The rapid growth of e-commerce is reshaping the last-mile delivery industry in South Africa, and the past year has shown just how quickly the sector is evolving, says Fastway Couriers FD Damian Velayadum.

“The strong upward trend in parcel volumes, particularly during peak months, reflects both the increasing demand for efficient delivery solutions, and the strength of networks built to meet these expectations.”

Velayadum says Fastway Couriers has experienced substantial growth in recent years – highlighting the upward trajectory of both the last-mile industry and the delivery company.

In terms of volume alone, Fastway Couriers saw 31% year-on-year growth from 2023 to 2024, with October, November, and December traffic increasing by 60%, 66%, and 64%, respectively.

The holiday season and high-retail days like Black Friday spurred this growth through increased e-commerce activity.

November, Fastway's fastest-growing month, is also one of the most significant for e-commerce, with seven of the top ten e-commerce selling days in November, according to MeteorSpace.

These increasing delivery volumes require companies to bolster their staff and contractors to ensure all business aspects run smoothly.

Between March 2022 and January this year Fastway Couriers saw its staff grow by 50.2%, while contractors deployed increased by 23.7% between 2023 and 2024.

Expanding staff is, however, only one way to enhance productivity and operational efficiency, with automation a major trend in the last-mile industry.

The global last-mile logistics arena has started to make use of autonomous robots to deliver groceries and food in places such as London and New York.

In South Africa, Fastway Couriers has rolled out automation in its warehouses to allow for the rapid sorting of parcels – 4 000 parcels every hour, or about 45 000 packages daily.

According to Grand View Research, the local last-mile industry is expected to reach a projected revenue of around $3.3-billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.4% between 2024 and 2030.