Since logistics and procurement activities slowed down in the first quarter of 2024, organisations appear to have strayed from the typical practice of restocking after the December holidays. The Ghana Managers Index says as much. The overall logistics index value decreased to 62.4% in the first quarter of 2024 from 63.3% in the preceding quarter.
The index measuring aggregate inventories, warehouse activities, carriage of goods, and other key metrics in the supply and logistics value chain indicates that low movements and high costs in certain aspects of the value chain contributed to a 0.9 percentage point drop in the logistics sector.
According to the report, the aggregate logistics cost remains high, with a recorded value of 245.4 for the first quarter of 2024, still above the threshold of 150. Although warehouse prices slightly decreased from 77.2 to 76.7, warehousing utilization experienced a 6.0 percentage point drop.
Furthermore, the report highlights an increase in inventory costs from the previous quarter’s 79.9 to 81.1.
For the third consecutive quarter, the usage of electronic payment systems increased significantly, with the first quarter of 2024 recording a value of 71.2.
With Fintech gaining broader acceptance in the Ghanaian economy, the report projects steady growth for the logistics sector.