August was a fantastic achievement by all parties."

Come to the eCommerce Africa Confex and visit Interroll's stand as they elaborate on conveyor automation in response to the courier express and parcel industries. You will also have the opportunity to receive specialist advice from teams of experts sent by payment solution providers, PayPal with FNB and PayFast, as well as logistics companies, eSolutions by DPD Laser and RAM, to name a few.

The eCommerce Africa Confex takes place on the 3-4 February 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. For more information visit http://www.ecommerce-africa.com or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Adding significant value to its already sterling reputation as a leading supplier of transformational business and individual solutions to the technology, consulting and financial services sectors, the Transformation Capital Group (TCG) has recently acquired Dracore Investments.Based in Honeydew, Gauteng, Dracore provides a diverse and dynamic set of market focused and business operational solutions to customers in the financial, data sciences, social media and communications spheres.

This provides its customers with the necessary resources and expertise to effectively manage their customer lifecycle at every level and maximise market penetration. The new management team of the enlarged TCG company is - Mike Eslick, Reg Bath, Richard Peasey, Chantelle Fraser and Francois Meyer. Dracore can now tap into TCG’s global resources and specialist skills to enable its visions to establish and develop all-encompassing business services and solutions for clients across Africa.

‘Most significantly, TCG shares our long term vision of developing sustainable business solutions by focusing on sustainability, socioeconomic empowerment, profitability and communal reinvestment,’ comments Chantelle Fraser. ‘I’m happy to report that we’ve already made significant progress and, with our combined market knowledge and innovative approach, we’re perfectly positioned to offer any enterprise, large or small, the very best solutions to optimise future opportunities and generate combined benefit to both TCG and its customer base.’

For more information, visit www.tcg-sa.co.za

Local digital marketing agency 'The Media Image' has been shortlisted for one organic search (SEO) and two paid search (PPC) awards by international body the 'UK Search Awards'. This international recognition comes at a time when many industry observers are operating under the assumption that the local digital search industry is several years behind their overseas counterparts.

In September 2013, search engine giant, Google, introduced an algorithm change called Hummingbird and began blocking keyword data from their tool 'Google Analytics'. This made accurate reporting a challenge for most search companies. In addition, and again in 2013, the search giant also launched its 'enhanced campaigns' pay-per-click (PPC) upgrade – making it a year of rigorous adaptation for digital marketers on a global scale.  

In the face of this year of change, many search and digital marketing companies folded. Many local agencies were already in the process of merging with larger, international bodies and others began merger processes after these updates occurred. On the whole, South African search marketing agencies are often considered to be several years behind their overseas equivalents and lacking in experience, but one of the primary reasons for this actually cited by insiders as being related to the lower internet penetration levels of the local market.  

Lower internet penetration, however, has not slowed all local agencies or businesses. The most successful search campaigns have capitalised on the growth of mobile marketing, display innovations, advanced attribution and measurement systems, as well as advanced marketing or strategically targeted PPC (pay per click) ads. The statistics show that globally, medium to large businesses have increased their online marketing budget for 2014 and will do so again in 2015 – and South African companies hoping to pull ahead of local competitors are doing the same.  

In the face of The Media Image's nominations for work on Gracewell healthcare, Virgin Active UK as well as international gaming operator Coral, co-founder and managing director Pete Brooke-Sumner had the following to say,

"TMI is very proud of the positive and continual impact we have made on the local search market. Beyond this we are particularly proud of our impact and recognition in the competitive UK market, where we have been short listed for three UK search awards, competing against some of Europe's top search agencies. We see this as testament to the fact that strong, experienced local agencies like TMI can compete and succeed in established foreign markets. We are excited to continue to innovate and drive awareness and growth in both the UK and SA markets”

MAMMOTH BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) NAMES LAUREN SHANTALL (PTY) LTD AS ITS PREFERRED COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY FOR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND BIG DATA CONFERENCE

Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd is proud to be managing the social media and communications for the two-day Mammoth BI Conference held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on November 17 – 18, 2014. The two-day conference and workshop will house some of the world’s foremost thought leaders in Business Intelligence, Big Data and Analytics.

The Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd stable of clients also include top local décor and lifestyle brands such Plascon, Inhouse Brand Architects, Willowlamp, Indigenus, GreenFin/MediFin and Probio. Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd provides an integrated communications offering, spanning social, digital and traditional marketing and perception management, also focusing on design and environmental clients.

Head of Business Intelligence at Saratoga, Mammoth BI Founder and Curator and self-proclaimed alchemist at TEDx Cape Town, Jason Haddock said, ‘The focus for the Mammoth BI Conference is to build a strong BI community in South Africa, dispel myths around conventional ideas on Big Data, create, and harvest a local community understanding in Business Intelligence’.

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY: Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd

Aquila Private Game Reserve has been honoured to be awarded the prestigious Imvelo Economic Large Impact award.

The Lilizela Imvelo Awards recognise and celebrate tourism and hospitality businesses that practice exemplary responsible, sustainable and fair business practices.

Imvelo means ‘nature’ in South Africa’s Nguni languages. The Award identifies and rewards tourism and hospitality businesses that make measurable, persistent contributions to responsible, sustainable and fair tourism, setting an example to other tourism business both in South Africa and around the world.  

Aquila Private Game Reserve focuses most of its social upliftment, job creation, skills development, sustainable charity programmes and empowerment efforts in the previously “doomed” and forgotten town of Touws River which is situated 12kms from Aquila, where Aquila’s workforce resides.  

The town was built around a railway servicing plant that closed down in the 1980s, leaving 97% unemployment amongst the approximately 12 000 previously disadvantaged residents.  

14 years ago, Searl Derman (the owner and founder of Aquila) noticed starving residents cutting rotten, maggot infested meat from a 3 week old horse carcass, and he made it his personal goal to resurrect the town. At that stage, the biggest seller in the local supermarket was “pets mince”, and it was not uncommon to see mothers holding their babies, standing outside their shacks to catch the first rays of sunlight, trying to stay warm. Aquila had to get involved!  

We are proud to say that over the past 14 years, Aquila has paid an exceptional amount in salaries, which has empowered the locals and created flourishing primary, secondary and tertiary small businesses. Aquila is the largest employer in the area with approximately 280 permanent staff members. Over 400 staff (including temporary staff) have been on our monthly payroll. As one person feeds approximately 9 people in the community, approximately 30% of Touws River is directly dependant on Aquila’s salaries. The Xenephobic-causing influx of African Nationals to De Doorns has resulted in the potential loss of + 600 temporary grape picking jobs and the final completion of the 44MW solar plant will leave more families hungry and cold. Fortunately Aquila has broken ground building an additional hotel and spa, which should lessen the critical situation for the community.

We believe that we have resurrected the town of Touws River, and although it still faces challenges, we hope that Aquila’s and Touws River’s successes will jointly grow from strength to strength.

Set in the pristine Southern Karoo Highlands against a backdrop of dramatic mountains, the Aquila Private Game Reserve offers an exciting taste of real Africa just two short hours from Cape Town by road. 

Aquila is home to an enormous variety of game, including the Big 5 -- elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard -- giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, many different antelope, baboons, jackal, bat-eared foxes, hippos and crocodiles. And many migratory birds stop en route at Aquila's own wetland.  Two- to three-hour game drives are a perfect way to see the animals (in four-wheel-drive vehicles, quad bikes or on horseback).

Contact: Michelle Marais, Social Media and Marketing Manager for Aquila Private Game Reserve, on 076 148 4202

Western Cape Entrepreneurs launch Waist change Initiative “10 cm to better health”  

Neels Stander and Hansie Louw launched their Western Cape “10 cm to better health” in Cape Town on Wednesday 1 October 1014.

The two entrepreneurs challenge one million people from Western Cape to change their Waist to height ratio. Just start with 10 cm first, is what they say.

Riaan Moll is the first competitor who has signed up for this challenge. He has a waistline of 114 cm and his height is 187 cm. His waist to height ratio is almost 61%. He will attempt to reduce his waist by 13 cm in the days to 29 October.  If he is successful in his effort the ratio will be 54% which is still not the desired 50% or below, but he would have made a huge change.

What prompted Stander and Louw to launch this project? Louw has been working (and living for a period of 18 months) in Khayelitsha for a period of about 8 years already. He said, ”I  have met people with many different health problems, ranging from inability to walk with ease to  high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems. They all could drastically improve their quality of life by losing (in most cases) or gaining a few centimeters around the waist. In Khayelitsha you could easily talk to someone about losing some fat around the belly as opposed to talking about weight loss. We challenge everybody in the Western Cape to calculate their waist to height ratio (Wthr) and make an effort to adjust it by 10 cm or more where required.”

Stander is the owner of Cape Town Ozone Health at Tygervalley. He sees people on a regular basis coming for ozone treatment to improve their health and quality of life. Many of the customers here are overwaist. Stander recommends, “Measure your waist relative to height. If this measurement is over 50% you need to make adjustments.  Good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle with exercise is what will assist you to achieve this”.

South Africa was indicated as number three on the obesity list according to research by the WHO based on BMI (body mass index).  According to further research an amount of 72% of people from Cape Town is overweight.  Although BMI  is a measure to use, Dr Margaret Ashwell, OBE, Phd started to use the measurement of waist to height as a better indicator of health risks. She devised the Ashwell® Shape Chart, which shows how waist-to-height ratio (a proxy for abdominal obesity) can predict health risk. According to the chart that she developed we could plot an individual.

Louw said, “It is easier to motivate and teach a person how to reduce the waist line than it is to lose weight in the first instance. That is why we are launching the ‘10 cm to better health campaign’. Often when you exercise and eat more protein your weight will go up although your waist may in fact reduce. If we focus on the scale, we will not appreciate the significant change. We want to motivate 1 million people in the Western Cape to adjust their waist by 10 cm. Plot yourself on the graph. If you need to reduce, do that. If you need to increase your measurement change your habits to do that.”

 Riaan Moll is the first contestant for his project. Members of the public is welcome to register for this challenge. Stander and Louw have a friendly bet to see if their first participant will reach his goal to lose 13 cm in 28 days

Contact:

Hansie Louw 021 946 3717 / 082 776 5462 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Neels Stander 021 914 6109 / 083 667 3977 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Cape Town Ozone Health,
Shop 145,
Tygervalley,
Banking Mall.

Cape Town, South Africa – Every year, South African Airways (SAA) convenes a panel of leading winemakers and sommeliers to choose the wines served on-board its aircraft in the coming 12 months. This year, the process began on 25 August and culminated in a media and industry briefing on 27 August at the Nederburg Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.

At the briefing, the panel of 12 judges reported back on the more than 800 wines they have tasted over the past two days, and answered questions.

“The annual wine selection is one of SAA’s most hallowed traditions and one that we—and the industry—take seriously. SAA is a showcase for South Africa on many fronts, not least of them our excellent local wines,” says Bongi Sodladla, SAA Senior Food & Beverage Manager and Sommelier, who leads the process. “The judges’ report-back acts as a ‘state of the wine nation’, and provides an opportunity to give an assessment of where our wine industry is at present.”

The judges’ selection of approximately 60 wines will be announced at an awards ceremony on 1 November 2014.

Aside from Sodladla herself, this year’s panel included eight women and four men—a gender division that reflects the fact that the selection process traditionally takes place in August, women’s month. This year, Sodladla secured a mix of wine-makers and sommeliers to gain the perfect balance between technical expertise and the pairing of food and wine.

Sodladla has also put together a panel with strong African roots, complemented by international expertise from the husband-and-wife team of John and Petronella Salvi, who are based in France. Petronella Salvi, however, was born in South Africa.

“All the judges are experts in the field and most have worked with us before. Experience is important because a wine’s characteristics are exaggerated at high altitudes, something that has to be part of the selection process,” Sodladla notes. “Pairing the right wines with the right food is an integral part of the travel experience on SAA.”

The logistical process of the tasting is coordinated by Bennie Howard, well-known Cape Wine Master. What is clear is that a flight ticket with SAA also includes a selection of the best vintages the Cape Winelands have to offer. 

About SAA

South African Airways is a Star Alliance member that offers flights to 38 destinations worldwide. Domestically, SAA operates 544 flights a week between Johannesburg – Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. Regionally SAA offers 24 destinations across the African continent and its international network creates links to all major continents from South Africa through 10 direct routes. In the regional category, SAA has received the Skytrax ‘Best Airline in Africa’ Award for 11 consecutive years.   

[SEPTEMBER 2014, Cape Town] Recent news reports revealed that according to Minister of Basic Education, Ms. Angie Motshekga’s response to parliamentary questions, over half a million learners are registered to write the Grade 12 final exams across South Africa this year.  

Whilst many look at this statistic with encouragement that such a large number of learners are seeing it through to Grade 12, other experts and opinion leaders are a little bit concerned because this is an indication of the volume of learners that will need to enter the job market in the coming year.  

The most recent youth unemployment statistics recorded South Africa’s youth unemployment at a staggering high of 36%. At the opening of the Youth Employment Conference in September, Deputy President, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned in a video-taped message that government is looking at employment tax incentives to encourage employers to employ first time employees - in other words school leavers and university graduates. This is one of the ways that government is looking at addressing the youth unemployment issue.  

The vision of SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation which was formed in 2011 is to cultivate and promote the entrepreneurial spirit in all South African teenagers, whilst still at school. One of the richest teens in the world with a net worth of over U$30 million is 18 year old Nick D'Aloisio a self-made millionaire. He invented an app and sold it to Yahoo, a move which catapulted him into business. There are others like Nick across the world who with their enquiring minds have the ability to come up with innovative ideas that could be life-changing for individuals and business alike.  

Under the leadership of Lydia Zingoni, the SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation has been running a number of workshops, seminars and competitions with high schoolers to encourage entrepreneurial thinking and nurture their ideas. The newest initiative that will launch on 28 October 2014 at Bishops Diocesan College in Rondebosch is the launch of the High School Entrepreneur Societies. The underpinning body for all these societies will be the Association of South African High School Entrepreneur Societies, a Teen Entrepreneur Foundation initiative. The vision is to grow entrepreneurs and business leaders at all high schools in South Africa through planting entrepreneur clubs and societies in each high school in the country.  

There are 27 000 high schools across South Africa.  If each high school across the country embraces this vision, it means that 27 000 entrepreneurial hotspots can be formed across the country. Each entrepreneurial society will be encouraged to come up with business concepts that improve their communities. As such, the ripple effect is that through encouraging entrepreneurial teens to explore their ideas at a young age, a generation of employers will graduate from school and each community around the school will benefit from the impact of the business activities of these societies.    

“Whilst this is a lofty vision, it is something we feel is desperately needed and can be achieved,” said Lydia Zingoni, Founder & Director of The SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation.  “The staggering youth unemployment statistics are a stark reminder that we need to implement programmes that will make youth employable when they leave school and possibly even make them employers from a young age already,” she continued.  

The launch event is open to parents, teachers, business & political leaders and learners who are interested to join forces with SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation and play an active part in supporting South African youth to playing an active role in the economy. There is no cost to attend but bookings are essential as space is limited.   For more information about the launch or to book your seat please contact Nadia Snyders on 021 447 6183 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sandton,South Africa,1 October 2014-Ximexmall Pty Ltd has launched a flagship onlinemega store(ximexmall.com) with thousands of products to choose from.The store is targeting consumers in Africa and Mid East.

In its efforts to bring online shopping convenience to Africa and MidEast,Ximexmall developed a world class online mega store and assembled a team of skilled and dedicated e-commerce professionals.Smart Chireru(33),the youthful founder,visionary and business strategist has beentrusted with the CEOs seat.The team is confident that he has what ittakes to drive this company confidently and successfully into thefuture.Hillary Vella comes in as the Chief Operating Officer.

The online store does not sell any imitation products and products available ranges from cosmetics,fragrances,fashion,wines,cigars,computers,smartphones,household appliances and more.Ximexmall.com is wholly owned by Ximexmall Pty Ltd,a South African online shopping and retail company.The company has an active interestin Africa and Mid East and sources all its products from Europe and USA

www.ximexmall.com

Darren August takes us through a few of the experiences and relationships with his own teachers, growing up, which changed his life. He retells the stories of others too, and will surely awaken your school memories. As an experienced motivator, the book leaves not only teachers encouraged to inspire others, but everyone else will feel inspired to reach their potential and live their calling too. 

This book offers a few giggles as we see things from the perspective of a child, but is mostly introspective of the role we play in the way in which children perceive themselves. Teachers and parents will find it particularly motivating – with practical ways you could change young lives, for good. 

This book is a great resource. It’s a celebration of teachers, as instrumental parts of society – it will definitely have you thinking of the teachers that have impacted your life. Scheduled for release in October 2014 – this book is set to motivate every South African reader to once again restore the dignity of ‘The Noblest Profession”. 

About the Author 

Darren August is the Founder and CEO of Dazz Consulting – A dynamic training organisation committed to seeing people thrive and succeed.He is a Corporate Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Life Coach, Entrepreneur, Radio Host & former Lecturer.He is passionate about Life; People and Education and together with his wife – Arlene, they believe in maximizing every opportunity to impact the lives of others. 

To order, for interview requests and other queries, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.