ZIMSEC O Level · Commerce · Form 4
Transport
Removes the barrier of distance and widens markets.
- Road: flexible, door-to-door; good for short distances and small loads.
- Rail: cheap for bulky goods over long distances (coal, minerals, fertiliser).
- Air: fast, for perishable and valuable goods; expensive.
- Water: cheapest for heavy goods over very long distances; Zimbabwe uses foreign seaports such as Beira and Durban.
- Pipeline: fuel and gas (Beira–Feruka pipeline).
Choice depends on cost, speed, nature of goods, distance, safety and reliability.
Documents: consignment note (road and rail), air waybill, bill of lading (sea).
Containerisation reduces handling, theft and damage.
Warehousing
Removes the barrier of time by storing goods until needed.
- Functions: storage, protection, even supply of seasonal goods (maize, tobacco), price stabilisation, packing and grading.
- Types: manufacturers' warehouses, wholesalers' warehouses, public warehouses, bonded warehouses (imported goods stored until customs duty is paid – owners can pay duty as goods are released).
- The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) stores grain for national food security.
Exam tip: Always link the type of goods to the transport mode – fresh flowers by air, coal by rail.
Check yourself
- Which document is used for goods sent by sea?
- Explain one advantage of a bonded warehouse to an importer.
- Why is air transport used for exporting flowers?
Show answers
- A bill of lading.
- Duty is paid only when goods are removed, so the importer does not tie up money paying it all at once.
- Flowers are perishable and air transport is fast.
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