In today's world, where businesses aim to be quick and efficient globally, the express sector is undergoing significant changes.
There's a growing need for dependable transportation that covers everything from start to finish.
This shift shows that companies understand the importance of transporting goods efficiently and industry leaders are now developing new ideas to meet these changing needs.
According to Natasha Parmanand, managing director for operations in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at Fed-Ex, e-commerce has been a significant driver of change.
Even in Africa, where e-commerce adoption has faced some unique challenges, contributing to slower growth compared to other regions, there will be more than 500 million users by the end of 2025.
"The Word Economic Forum's International Trade Centre estimates that there are already around 264 e-commerce start-ups running in Africa and predicts that e-commerce will create around three million jobs on the continent alone."
She said this required an entire paradigm shift for express courier companies.
"In the logistics sector, we are going to have to adapt how we do business," she said during a Transport Forum presentation.
Carsten Schubert, COO and co-founder of Transnova, agreed that changing customer preferences and increased customer service expectations, with a heightened focus on the environment, sustainability and governance, and the demand for omnichannel experiences were driving change.
"Shippers worldwide are increasingly outsourcing supply chain activities but still want the same or even better control and visibility. Agility and reliability have become key factors for logistics service providers," he said.
- Read the rest here: "E-commerce drives change in Africa."