The logistics challenges they face are real. Many courier services don’t deliver to townships or rural areas

The local e-commerce sector is booming, with total revenue projected to top R110bn this year and more than 40 million consumers now shopping online, according to Statista’s 2025 Ecommerce Outlook.

But as thousands of new online sellers enter the market, the question is no longer how to grow; it’s how to cope.

One of the fastest-rising pain points is logistics. Across the country, retailers are buckling under the pressure of fulfilment bottlenecks, rising courier costs, and inconsistent delivery coverage.

Recent data from Business Unity South Africa shows that average cross-border transit times have increased by 20% in just one week, with the country losing an estimated R170m in indirect costs from delays alone.

Meanwhile, port congestion, equipment breakdowns and unpredictable weather continue to slow down container throughput at critical hubs like Durban and Cape Town.

It’s against this backdrop that Bob Go, a South African smart shipping platform, has reported 30% year-on-year revenue growth and over 1.9 million shipments processed in the first half of 2025.

A huge opportunity in e-commerce

The platform, which forms part of Bob, an integrated e-commerce and fintech company, is helping small and medium-sized merchants automate their order fulfilment, compare courier prices in real-time, and deliver more reliably, especially into difficult-to-reach or underserved areas.

“There’s a huge opportunity in e-commerce right now, but also a huge operational strain,” says Jaco Roux, head of product at Bob Go.

“We’re seeing SMEs go from a few dozen orders a week to hundreds a day, and without scalable logistics, they can’t keep up. The old way, manual bookings, single-courier setups, no tracking, doesn’t work anymore.”

Much of Bob Go’s success lies in its ability to give smaller players access to tools previously reserved for big retailers. Merchants can automate dispatch, get eight courier quotes for multiple service levels per order, and track parcels end-to-end, all through one interface.

This saves time, keeps costs in check, and dramatically improves the customer experience. From January to June this year, Bob Go signed up over 1,200 new merchant accounts, a 40% increase over the same period last year, and saw gross profit grow by 57%.

Retention is also strong, with 98 of the platform’s top 100 shippers from 2024 still active in 2025.

A new kind of South African seller

But the numbers only tell part of the story. What’s emerging is a new kind of South African seller: informal traders, DIY entrepreneurs, home-based creators, many of whom are running their businesses entirely through social platforms.

These users want simplicity, speed, and legitimacy. They want tools that enable them to deliver like the big guys, but without the big budgets. And they’re shaping the future of online retail in the process.

However, the logistics challenges they face are real. Many courier services don’t deliver to townships or rural areas. Fuel prices remain volatile. And the country’s infrastructure, from rail to port to border post, is under heavy strain.

In a recent Global Trade Magazine forecast, the global smart logistics market is expected to surpass $175bn by 2034, as retailers everywhere turn to tech-enabled supply chains. In South Africa, that shift isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.

For small businesses navigating this environment, a few principles are proving critical: choosing fulfilment partners with national reach, automating wherever possible, having a plan for returns (now a legal requirement under the Consumer Protection Act), and communicating proactively with customers.

Bob Go is seeing clear evidence that businesses following this approach are scaling faster and more efficiently, often tripling their daily order volumes without needing to hire extra staff.

The next evolution, says Roux, is opening logistics to the public. Bob Go’s soon-to-launch consumer-facing app will allow individuals, not just merchants, to book courier shipments directly. The app will include locker-to-locker, door-to-locker, and door-to-door delivery options, and at some point in the future will offer the same multi-quote flexibility on door-to-door shipments that has proven popular among businesses.

“We want to simplify shipping for everyone,” says Roux. “Whether you’re running a store, sending a gift, or launching your side hustle, logistics should never be a barrier.”

As South Africa’s e-commerce economy grows in both size and complexity, the pressure is on to build smarter systems. The question isn’t whether online retail will thrive; it already is. The question is whether the infrastructure can keep up. And for many sellers, the answer lies in platforms that make fulfilment not just possible, but painless.

News Credits- ZAWYA BY LSEG

Radico Khaitan (RADC.NS) the maker of “Magic Moments” vodka, will invest up to $4.56 million and team up with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath to launch a premium tequila brand, marking its foray into the category.

The Indian liquor maker, known for premium offerings such as Rampur Indian Single Malt and Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin, will roll out the brand D’YAVOL Añejo — a premium spirit made from agave and aged about two years in wine casks.

D’YAVOL, a luxury brand founded in 2022 by Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, along with Leti Blagoeva and Bunty Singh, is headquartered in Amsterdam and offers vodka, blended malt Scotch whisky and premium streetwear.

D’YAVOL Añejo is set to launch by December and depending on state excise duty, will be priced between 20,000 rupees ($228.21) and 30,000 rupees, Radico Khaitan Managing Director Abhishek Khaitan told Reuters on Tuesday.

The launch comes as affluent Indians increasingly splurge on everything from luxury dining to premium alcohol, housing and cars. Alcohol sales in the country, according to data from analytics firm Crisil, are projected to grow as much as 10% to $61.35 billion in fiscal 2026.

Tequila is one of the fastest growing segments globally and India is catching on very fast. The market size in the country is about 300,000 cases, out of which 15% is the Añejo (Spanish word meaning ‘aged’) category, Khaitan said.

“We believe that in the next five years, tequila can reach a volume of about a million cases in India plus global market, so I think it was a great opportunity,” he said.

Under the partnership, Radico Khaitan and Shah Rukh Khan’s family will each hold a 47.5% stake in the venture, while Kamath will own 5%.

The deal also underscores the fierce competition in mass and premium liquor segments. Just three weeks ago, peer Tilaknagar Industries (TILK.NS) bought the “Imperial Blue” whisky brand from Pernod Ricard (PERP.PA), opens new tab for $486 million.

($1 = 87.6370 Indian rupees)

Author Credits- Chandini Monnappa and Hritam Mukherjee
Reuters

Australian shipping service provider Sendle has announced a three-way merger with US logistics companies FirstMile and ACI Logistix to form a new entity, FAST Group, that will support e-commerce businesses of all sizes.

Headquartered in California, with teams across the USA, Australia, Canada, India and the Philippines, FAST Group will leverage the combined knowledge, technology, infrastructure and operational experience of the three carriers. Each company will continue to operate under its established brand, all while functioning as a single, integrated and expanded logistics ecosystem.

ACI Logistix CEO Keith Somers will oversee the FAST Group as CEO, and the board will comprise representatives from all three companies.

Somers said, “Each of these three companies has a proud history of cultivating distinct strengths and deep insights into their respective customer needs. By combining our capabilities under FAST Group, we’re creating a complete and powerful logistics ecosystem that can support customers through their entire growth path, as they adapt and compete in an ever-evolving e-commerce landscape.

“This strategic merger, backed by Federation Asset Management, will bring added benefits for customers across all segments – SMB, mid-market and enterprise – through improved first-mile pickups, faster and complete national distribution and integrated customer support. It also presents exciting opportunities for our partners, including other carriers and technology providers, as we look to deliver more services, more innovation and more national impact.”

Author Credits- HAZEL KING
Parcel and postal technology INTERNATIONAL