Business
The Courier Guy Explains IT Outage Amid South Africa’s E-commerce Boom
For a few hours this week, confusion rippled through South Africa’s online shopping community. Reports began circulating that one of the country’s biggest delivery companies, The Courier Guy, had gone offline. Customers complained that the booking portal wasn’t working, prompting speculation that the company’s systems had failed. But according to the company itself, the reality was less dramatic.
What actually happened
The Courier Guy confirmed that its website was hit by a Domain Name System (DNS) glitch on Tuesday. This meant that for some customers, the website simply would not load. Crucially, though, deliveries and operations were unaffected.
“Deliveries were not impacted and in fact we had a record day yesterday with both bookings and deliveries,” explained chief marketing officer Samantha Swanepoel. She acknowledged that the problem caused frustration for some users, but stressed that customers were given alternative ways to complete bookings, including the company’s mobile app.
Behind the scenes, staff were fielding queries and working with the hosting provider to restore normal access. By the end of the day, operations were back on track.
A logistics giant built over decades
Founded 25 years ago by entrepreneur Stephen Gleisner, The Courier Guy has grown into one of South Africa’s most trusted delivery brands. From a single office, it now operates 22 depots and over 200 kiosks nationwide. It also runs Pudo, one of the largest locker collection networks in the country, which has expanded to more than 1,200 locations.
The company’s growth accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when e-commerce boomed. In 2021, it delivered 12.5 million parcels, averaging over 34,000 per day. By 2023, that figure had jumped to 16.5 million, or about 45,200 daily. Today, the business employs around 7,400 people, including 2,500 drivers, and has plans to grow its workforce even further.
In March 2024, Gleisner sold The Courier Guy to Adenia Capital and a group of co-investors. Although the financial details were never made public, the new owners made it clear they saw South Africa’s last-mile delivery market as a golden opportunity.
Why it matters for online shoppers
The temporary website glitch may not have delayed parcels, but it did shine a spotlight on something bigger: how much trust South Africans now place in delivery services. With the country’s e-commerce sector projected to hit more than US$16 billion by 2030, reliability in the “last mile” of the shopping journey has never been more important.
Adenia noted at the time of the acquisition that South Africans’ rising expectations make consistency key. Consumers want a seamless experience, from the click of a checkout button to the knock on their door. For a brand like The Courier Guy, which has become synonymous with speed and dependability, even small IT issues can spark outsized concern.
Yet the company insists the record-breaking day of deliveries during the outage is proof of its resilience. For shoppers, it may be a reminder to download the app as a backup, but it’s also a sign that South Africa’s delivery backbone remains strong despite the occasional tech hiccup.
Also read: South Africa’s Tax Refund Shake-Up: What SARS Might Do to Stop eFiling Hijackings
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Source: MyBroadband
Featured Image: ImpactAlpha
