Sendle has sights set on Australia Post

The courier delivery service is on track to have more drop-off locations than Aus Post by 2020.

With the business world becoming increasingly interconnected, and the development of ecommerce opening local businesses up to the world, affordable parcel delivery services are now vital for small businesses. The advent of retail giants such as Amazon has revolutionised the way consumers shop and radically transformed the way small businesses operate.

But Australia is a different story, with Australia Post enjoying an almost 200-year monopoly on the local postal industry. We spoke to James Chin-Moody, founder and CEO of Sendle, Australia's fastest-growing small business courier service, about Sendle's plans for taking on Australia Post.

What do you think is the key to Sendle's uptake?

Sendle was designed and built to support small business and help them thrive. We have focused in on what small businesses really need from parcel delivery, such as door-to-door delivery; affordable, national flat rates; customer support; and 24/7 drop off at more convenient locations.

Suburbs with the biggest uptake of our 24/7 drop-off service have up to four Australia Post establishments in the same suburb. The message is clear — time-poor small business owners want the flexibility and convenient delivery options offered by Sendle.

Sendle's powerful dashboard tools offer high quality customer support and tracking, which also mean that Sendle takes responsibility for the post-purchase experience, delivering superior customer experience.

Sendle is also cheaper and more convenient than traditional parcel delivery and 100% carbon neutral. This means our customers save on shipping and can reinvest those savings or pass them on to their customers.

How have Sendle been able to target more drop-off locations than Australia Post?

Small business owners can spend around 40% of their time on admin and logistics, which is enormous. At Sendle, we believe it is imperative to maximise convenience for these small business owners, and that means creating a parcel drop-off network that is as extensive and accessible as possible.

Through a partnership with HUBBED and BP, we have been able to create hundreds of 24/7 parcel drop-off and collection points across BP service stations as well as owner-operated newsagents and pharmacies within Australia. We will be adding thousands more as we continue to empower small businesses to thrive

What are the benefits of using Sendle over going with Aus Post?

When it comes to delivery, Sendle champions small businesses and sustainability. We are Australia's first 100% carbon-neutral delivery service and a certified B Corporation. We are more convenient, we pick up from the customer and are up to 72% cheaper than standard parcel post. While Australia Post has tried to stamp out competition, Sendle has been busy unlocking the power of big business logistics – convenience and affordability – for the smaller end of town.

What are the plans for Sendle beyond 2020? Where do you see the postal industry in five years?

The pace of technological evolution means we should be prepared to expect self-driving vehicles, drones and robots play pivotal roles across all industries, parcel delivery included. The uptake of this within the next five years will be highly dependent on a number of factors, but we will start to see elements of this digitisation begin to infiltrate. At Sendle, we will continue to be driven by our ethos to help small businesses thrive, and that will include ensuring they too benefit from new technologies which large corporations adopt.

We will also see a continued commitment to ethical and sustainable business. Sendle already champions sustainability in the industry, but it will be a welcome change when big businesses take action to join us. With ecommerce growing at such a rapid rate, we all need to take responsibility for the environmental impact the "age of Amazon" has on the world. This isn't just a "nice to have" for the industry; it's an imperative.

Picture: Supplied