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21st – 22nd October 2026

07:30am – 16:00pm

Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg

Event Schedule and Agenda

08:00am – 08:30am
Registration

Arrival & registration: refreshments available throughout. Delegates are welcome to step out at any time.

08:30am – 08:45am
Opening

Welcome to the 4th Annual Road Freight SME Summit 2026

A room of people running real fleets under real pressure — every session today answers: how does this solve a problem you faced last month?

  • Why 2026 demands a different approach: cashflow pressure and the widening gap between SMEs with direct contracts and those still broker-dependent
  • How the day builds: economics → capital access → direct load pipelines → market qualification → operations → people → legacy
  • Day 2 goes deeper: masterclasses and extended working sessions on each topic

MC: Summit host / facilitator

08:45am – 09:25am
Economic Analysis

Pain point: I am fully loaded and still running out of money at month end — and I cannot work out exactly why.

Transport Economics 2026: What the Macro Environment Is Doing to Your Fleet, Your Rates & Your Working Capital

Drawing on NAAMSA’s economic intelligence, vehicle sales data and trade policy analysis — translated into what 2026’s conditions mean for a South African road freight SME.

  • SA’s macroeconomic landscape in 2026: Inflation, interest rates, rand stability and GDP growth — direct operational impact from NAAMSA’s monthly economic intelligence
  • Commercial vehicle market in 2026: NAAMSA vehicle sales data, value-segment truck shift and the growing presence of Chinese commercial vehicle brands — what this means for fleet strategy and financing decisions.
  • Global trade disruption & AfCFTA: US tariffs, AGOA uncertainty and AfCFTA’s $3.4 trillion market across 44 countries — direct cross-border revenue opportunity for road freight SMEs who are ready.
  • Fuel, input costs & the rand: Currency depreciation, imported component costs and administered fuel levies — practical benchmarks from NAAMSA’s sector cost tracking.
  • SONA 2026 & industrial policy: Port and rail reform, energy reliability and manufacturing protection — what these commitments mean for freight volumes and road infrastructure conditions.
  • Live CPK build: Using the economic context to construct a cost-per-kilometre model and rate floor so delegates know their minimum viable rate today.

09:25am – 10:05am
Unlocking Capital in a High-Risk Industry

Pain point: Funders classify road freight as high-risk and my application keeps getting declined or priced out of reach. I have the contracts and the track record but I cannot access capital at the scale my business needs.

Unlocking Capital in a High-Risk Industry: How Established Transport SMEs Break Through the Funding Ceiling

Road freight is formally classified as a high-risk lending category by most SA banks — a technical deep-dive into how experienced operators with proven revenue reframe, repackage and access capital that is structurally denied to their sector.

Why road freight is high-risk to funders: asset depreciation curves on commercial vehicles, high theft and accident exposure, debtor concentration, thin operating margins, seasonal revenue volatility and a high proportion of unaudited SME financials. Understanding the funder’s model is the first step to defeating it.

  • The credit committee view of a transport SME: How a bank’s risk model scores your application — asset-to-liability ratio on depreciating fleet, debtor concentration thresholds, cash flow coverage ratios, management depth and what triggers an automatic decline before a human reads your file.
  • Reframing your application: How to present your fleet as a revenue-generating asset book rather than a depreciating liability — the narrative and financial packaging that shifts your risk profile.
  • Contracted revenue as credit collateral: How a signed long-term supply agreement changes your risk classification — which funders lend against contracted future revenue and at what advance rates.
  • Invoice discounting as a structural working capital facility: How operators with a 12–24 month debtor book use factoring as a rolling credit line at scale — active SA providers: Merchant Factors, Liqfin, Merchant West, Bridgement.
  • DFI funding at operating scale: SEFA, IDC and NEF programmes for established operators expanding fleet — qualifying revenue thresholds, loan structures and what your application must contain to pass credit.
  • Sale & leaseback as a capital strategy: Using equity in paid-up trucks as a deliberate capital release mechanism — when to do it, cost and which SA funders do transport asset leaseback.
  • The banking relationship strategy: Quarterly financial submissions and track record documentation that moves you from transactional to relationship client with access to structured credit facilities.
  • Live Q&A with a funder active in the SA transport sector — technical questions, direct answers.

WC: Transport sector credit specialist + active SA transport funder / DFI representative

Take-home: High-risk sector funding application framework & credit committee presentation guide.

10:05am – 10:45am
Beyond the Broker

Pain point: Brokers are taking 20–30% of my rate. I have no direct shipper relationships and I do not know how to build them.

Beyond the Broker: Building Direct Load Pipelines, Shipper Relationships & Rate Control

Broker dependency is the silent margin killer that compounds every cashflow problem you already have — this is the practical toolkit to build direct load access and recover that margin in 2026.

  • Quantifying your broker cost: Calculating the exact rand value of broker margin surrendered over 12 months and what that capital would have done for cashflow and working capital.
  • Digital freight exchanges: Frieghtcom, LoadMe, Picup — live walkthrough of registration, bidding and building a track record that attracts direct repeat clients.
  • SME load-sharing: Partnering with 2–3 other operators to present combined capacity — structure, agreements and revenue split.
  • Direct shipper prospecting: Identifying the procurement contact, the approach that gets a meeting and how to position your fleet as a reliability and cost solution.
  • Preferred carrier status: Performance metrics, rate structures, SLA expectations and contract terms that protect your margin on a shipper’s panel.
  • Spot vs contract mix strategy: The right portfolio balance for a 3–15 truck fleet — protecting base cashflow while retaining spot upside.

PL: Owner-operators who broke broker dependency + freight platform representative

Take-home: High-risk sector funding application framework & credit committee presentation guide.

10:45am – 11:25am
Business Architecture for Scale

Pain point: My business is profitable but I cannot get it to the next level. Funders, large clients and my own operations are hitting limits that are structural — built into how the business was originally set up.

Business Architecture for Scalability: How to Restructure an Established Transport SME for the Capital, Contracts & Operational Complexity of the Next Growth Phase

This is about the structural constraints that stop an already-running transport business from scaling — and how to rebuild the architecture while the trucks are still moving.

  • Succession and valuation planning: Fleet documentation, client contracts, key-man risk reduction and how structural decisions today affect your business valuation in five years.
  • The structural ceiling diagnosis: Identifying exactly which element is the binding constraint — entity type, financial separation, management depth, debtor concentration, insurance structure or governance — and priority sequencing what to fix first.
  • Operating entity vs holding company structure: When it makes sense to separate your fleet assets from your operating entity — asset protection, fleet financing advantages and tax efficiency for a 5–20 truck operation.
  • Management accounts that work for a growing fleet: Revenue per truck, cost per truck, route profitability and driver cost variance at the 5, 10 and 20 truck level — building this reporting without a full-time financial manager.
  • Governance structures that satisfy corporate and DFI requirements: Board resolutions, shareholder agreements and governance frameworks increasingly required before a large client or funder will proceed.
  • B-BBEE optimisation for established operators: Moving your level strategically — which scorecard elements are most accessible and what level movement is worth targeting for the contracts you are chasing.

BS: Transport sector commercial attorney + established SME growth strategist

Take-home: Business architecture self-assessment & structural priority action plan.

11:25am – 12:05pm
Breakdown Management

Pain point: A breakdown costs me a day’s revenue, a penalty and sometimes a client. I cannot afford a workshop team but I also cannot afford the downtime.

Keeping Rolling: Remote Diagnostics, OBD Tools & Preventive Maintenance Systems for SMEs Without an In-House Workshop

Every unplanned breakdown destroys working capital you cannot replace — this is the technical toolkit to reduce breakdowns, respond faster and manage fleet health without a full workshop on payroll.

  • Quantifying your breakdown cost: Downtime × daily rate + penalty + emergency repair + tow — the true number calculated live in the room.
  • OBD fault code reading: Using a basic scanner (R500–R2 000) to self-diagnose — stop immediately vs limp codes and how to relay fault data accurately to a remote technician.
  • Remote mechanic platforms: TruckHelp SA, FleetAssist, MAN TelematicsPro, Volvo Uptime, Mercedes-Benz Uptime — cost structures and real response times.
  • WhatsApp mechanic networks: Finding qualified heavy vehicle technicians for paid remote guidance — rates and how to describe a fault accurately.
  • 80/20 preventive maintenance schedule: Wheel bearing play, brake adjustment, air filter, coolant, tyre pressure and depth — the specific weekly checks that prevent most roadside failures.
  • Second-hand parts sourcing: Quality-assured drivetrain and brake suppliers and how to avoid counterfeit components.

MK: Heavy vehicle master mechanic + fleet telematics specialist

Take-home: Breakdown response checklist, OBD fault code guide & vetted remote support directory.

12:05pm – 12:45pm
People are Your Fleet

Pain point: I cannot win bigger contracts or pass vendor audits because everything runs through me. If I am off, the business stops.

People Are Your Fleet: Building the Qualified Team That Makes Bigger Contracts, Better Finance & Real Scale Possible

Funders and corporate clients assess who runs your business — not just what trucks you have. Build the team structure that makes your business investable and contractable.

  • The owner-operator bottleneck: Why a business running through one person cannot pass a corporate audit, satisfy a funder or qualify for a retail or oil & gas vendor panel — and the structural changes that fix it.
  • Three roles every growing SME needs: Fleet controller, compliance officer and dispatcher — 2026 salary benchmarks and how to bring them in before you think you can afford them.
  • Recruiting qualified staff: TruckJobz, PNet Transport, Siyaya Skills Institute — screening for RTMS, PDP and compliance knowledge.
  • TETA learnerships & SETA grants: Application process, grant amounts and how to build your team at minimal out-of-pocket cost.
  • Driver retention: Schedule predictability, maintenance quality and career progression — what best-practice SME operators do differently to keep experienced PDP holders.
  • The ownership shift: Operator → Manager → Owner — the first three specific delegation decisions to make this week.

LD: Leadership facilitator specialising in logistics SMEs

Take-home: Team structure template for a 3–15 truck fleet & TETA grant application checklist.

12:45pm – 13:25pm
Closing Keynote

20 Years of TFN: The Entrepreneurial Journey, the Losses & the Lessons

The story they don’t put in the brochure — building a transport business over two decades, told without a filter by the founder who lived every crisis, every cashflow near-miss and every hard decision.

  • Where it started: the founding gap, the risk taken with very little and what the early years actually looked like.
  • Open floor Q&A: Ask anything, challenge anything — your time with someone who has been exactly where you are.
  • The near-deaths: cashflow crises, wrong contracts, clients who didn’t pay and what survival required each time.
  • Working capital as the recurring battle: the decisions that pulled TFN through and the ones that almost ended it.
  • Broker dependency, direct contracts and market access: how TFN navigated the same journey this room is on.
  • Twenty years of SA’s economic cycles: what changes, what never does and what you learn to stop waiting for.
  • The pivot moments, the people decisions and what the founder would tell their day-one self.

TF: Founder, TFN — in conversation with the facilitator

Take-home: Not a presentation. A conversation. Raw, honest and built entirely for this room.

13:25pm – 13:30pm
Close & 90 Day Challenge

One specific, dated action written down before leaving. Networking & lunch from 13:30.

08:00am – 08:30am
Registration

Arrival & registration: refreshments available throughout. Delegates are welcome to step out at any time.

08:30am – 08:45am
Opening

Day 2 Welcome: The Ceiling Every Established Operator Hits

You have the trucks, the clients and the experience. What is stopping you from scaling is not effort — it is structure, capital access and the constraints that are invisible until they stop you cold.

  • The four constraints that cap every established transport SME at a certain size — and why most operators mistake symptoms for the actual problem.
  • How Day 2 connects: retail cross-border access → capital structuring → cost discipline → compliance leverage → OEM intelligence.
  • Working sessions: bring your numbers, your contracts and your questions.

MC: Summit host / facilitator

08:45am – 09:25am
Retail & Cross-Border Supply Chains

Pain point: I want to work directly with retailers — including those moving goods across borders — but I do not know how their procurement works or what cross-border retail freight requires of me.

Doing Business with Retail Including Cross-Border Retail Supply Chains: Vendor Qualification, Contract Management & Turning a Supply Agreement into a Working Capital Instrument

Retailers like Massmart, Shoprite and Pick n Pay operate active SADC distribution networks — their cross-border lanes are live opportunities for qualified SME transporters who understand both domestic and cross-border requirements.

  • How retail transport procurement works: Massmart, Shoprite Checkers, Pick n Pay — vendor registration, scoring criteria, approval process and realistic timelines from application to first domestic and cross-border load.
  • Retail cross-border distribution networks: How major retailers supply stores in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Botswana — volumes, commodity types, corridor requirements and how SMEs qualify for cross-border retail lanes.
  • Minimum compliance thresholds: B-BBEE, OTIF benchmarks, fleet age, telematics, insurance, CBRTA permits and SADC document competency — actual thresholds, not approximations.
  • Contract mechanics — what to read before you sign: Rate escalation, fuel surcharge, ZAR/USD cross-border rate structures, 30–45 day payment terms and their cashflow impact, penalty clauses — what to negotiate and what is non-negotiable.
  • Cross-border retail document chain: CMR consignment note, SADC certificate of origin, customs declaration, commercial invoice — who prepares each and common delay points at Beit Bridge, Lebombo and Kazungula.
  • Using a retail contract to unlock capital: How a confirmed multi-year retail supply agreement becomes collateral for invoice factoring and PO finance.
  • The five most common SME disqualifiers on retail vendor panels — and how to resolve each before applying.

RT: Retail logistics specialist with cross-border supply chain experience

Take-home: Retail vendor readiness checklist covering domestic & cross-border compliance requirements.

09:25am – 10:05am
Oil & Gas Supplier Development

Pain point: I know oil and gas pays premium rates and offers long-term contracts. I do not know how to qualify, who to contact or what compliance they actually require.

Supplier Development in Oil & Gas: The Technical Qualification Path to Premium Contracts, HSE Compliance & Long-Term Revenue

Oil and gas clients pay 30–50% above domestic freight rates and offer multi-year contracts — the strongest working capital foundation an SME transporter can build.

  • How procurement works at Sasol, TotalEnergies & Engen: Vendor portals, scoring methodology, who the transport procurement contacts are and realistic timeline from first contact to first load.
  • Non-negotiable HSE requirements: ISO 45001 / ISO 9001, SHEQ management systems, driver medicals, ADR certification (SANS 10232), emergency response plans — what each requires, compliance cost and qualification timeline.
  • Dangerous goods premium: ADR placarding, documentation, driver training — exact cost to qualify and the rate uplift once your fleet carries DG loads.
  • Case snapshot: an SME transporter who qualified for a Sasol preferred vendor panel — exact timeline, compliance cost and year-one revenue impact.
  • The vendor registration process step by step: Sasol, TotalEnergies and Engen — document requirements, portal walkthrough, approval timelines and common rejection reasons.
  • B-BBEE in oil & gas procurement: Which level opens which doors and how to use your score strategically in tender submissions.
  • Using an oil & gas contract to unlock capital: How a signed SLA becomes collateral — which specialist SA funders lend against oil & gas transport revenue and at what advance rates.

OG: Oil & gas procurement specialist + HSE compliance practitioner

Take-home: Vendor registration checklist & HSE compliance gap assessment for Sasol, TotalEnergies & Engen.

10:05am – 10:45am
Purchase Order Finance at Scale

Pain point: I have multiple confirmed orders running simultaneously but my working capital is locked in one cycle waiting for payment. I cannot fund the next loads without the cash from the last ones clearing.

Purchase Order Finance as a Scaling Tool: Structuring Multi-Load PO Facilities, Stacking Instruments & Building a Working Capital Cycle That Grows With Your Fleet

For an established operator running multiple trucks simultaneously, PO finance is not a one-off rescue tool — it is a structural facility embedded in your operating model.

  • Worked case: a 10-truck operator restructures their working capital cycle using a combined PO and factoring facility — before and after cashflow position and net fleet utilisation improvement.
  • Multi-load PO facilities vs single-trip funding: Moving from transactional PO funding to a revolving facility covering multiple simultaneous loads — what funders require and how your debtor book qualifies it.
  • Advance rate negotiation for established operators: Why operators with a proven 12–24 month track record can negotiate above the standard 70–80% advance rate and what documentation supports a higher advance.
  • Stacking instruments — PO finance plus factoring: Using PO finance to fund the load and invoice discounting to accelerate payment — building a cycle where cash is never fully tied up in one stage.
  • Client concentration risk in PO funding: Managing the funder’s exposure when 60–70% of your PO book comes from one or two clients — mitigation strategies and which funders are comfortable with transport sector concentration.
  • Cross-border PO finance: Funding USD-denominated loads against ZAR operating costs — currency structuring and which SA funders have cross-border transport experience.

PO: PO finance specialist with active multi-vehicle transport sector portfolio

Take-home: Multi-load PO facility structuring guide & working capital cycle model.

10:45am – 11:25am
CPK at Operating Scale

Pain point: I know my overall revenue and overall costs but I cannot tell you which specific routes, trucks and contracts are making money and which are quietly destroying it.

CPK at Operating Scale: Route Profitability Analysis, Contract Margin Auditing & Building the Cost Intelligence to Make Hard Decisions About Your Fleet

For established operators who need to move from fleet-level cost awareness to route-level and contract-level margin intelligence — the precision that turns a good operator into a profitable one.

  • The empty km problem: Calculating what your return load strategy is costing you and how to price empty kilometres into your rate.
  • Route-level CPK vs fleet-level CPK: Why a single fleet average is dangerous — how the same truck on two different routes can show a 40% margin difference and how to build route-specific cost models.
  • The hidden cost escalation audit: Tyre cost per km by axle position, fuel consumption deviation by driver, maintenance cost variance, financing cost on off-book assets and insurance premium drift — calculating the rand value of each.
  • Contract margin audit: Applying route-specific CPK to every active contract — identifying which are profitable, marginal and which you are running at a loss because the rate was set 18 months ago.
  • Renegotiation strategy: How to approach a shipper about a rate adjustment with a CPK model as evidence — data to present, narrative to use and how to protect the relationship.
  • Escalation clause engineering: Building fuel cost and CPI escalation mechanisms into new contracts — the exact formula structures that work in SA transport contracts.

EC: Transport cost modelling specialist / logistics financial analyst

Take-home: Route profitability analysis template & contract margin audit tool.

11:25am – 12:05pm
Driver Behaviour at Scale

Pain point: I have enough drivers that I can no longer directly supervise all of them. My fuel variance is widening, incident frequency is rising and my insurance renewal is becoming a problem. I need systems, not supervision.

Driver Behaviour at Scale: Building a Measurement, Coaching & Accountability System That Runs Without the Owner in Every Cab

When you operate 5 or more trucks, driver behaviour stops being a management problem and becomes a systems problem — institutionalise control through data, not proximity.

  • Fatigue management as director liability management: Hours-of-service violations create personal director liability under the NRTA — what a defensible fatigue management policy looks like enforced through scheduling and telematics.
  • The scale economics of driver behaviour: What a 10% improvement in driver behaviour scores does to fuel cost, tyre consumption and incident frequency on a 5, 10 and 15 truck fleet — the annual rand value that makes the investment obvious.
  • Building a driver scoring system that runs without you: Fleet-wide benchmarks, automated telematics scoring and a performance review process that runs through your dispatcher without owner involvement.
  • Driver behaviour & insurance premium management: Using telematics scoring data actively in annual insurance negotiations — what premium reductions experienced operators are achieving.
  • Driver behaviour as a corporate client SLA requirement: How retail and oil & gas clients require driver behaviour score thresholds — how to use your score as a competitive differentiator in tenders.
  • PDP compliance at scale: Managing driver licence, PDP, medical and training renewal across 5+ drivers — systems that protect you from compliance failure mid-contract.

DB: Fleet telematics specialist + driver behaviour systems practitioner

Take-home: Driver behaviour system blueprint, scoring framework & insurance negotiation guide.

12:05pm – 12:45pm
Bargaining Council Mastery

Pain point: My bargaining council levies have become a significant operating cost. I’m managing multiple driver classifications, handling disputes and trying to contain wage cost escalation — while larger competitors seem to navigate this more effectively.

Bargaining Council Mastery for Established SMEs: Levy Optimisation, Dispute Management, Wage Cost Control & Using Exemptions Strategically

For an operator running 5+ drivers, the bargaining council is not a compliance checkbox — it is an ongoing cost management and risk management challenge.

  • Using council benefits as a retention tool: How death, disability and sick pay benefits communicated actively to drivers reduce turnover cost in a market where experienced PDP holders are scarce.
  • Levy optimisation for multi-driver fleets: Auditing your levy submissions for over-payment — common classification errors that inflate costs and how to correct historical over-payments.
  • Managing multiple driver classifications: Rate card and levy implications of running long-distance, short-haul, tanker and abnormal load drivers simultaneously — how to classify correctly.
  • Exemption applications at operating scale: Grounds and process for partial and full exemptions — which established operators qualify and how to restructure your wage cost base legally.
  • Dispute resolution without escalation: Handling a grievance at the conciliation stage before it reaches arbitration — how to build a defensible paper trail from day one.
  • Wage escalation management: Structuring employment contracts so annual increases are planned and budgeted rather than imposed.

BC: Road Freight Bargaining Council representative + transport sector labour law practitioner

Take-home: Levy audit checklist, driver classification guide & exemption application framework.

12:45pm – 13:25pm
RTMS as Commercial Strategy

Pain point: I keep losing tenders to RTMS-accredited operators. I know what RTMS is but I don’t know what the audit requires, what it costs at my fleet size or whether the contract access justifies the investment.

RTMS Accreditation as Commercial Strategy: The Audit Process, Implementation Cost, Insurance Impact & Contract Access Value for an Established Operator

For an operator already running a disciplined fleet, RTMS accreditation is not a compliance burden — it is a commercial weapon to win contracts and reduce insurance premiums your competitors are still paying.

  • Cost-benefit analysis in the room: delegates calculate the break-even point for RTMS on their own fleet — insurance saving plus contract access value versus implementation and maintenance cost.
  • The gap between running a good fleet and passing an RTMS audit: What established operators consistently find on their first self-assessment — specific gaps between operational practice and the documented evidence the audit requires.
  • RTMS implementation for a running fleet: Building the four pillars (vehicle fitness, driver fitness, cargo management, journey management) into an already-operating fleet — implementation sequence and what requires external support.
  • Who needs RTMS and when it becomes non-negotiable: Which corporate clients, government tenders and freight sectors now require RTMS as a minimum vendor requirement.
  • RTMS and insurance premium reduction: Which SA insurers formally recognise RTMS in premium calculation, the typical reduction on a 5–15 truck fleet and how to use accreditation in annual renewal negotiations.
  • RTMS and tender scoring: How accreditation is weighted in government, retail and oil & gas tenders — where it gives a measurable advantage over non-accredited competitors.

RT: RTMS-accredited transport compliance specialist + accreditation body representative

Take-home: RTMS audit readiness checklist, cost-benefit calculator & implementation priority plan.

13:25pm – 14:05pm
OEM Masterclass

Pain point: My fleet financing, maintenance costs and downtime are all rising. I’m replacing trucks without a strategy — reacting to breakdowns rather than managing asset lifecycles. I don’t know what OEMs can offer me beyond a sales pitch.

OEM Intelligence Masterclass: Fleet Lifecycle Strategy, Total Cost of Ownership, Asset Financing Structures & the Commercial Vehicle Technology Roadmap for South African SME Operators

An OEM-led technical session — not a product presentation. A frank conversation between a commercial vehicle manufacturer and the operators who run their trucks, covering what the manufacturer knows about your fleet’s true cost, lifecycle and the technology decisions that will define your competitive position in 2026 and beyond.

  • Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) modelling: How OEMs calculate the true cost of running a commercial vehicle beyond the purchase price — fuel consumption by load and route, service intervals, tyre consumption rates, unscheduled maintenance patterns and residual value curves — and how to use this data to make replacement decisions on evidence, not instinct.
  • Fleet lifecycle strategy for SME operators: When to replace vs repair vs refinance — the OEM’s view of the optimal replacement cycle for a 3–15 truck fleet operating in SA conditions and how incorrect replacement timing compounds your maintenance cost and downtime.
  • Asset financing structures available to SMEs in 2026: Instalment sale vs operating lease vs full maintenance lease — what each means for your balance sheet, tax position and access to further working capital; what OEM finance desks can offer directly vs what bank financing provides and when each makes commercial sense.
  • Telematics, remote diagnostics and OEM uptime programmes: How modern commercial vehicles self-report fault data, what OEM remote diagnostic programmes (MAN TelematicsPro, Volvo Dynafleet, Mercedes-Benz Uptime) actually provide to an SME operator and how to use OEM data to reduce unplanned downtime and negotiate better service agreements.
  • The new energy vehicle conversation for SA road freight: What alternative fuel and hybrid commercial vehicle technology is realistically available to SA operators in the next 3–5 years, what the infrastructure requirements are and whether an SME transporter needs to be thinking about this now or later.
  • Navigating the Chinese commercial vehicle market: An OEM-honest assessment of what the entry of BYD, Foton, Shacman and FAW means for the SA commercial vehicle market — where the value is real, where the risks are and how to evaluate a Chinese vehicle offer against an established OEM’s TCO.
  • Service and parts network for SME operators: How to get the most from your OEM dealer relationship — service plan negotiation, parts availability in remote areas, warranty claims and escalation paths when a dealer’s response is inadequate.
  • Open Q&A: ask the OEM what you have always wanted to know about your trucks, your maintenance costs and your financing options.

OEM: Commercial vehicle OEM representative — senior product, fleet or finance specialist

Take-home: TCO comparison framework, fleet replacement decision tool & OEM financing options guide.

14:05pm – 14:15pm
Close of Summit

Facilitator closes the 4th Annual Road Freight SME Summit 2026. 90-day commitment written before leaving. Certificates of attendance. Networking from 14:15.

How can SMEs in the road freight sector benefit from the summit?

Gain

Gain a clear overview of various financial and non-financial solutions for SMEs in Road Freight.

Present

Present your business services directly to key decision-makers from various companies, in a relaxed environment.

Benefit

Benefit from one-to-one engagement with potential clients from a wide range of sectors.

Create

Create highly competitive networks with like-minded individuals.

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