The visit took place on Friday 16 August and on arrival at the Shoprite Distribution facility, the students were divided into groups and guided on an in-depth tour of the operation. Shoprite has recently almost doubled their distribution infrastructure in Gauteng to approximately 150 000 square meters. This initiative has enabled the Group to extend its distribution services to more vendors, managing almost 90% of ambient product flow on a centralised basis. This has added to the existing benefits derived through economics of scale. The development has also accommodated transport facilities and a reclamation centre where international best practices are used to recycle waste and manage equipment used in the distribution process. Shoprite used systems thinking and process management to enhance their competitiveness, while their competition is still stuck in a functional organisational structure. Supply-chain efficiencies enable store management to reduce their inventory levels and to turn costly storage areas into profitable trading space.

The next facility on the programme was the Johannesburg Distribution Centre of Caterpillar. The students were welcomed with a presentation on the logistics operations at Caterpillar, after which the students were taken on a professional facility tour, explaining the inner workings of the facility. Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company is also a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services and Progress Rail Services.