As South Africa's e-commerce sector continues to grow, customer expectations have fundamentally changed too. Real-time parcel tracking, proactive delivery notifications and frictionless online shopping experiences are no longer reserved for global retailers - they are increasingly expected by consumers buying from businesses of every size.
South Africa’s freight problems carry a substantial economic cost. In early 2025, port delays, rail disruptions and infrastructure bottlenecks were reported to cost the country an estimated R1 billion a day in missed trade opportunities.
Archie Vermeulen is an industry veteran who previously headed national logistics operations for Vodacom as well as Cell C. During our visit to record a video tour of RAM’s new facility (view it here), we spent some extra time chatting to Archie and he shared some insights on people, process & equipment in warehousing. There were some real nuggets in the 9 minutes that we recorded and if you’re involved in warehousing operations, we encourage you to listen to it.
South Africa's transport and logistics SMEs will converge at the 4th Annual Access Road Freight SME Summit 2026, taking place on 21–22 October 2026 at the Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg.
