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22 TRIBUTE TRISTAN VIELJEUX A historic figure in the French shipping industry

FACE TO FACE WEBCOR Set to lead in Africa

SUSTAINABILIT YRIVERWAY TRANSPORT An economic and environmental opportunity

GROUP LIFEA GROUP AT THE HEART OF AFRICA

FOCUS CAMEROON One of the most diversified economies in Central Africa

AROUND THE WORLD

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With the launching of many new projects, the year 2014 is opening new opportunities for the CMA CGM Group in Africa. This continent has a special place in our story. We have been present there since 2001 as CMA CGM and well before that through DELMAS, which we acquired in 2006. Teams from both companies have been brought together in Marseilles and are now being led by the same executive management. Today, we are the leading transport company in Africa and this continent is more than ever at the heart of our development strategy.

Growing investments in port infrastructures enable us to constantly improve our offer, making it possible for us to deploy ships with a capacity of 5,700 TEU, the largest container ships serving West Africa. We have also improved our maritime services with five weekly lines from China and we are the only company with service to the port of Buchanan, Liberia.

In addition, we are continuing to expand our sales network which currently has more than 72 offices in 43 countries. We are also putting special emphasis on our land investments, a Group priority, by opening logistics platforms and developing new intermodal transport solutions. All these actions enable us to provide our African customers with tailor-made solutions that are truly suited to their needs.

Our Group continues to expand and invest outside of Africa as well. We have just taken delivery of the CMA CGM DANUBE, the first of a series of 28 new 9,400 TEU ships, which are specifically designed to navigate the Strait of the Bosphorus; these ships will enable us to provide our customers with a better transport offer. We have also launched a number of major projects such as revamping our information system with SAP.

We will continue to offer transport solutions that are even more innovative while maintaining the most stringent requirements and highest level of service quality and keeping costs under control. It is this development strategy that will allow our Group to continue to set the standard for our customers and partners.

Editorial and publication Director: Tanya Saadé Zeenny Editor: Marianne Lacroix Editing: Hervé Gallet Coordination: Olivia Simonetti Graphic Design: CMA CGM Studio – Damien Boulanger, David Darmon, Katia Egea, Bastien Régis Printing and distribution supervision: Christine Nunes Contributors: Alain Aurouseau, Thierry Conte, Gilles Duffaut, Mathieu Friedberg, Guillaume Hue, Denis Laure, Claude Lebel, Alexis Michel, Joop Mijland, Sylvain Prevot, Ludovic Renou, Bertrand Simion, Alain Wils Photos crédits: CMA CGM, Shutterstock, Thierry Dosogne Number of issues: 22,000 ISN : 1287-8863

Printed on paper manufactured using a minimum of 60 % recycled fibre and 40 % virgin pulp from certified sources.

CMA CGM Marseille Head Office4, quai d'Arenc 13235 Marseille cedex 02 France Tél : +33 (0)4 88 91 90 00 www.cmacgm.com

CMA CGMGROUP MAGA ZINESUMMER 2014

RODOLPHESA ADÉ

CMA CGM Vice-Chairman and Executive Of f icer

Today, we are the leading transport company in Africa and this continent is

more than ever at the heart of our development strategy.

SUMMER 20142 3

AROUND THE WORLD

AROUND THE WORLD

"CONTAINERS OF HOPE", THE CMA CGM FOUNDATION RENEWS ITS HUMANITARIAN TRANSPORT OPERATION TO AFRICA

In response to the humanitarian and social needs of a number of African countries, the Foundation decided to offer the benefit of CMA CGM's knowledge and expertise to some major French NGOs. In 2012, the Foundation launched a huge humanitarian operation in

Africa, Containers of Hope. To date, 170 containers packed with 1,340 tons of food aid, medicines, and equipment have been shipped thanks to the programme.

With its Containers of Hope operation, the CMA CGM Group uses vessels on its lines to provide free container shipping of humanitarian aid. To achieve this goal, the Foundation avails of Group facilities in 43 African countries, with 72 agencies and 48 stopover ports, and relies on the support of NGOs that are there on the ground with the most vulnerable

populations.

To meet the needs outlined by its partners, the CMA CGM Foundation is renewing the programme this year with NGOs Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and Action contre la Faim (Action against Hunger), as well as expanding the operation to other

continents. That's in addition to a new partnership with Handicap International, which aims to help children in vulnerable populations.

"Children are the first to fall victim to malnutrition and the ones most at risk when healthcare is lacking. For many years now we have been backing organisations that work to help

underprivileged children. With the Containers of Hope operation, we sought to go further by lending our support to NGOs that are active in Africa. Right now, we are strengthening

existing projects and extending our activities to other continents", said Naïla Saadé, President of the CMA CGM Corporate Foundation for Children.

Since 2012, the Containers of Hope operation has enabled us to provide aid to around twelve African countries, in the form of nutritional or healthcare programmes that are

implemented on the ground by Médecins Sans Frontière and Action contre la Faim.

The Containers of Hope operation is overseen by the Corporate Foundation and made possible thanks to the involvement of dozens of Group staffmenbers along the logistical

chain. This includes people from the Group's headquarters in Marseilles and in local CMA CGM agencies, as well as shipboard personnel sailing the Group's lines.

A NEW OFFER FROM BL DIRECT IN AFRICA FOR MORE

FLEXIBILITY

To offer its African customers products that are even better suited

to their needs, the Group has just launched "FlexCost TBL", a new

format for BL Direct that gives customers more flexibility in terms of

dividing up costs.

The carrier guarantees a comprehensive service that avoids

the complications and risks involved with trans-shipment in Africa. Under

the same contract, suppliers and consignees can divide up costs,

import or export, and more (for instance, the supplier could pay at the transit port and the consignee could pay at the final destination).

As a reminder, the CMA CGM Group and its DELMAS brand offer

a BL Direct service that ensures end-to-end handling of your cargo.

Procedures, sea, ground, transit, the Group takes care of everything to make its customers' lives easier.

COME AND SEE US AT OUR STANDS!

The CMA CGM Group will be attending the following trade shows:

Maputo International Fair (FACIM) in Maputo (Mozambique)

from August 25 to 31

Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong from September 3 to 5

World Food in Moscow (Russia) from September 15 to 18

EXPOTRANS in Luanda (Angola) from September 20 to 30

Breakbulk America in Houston (USA) from September 29 to October 2

International Logistics and Transportation Fair in Shenzhen

(China) from October 14 to 16

CMA CGM AND HILLEBRAND, PARTNERS IN AN EXCEPTIONNAL

WINE-SHIPPING OPERATION

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du

Tastevin (which can be translated as the Brotherhood of the Knights of

the Wine-Tasting Cup), CMA CGM has partnered with JF Hillebrand,

which specialises in wine and spirits logistics, for a once-off operation

to transport 420 bottles of fine Burgundy wines around the world.

The goal of the operation is to demonstrate that ocean transport has no effect on the taste of wine.

Four hundred and twenty bottles were loaded on board the CMA

CGM MANET on 14th June, packed inside a reefer at a remotely

controlled temperature to ensure optimal preservation of the wine.

After a round-the-world trip taking in New York, Panama, Papeete, Singapore, Cochin, Suez, Malta,

and other stops along the way, the bottles will be unloaded at Le Havre

on 18 September. The Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin will then

organise a special tasting event in October, whereupon the globe-trotting wines will be compared

to identical bottles that never left Burgundy.

SUMMER 20144 5

Today, the eyes of economic experts, analysts, and forecasters are all turning to the continent of Africa. For them there is no doubt: with more than 900 million inhabitants already, Sub-Saharan Africa will be home to more than a third of the planet's population by the end of the century and the world will have to take this reality into account.

In addition to these demographic changes, Sub-Saharan Africa could see 6 % growth in 2014 and the increase in GDP is expected to remain between 5 % and 10 % over the next few years. In addition, the average per capita

income in the region has risen by 30 % over the past ten years, as a middle class with a growing demand for consumer and capital goods has emerged.

For a long time, some believed that this growth was only generated by rising prices for raw materials (mainly oil and mining products), which brought in additional income and local investments. However, figures dating from 1995-2010 indicate that eight of the twelve Sub-Saharan African countries with the strongest growth did not exploit these types of resources during that period.

According to many experts, the African continent will experience the greatest economic expansion of the 21st century. This conviction is shared by the CMA CGM Group which has been developing an unrivalled network of shipping and intermodal lines for many years now. A description of Africa: a continent that is moving forward and becoming increasingly open to the world.

GROUP LIFE

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These nations created a virtuous circle through major structural reforms that generated invest-ment capacities, some of which were used for the new infrastructure Africa needed. While it is undoubtedly true that South Africa acted as an economic driver for the continent as a whole, all the countries in Africa undertook and main-tained real forward progress. Case in point: Nigeria is today the strongest Sub-Saharan African economy (ahead of South Africa) and ranks 26th worldwide.Finally, we must not forget that Africa posses-ses 65 % of the world's arable land and that in the future this continent will feed the world.

CMA CGM: THE AFRICAN EXPERT

Through its line operators, CMA CGM and Delmas, the CMA CGM Group is one of the leaders in shipping that connects Africa to the rest of the world. Through shipping compa-nies traditionally tended to limit their service to African ports, the current political and economic context requires that they move closer to their customers; to do so, they must have a presence in inland areas as well as in ports.

One need only look at a map to understand how complicated it is to trade there when so many

African countries are located in landlocked areas far away from any access to the sea. While others might see this as a problem, CMA CGM considers it an opportunity. In fact, the number 3 shipping company in the world has made intermodal transport one of its main specialities and put it at the centre of its African strategy.

CMA CGM acquired DELMAS from the Bolloré Group in 2006. Thanks to the company's 140-year presence in Africa, this acquisition enabled the CMA CGM Group, which already had an African presence, to extend its geogra-phic coverage and its ambitions, and provide its customers with a more comprehensive service offer.

"CMA CGM in Africa currently has 72 agencies and offices in 43 countries, 1,300 employees, 25 direct lines, 80 dedicated ships, 48 ports of call, and 12 main overland corridors, with 1,200,000 TEU transported in 2013 and a fore-casted 1,400,000 TEU for 2014." This analysis comes from Mathieu Friedberg, Vice-President

of African lines for the CMA CGM Group. "Our ambition is above all to work with Africa as it develops and our strategy is based on bespoke and door-to-door service." he continues.For businesses around the world that want to trade with Africa through imports or exports, the challenge is not so much about connecting the continent to Asia, Europe, or the Americas, as it is about moving goods between African ports and to the continent's inland areas.

Transporting containers beyond port boun-daries to the most remote inland destinations is not always easy! Many problems have to be overcome: lack of infrastructure, weather conditions that make roads impassable, internal conflicts, bureaucratic constraints, and the problem of "road harassment" that occurs when many borders must be crossed. As a result, sometimes it takes a truck 14 days to travel 1,000 km! This limits the development of commerce, especially the trade in agricultural commodities.

Faced with this situation, the CMA CGM Group decided to get directly involved and extend its range of services beyond its traditional maritime activities and ports of call, as Gilles Duffaut, Intermodal Africa Director, explains: "Our over-land activities in Africa started many years ago when we established a service through which the CMA CGM Group is responsible for its customers' goods and their transportation to final destinations in inland areas of coastal countries or in landlocked countries. With one document, the B/L Direct (BLD), we take full responsibility for transport, including organising rail or road transport (or a combination of both),

no matter many steps it takes before the goods reach their final destination."

CMA CGM acts on the customer's behalf, organising all shipping and overland transport, as well as transit formalities if cross-border transport is involved. To do so, the Group relies on its organisations in each country, whose knowledge of the area enables them to over-come any obstacles in the form of complicated bureaucratic procedures. "When they put us in charge of the whole transport process, custo-mers know that we will do everything possible to overcome any local issues and deliver their goods." Gilles Duffaut notes.

The value of this approach is demonstrated by the fact that the number of containers trans-ported under B/L Direct in 2013 grew by 25 % compared with 2012; the Group expects a similar increase in 2014.

« While others might see this as a problem, CMA CGM considers it an opportunity. »

« Our ambition is above all to work with Africa as it develops and our strategy is based on bespoke and door-to-door service. »

GROUP LIFEA GROUP AT THE HEART OF AFRICA

9SUMMER 2014

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THE FUTURE: DEVELOPING INTERMODAL SERVICE AND BESPOKE OFFERS

CMA CGM has many solutions available for the various maritime and inland challenges. "We are assigning larger and larger ships on our African lines, such as the 5,700 TEU ships which significantly increase trade capacities." remarks Mathieu Friedberg.

Now that a number of public and private invest-ments are making it possible to increase the number of deep-water ports, the next step in the rapid expansion of trade in Africa will involve improving overland links.

Just a few years ago, inland transport was evenly divided between road and rail (50/50). Today, road transport has taken the lead with 75 %, while trains make up only 25 %. This diffe-rence is a result of the amount of investment needed to create or improve rail links. Thus, it is the more flexible and responsive road network that is supporting Africa's robust growth.

To ensure a comprehensive service offer, the CMA CGM Group has already developed a series of road and/or rail corridors that it operates in partnership with local transport companies. It can thus guarantee high-quality, fast, and reliable service.

In terms of inland links, there is still a good deal of room for improvement; Sylvain Prévot,

Inland Activities Project Manager, sees develo-ping logistical services as a way to respond to customer needs. He cites the Dakar-Bamako corridor as an example. "We have two depots in the Senegalese port for storing our contai-ners and goods in transit. A high-quality rail line connects Dakar to the Malian capital, where there is another perfectly organised depot. Thus, importing and exporting happens in a fast, fluid, and structured manner."

This shining example of an intermodal connec-tion encapsulates everything that the Group is putting in place between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger, Cameroon and Chad, Kenya and Uganda, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and many other destinations as well. "Once again, it was to meet its custo-mers' expectations that the Group added a new corridor connecting Lubumbashi, in the Demo-cratic Republic of the Congo's Katanga province, to Walvis Bay, Namibia." Gilles Duffaut explains.

"This 2,500-kilometre long corridor, which is the newest addition to the other corridors we already operate out of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Beira, Mozambique, provides us with the flexibility we need to prevent congestion and reduce transit times."

By putting money into developing overland transport to support its customers and become even more competitive, the CMA CGM Group is thus making an important strategic decision.

RISING INVESTMENTS

For several years now, CMA CGM has been increasing its investments aimed at strengthening its African presence in any area where the Group does not already have its own base of operations. CMA CGM thus connected its maritime services to the Copper Belt, the copper-producing region that stretches from Zambia to Katanga and opened offices in Lubumbashi in eastern DRC, in Lusaka, Zambia, and in Harare, Zimbabwe.

In October 2013, CMA CGM met growing demand by opening a service to Mogadishu, Somalia, leaving from Mombasa, Kenya. Now, there is service to fourteen new inland destinations in the country.

"In Africa, everything will depend on intermodal service; the CMA CGM Group's intention is to create a service offer that is even more comprehensive and efficient, particularly by setting up corridors, but also by establishing logistical platforms where we can better store our containers, load or unload our customers' goods, carry out door-to-door delivery of these goods, and thus have better control over the inland phase of intermodal deliveries." Sylvain Prévot continues.

These logistical platforms enable CMA CGM to further develop its Reefer activities; these refri-gerated containers make it possible to transport perishable goods over very long distances. In the future, frozen fish, mangoes, and fruit juice could be exported in large quantities and under optimal

conditions to every corner of the globe from any production site in Africa, while landlocked countries could also receive fresh products imported from all over. This would be a seismic shift in the African inland transport landscape! "The rapid expansion of the African economy is priority for the entire Group and we are devoting all our attention and efforts to it." states Gilles Duffaut, who knows that having a network of agencies in nearly every country on the continent is an unparalleled asset.

This dual solution, incorporating both maritime and overland transport, has enabled CMA CGM to become number one in many African countries. In fact, the Group is the only one that offers so many overland destinations with this level of complexity.

"By opening up landlocked countries to the world, facilitating their exports and imports, investing in infrastructure, and believing in its African employees, the CMA CGM Group is playing a major role in the development of the African continent with its unique opportunities." Mathieu Friedberg concludes.

GROUP LIFEA GROUP AT THE HEART OF AFRICA

11SUMMER 2014

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FROM THE SEINE TO THE PEARL RIVER

In France, the Seine, the Rhône, and the Saône corridors are becoming busier and busier. On the Seine, for example, the CMA CGM Group currently operates three weekly services between Le Havre and Paris, transporting more than 35 % of its volumes between the two cities by barge.

On the Rhine corridor, barge services are even more developed and connect fifteen inland terminals, from Rotterdam to Basel, Dortmund, Duisburg, Cologne, Koblenz, Mainz, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Wörth, Stuttgart, Strasbourg, and Ottmarsheim. "The whole of the industrial Ruhr basin can thus be served by river, using road service for the first or last kilometres, as these require flexible and secure solutions. The CMA CGM Group use barges for more than 60 % of its pre- and post-transport on the Rhine corridor." remarks Joop Mijland.

Whether the barges are on the Seine, the Rhone or the Rhine, their schedules are naturally in line with those of the Line ships, thereby minimising end-to-end transit times.

Though much less well-known, the Chinese riverway network is extremely developed. It represents an important corridor for reaching inland regions, via the Pearl River in southern China and the Yangtze River in central China. The ability to transport containerised goods far inland on barges is an important factor considering that the Chinese government is looking to transfer production zones from coastal cities to ones located in the interior of the country and that respect for the environment is becoming a priority. Through these riverways, Chongqing, the world's most populous city, located more than 1,700 km from the coast, is directly connected to Yangshan (Shanghai), the world's largest port.

The Pearl River Delta serves one of China's largest industrial zones, the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. With a population of 57 million people, this zone

includes nine prefectures, in addition to two "special" regions: Hong Kong and Macau. This region has proven to be the most dynamic since the launch of economic reforms in 1979 and is maintaining its status as an enormous export market, while also importing an increasing amount of goods and services.

According to Ludovic Renou, CMA CGM Director for the South China Region based in Shenzhen, the Group is in an optimal position: "Of the half-million containers the Group transports through its Intermodal service annually, 99 % are shipped by barge. The CMA CGM Group, which operates its own barges from Huangpu to Nansha, Chiwan, and Hong Kong, encourages its customers to choose this option with an offer covering more than 72 river ports."

Another advantage is that barges can be used to transport special loads and XXL or project cargo that are not containerised.

By opting for barges whenever possible and playing an active role in the development of this mode of transport for overland haulage, the CMA CGM Group is resolutely affirming its commitment to environmental protection and sustainable development.

Gennevilliers port, north of Paris, France, a self-propelled barge has just arrived at the dock. Having left Le Havre the night before, she travelled up the Seine carrying around one hundred containers from Asia. At a time when carbon footprints constitute a major issue for our planet, barges have become a viable alternative to trucks as a complement to shipping when hauling goods to inland areas. For the CMA CGM Group, developing this mode of transport is a major priority.

With greenhouse gas emissions that are 6 times lower than those of trucks, a transport capacity equal to 3 trains or 100 trucks, a low risk of accidents, and no noise pollution, the riverway transport statistics speak for themselves.

For the CMA CGM Group, riverway transport is a strategic component of the robust environmental policy it has deployed for many years now. In this context, CMA CGM has developed a comprehensive offer for its customers, including barges operated directly by its Greenmodal subsidiary, which specialises in multi-modal transport in Europe, pre- or post-carrier haulage services by barge, or a combined transport option. The goal? Support the development of more environmen-tally-friendly modes of transport. "This respect for the environment, an increasingly important issue for our customers, is contributing to developing "overland" container haulage by barge in Europe.

In France, the CMA CGM Group, through its GREENMODAL subsidiary, operates 8 self-propelled barges, serves 10 ports, transporting more than 90 940 TEU by riverway in 2013.

River terminals are gaining the necessary infrastructure and the service offers are constantly increasing", explains Joop Mijland, Vice-President Global Inter-modal for the Group's Marseilles head office.

While the advantages are undeniable, this mode of transport does have one obvious limiting factor: river-ways are much harder to come by than roads! Thus, in the United States, barges are rarely, if ever, used; trains are much more common. In Europe and Asia, on the other hand, barges are a means of transport that are being used with increasing frequency, particularly on the Rhine corridor, and on the Seine and the Rhone as well, though there remains much progress to be made.

RIVERWAYTRANSPORT

An economic and environmental opportunity

SUSTAINABILITY

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FOCUS

In times of complex economic conditions, industrial and financial actors keep their eyes fixed on indi-cators from ratings agencies. The good news for Cameroon is that one of the main agencies, Standard & Poor’s, just affirmed their B rating for the country. In addition to judging the outlook to be stable, the agency emphasized promising economic indicators despite increases in government deficits.

Among the positive points, Standard & Poor’s highlighted agricultural production boosted by favourable meteorological conditions. Additionally, economic growth was aided by public infrastructure projects, especially investments for improving the road network and constructing the deep-water port in Kribi, a coastal town located on the Gulf of Guinea in southern Cameroon.

Nicknamed "Africa in miniature" due to its large cultural and geographic diversity, Cameroon is an extremely complex country that is home to more than 200 ethnic groups. Local conditions, geographic constraints and a lack of infrastructure are just some of the many challenges the Group faces in providing its customers with a comprehensive and reliable transportation offer.

One of the most diversified economies in Central Africa

SUMMER 201414 15

FOCUS

A glance at a map illustrates how crucial these last two projects are for this central African nation. Wedged between Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon possesses 600 km of coastline on the Atlantic Ocean but only one major port. Though Yaoundé is the country's official capital, Douala is the economic powerhouse due to its openness to the world. This is true despite the fact that the port is one of the most difficult to access in West Africa, due in part to the low flow depth on the river.

Located at the site of the ancient Bamum, Adamawa, and Garwand kingdoms, Cameroon was first a German and then a French colony before attaining its inde-pendence in 1960. The natural leader of CEMAC (the Central African Economic and Monetary Community), this country of around 500,000 km2 and approximately 20 million inhabitants is often considered a veritable "Africa in miniature". The reason? It is located midway down the continent, divided between French and English-speaking areas, plains and plateau regions, forests and savannah, and Christian, Muslim, and Animist religions. Counting oil, timber, cotton, coffee, and cocoa among its principal resources, Cameroon itself symbolizes the strengths and challenges of Africa as a whole.

A GROWING ECONOMY

Alain Aurousseau, who has been the CMA CGM General Manager of Cameroon since 2013 after holding posi-tions in Djibouti and the United States, faces these challenges on a daily basis. "Cameroon constitutes an important opportunity for the CMA CGM Group", he explains. Gateway to Chad and CAR, last year the Cameroonian port was the transit site for 160,000 import TEU (including metal, construction materials, foodstuffs, and electrical equipment) and 110,000 export TEU; of these totals, CMA CGM shipped 40,000 import TEU and 30,000 export TEU of goods.

"Timber as logs or boards constitutes 70 % of the Group's exports to Europe and Asia, the remaining 30 % being made up of cotton, cocoa beans, coffee, rubber, sesame, and bananas", Alain Aurousseau notes. "Each week, 70 forty-foot reefer containers filled with bananas set sail for Dunkirk, with a record transit time of 18 days."

All these products reach Douala or leave from it on container ships whose dimensions are limited by geographic conditions: the port is actually located at the end of a shallow, 25 km long estuary subject to both silting and tidal action. The difficulties involved in navigating the channel prohibit passage to ships with a draught greater than 6 m. "Our activities are more influenced by technical obstacles than economic ones", he notes. In fact, while the Cameroonian market

has experienced stable 10 % annual growth, there are always a dozen or so ships at the entrance to the estuary, waiting for the water to rise enough so that they can file into the estuary and reach the port. There new problems await them, such as access to docks that are already crowded with containers. "The bonded areas for storing boxes are occupied at 120 % of capacity! It would be necessary to develop new areas to ease congestion at the Terminal", Alain Aurousseau points out.

A PROMISING FUTURE

For some time now, the Group has been working to acquire a new logistical base of 20,000 additional square metres next to the terminal in return for under-taking a major filling and development project. This year-long project will be completed in July 2014 and will be operationnal in September.

The team also has high hopes for the opening of a new deep-water coastal port at Kribi, 200 km to the south. "The first phase of the new port has been completed with two docks in operation and the second phase, with two additional docks expected to be put into service, will be completed in 2019. However, the road linking the town of Kribi to the Port of Kribi is still under construc-tion and there is no rail link between Kribi and Douala", notes the General Manager for Cameroon.

Where there are rail and road links, as is the case between Douala and N'Djamena via Ngaoundéré, climate conditions too often hinder trade. "The rainy season, between June and October, is particularly affected and often produces landslides. Sometimes it takes 90 days for a truck to travel 1,600 km." All the team's efforts are then devoted to watching the ship-ment of containers in real time through to final delivery, as the Group has made the quality of its door-to-door service a priority.

"DELMAS/CMA CGM has a long history in Cameroon and a great familiarity with the country's particular characteristics which enable us to be proficient in all the areas necessary for providing, or creating, a comprehensive service offer to the customer."

Through its three shipping lines, the first linking Came-roon to Northern Europe, the second linking it to India, Pakistan, and the Persian Gulf, and the third linking it to China-Cameroon is already connected to the rest of the world. To further improve the Group's local presence in this region of Africa, a CMA CGM office was recently opened in Chad. Now more than ever, through this even stronger presence, the Group is affirming its desire to take part in the continent's rapid economic expansion.

Cameroon constitutes an important opportunity for the CMA CGM group.

CAMEROON

SUMMER 201416 17

SET TO LEAD IN AFRICA From foodstuffs and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) to building and agricultural materials, WEBCOR markets its own labels and is also the exclusive distributor of major international brands.

To meet the growing and varied demand of African markets for foodstuffs and consumer goods, the WEBCOR Group is currently expanding its large-scale distribution model to various Sub-Saharan African countries. This rise has taken place largely thanks to the local presence of private import and marketing companies. With their networks of ware-houses, means of transport, and retail outlets, they provide complete coverage of the various markets.

Today, the Group has an annual business volume of 30,000 TEU and 300,000 conventional tonnes,

with 3,000 employees working to comply with the most stringent quality standards for the products they distribute.

To do so, the WEBCOR strategy involves develo-ping a comprehensive logistical chain that also integrates the acquisition of majority stakes in industrial assets, such as taking over the produc-tion lines of Pasta Berruto in Italy, acquiring coffee washing stations, and establishing a factory for hulling (shelling coffee beans) in Burundi, for instance.

To guarantee an efficient supply chain, WEBCOR is committed to further improving the shipment of its goods by developing partnerships with the regular lines.

Created in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1978 by Ali Nehme Nesr, the WEBCOR Group has now expanded its production and distribution activities to Sub-Saharan Africa. This is thanks in large part to shipping, a major driver of this expansion.

FACE TO FACE

SUMMER 201418 19

FACE TO FACEWEBCOR

What are the main challenges you have to overcome in order to maintain control of your supply?

First, excellence at every levels! This starts with a posi-tive outlook in every situation and with a Group strategy that is clear for all our employees. Strong sales manage-ment for daily operational returns is also a factor.

In addition, we carry out a regular assessment of our performance and our strategic decision-making. What is the concrete value added? What are the opportunity costs? What is the impact on our activities?Shipping thus plays a crucial role in our supply chain. We have one condition, however: we cannot entrust our supply to a shipping provider that does not maintain control over its flows.

Does working in Africa entail any particular limita-tions?

Though business there is thriving, the market does possess some structural limitations. The expansion of international trade is a part of globalisation; the majority of this trade happens by sea, for reasons of economies of scale. Ports therefore have a greater role to play as central hubs and major players for globalisation.

The Ultra Large container ship fleet is likely to continue to grow, which necessarily put demands on port effi-ciency and infrastructure. Africa has long been margi-nalised when it comes to trade because the continent had little first-rate port infrastructure and was more oriented towards conventional transport developed during the colonial era. Now, though, Africa is playing a very significant role in world trade and is developing some of the world's busiest ports. But there is much left to do, in terms of dredging frequency as well as port management efficiency. Additionally, procedural constraints with regard to customs and statistics mean that we must constantly adapt.

INTERVIEWCécile Payelle, Webcor Group Shipping Lines Manager

What do you expect from a shipping carrier?

That they provide integration of our supply chain. We want to deal with a partner, not just someone who supplies freight! We operate in a market that is more than just responsive; it is highly reactive.

Competition in our local markets is fierce; we have competitors, some are high-quality and others have a brief life span and they constantly force us to examine areas of competitiveness that are always changing. Of course, freight rates are key to our success. However, the precarious nature of physical inventories of commo-dities can disrupt supply, which leads to financial losses and reduced market share. A delicate balance therefore exists between the constant need for logistical adjust-ments and the shipping support service. The quality of the latter determines whether it is the problem or the solution.

How would you describe your partnership with DELMAS and the entire CMA CGM Group?

We respect the people we deal with and we want them to respect the values that are important to us: ethics, service quality, and an ability to innovate, as well being motivated and active.

What we find in DELMAS/CMA CGM is a good unders-tanding of our specific distribution needs, which is necessary for developing our shared business volume.

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Tristan Vieljeux was one of the most important figures in the French shipping industry. He was born in 1925 in La Rochelle, the city where was located the head office of DELMAS-Vieljeux, a family business founded at the end of the 19th century.

Having fought in the 2nd Armoured Division led by General Leclerc during World War II, Tristan Vieljeux began working in the family business once peace was declared. He became secretary general in 1953 and president in 1964.

By acquiring a number of companies, he turned what had started as small company in 1867 into a major player in shipping between 1982 and 1991, especially between Europe and Africa. When he founded SNCDV (Société Navale Chargeurs DELMAS-Vieljeux) and took over the maritime and port activities of Chargeurs Réunis in 1988, he made his group number one in West Africa.

He further strengthened the company's position by becoming the first to establish container transport in Africa and to offer "door-to-door" services.

Over the years, he expanded activities to the Indian Ocean and developed shipping lines in India, the Antilles, the Persian Gulf, and more.

Then ranking among the top French shipping concerns, the company led by Tristan Vieljeux came under the control of the Bolloré Group in 1991 and he had to resign.

He soon found an opportunity to make use of his expertise by joining Jacques R. Saadé in 1996, first working as an advisor to the Chairman, then becoming Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and finally serving as a member of the Board of Directors until 2012. In 2006, Tristan Vieljeux had the satisfaction of seeing CMA CGM acquire DELMAS and thereby form the third largest container transport group in the world.

Tristan Vieljeux also presided over the French ship-owners’ association, Comité central des armateurs français (now Armateurs de France), from 1972 to 1976. Respected as much for his wisdom and personality as for his professional expertise, he was considered a personal friend by many African heads of state. Many figures in the maritime industry honoured his memory, including Jacques R. Saadé, Chairman of the CMA CGM Group: "This great business leader's personal qualities and his exceptional knowledge of the maritime industry were priceless. It is not only the CMA CGM Group but the industry as a whole that has lost one of its great captains."

“ It is not only the CMA CGM Group but the industry as a whole that has lost one of its

great captains. ”

Tristan Vieljeux and Jacques R. Saadé

Jacques R. Saadé

On April 30, Tristan Vieljeux, a man who had a profound impact

on the world of shipping, passed away at the age of 90.

The CMA CGM Group wished to honour him.

TRIBUTE

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CMA CGM

CMA CGM, et sa marque DELMAS, vous proposent des liaisons maritimes depuis et vers le monde entier, ainsi que des connexions ferroviaires et routières vers le cœur de l’Afrique. Nos agences locales sont à votre écoute pour définir des solutions sur mesure et soutenir le développement de votre activité.

Choisissez le leader du transport en Afrique, choisissez CMA CGM.