Imperial Logistics has acquired 60% of South African ecommerce logistics company ParcelNinja. ParcelNinja, which was founded in 2013, offers outsourced logistics solutions to South African ecommerce companies. The deal value has not been disclosed.
ParcelNinja provides fulfilment solutions to online stores in South Africa, including API integration, warehouse management system, product ordering, packaging, and logistics services. It is one of a series of strategic investments in digital disruptors that Imperial Logistics has made recently, including “uber for trucks” Lori, Redbird, digital freight forwarder Shypple and Field Intelligence, a supply chain disruptor for healthcare.
Imperial Logistics has built a $20m war chest to fund acquisitions. Its innovation fund was set up in partnership with Newtown Partners and is designed to invest in high-potential start-ups in the supply chain and logistics technology areas.
It is already stepping outside that remit into adjacent areas of digital disruption. For example, Redbird partners with pharmacies to offer testing for chronic and acute conditions, giving patients a convenient way to monitor their health.
The ParcelNinja acquisition will mean Imperial Logistics can provide specialised warehousing and distribution management in e-commerce, direct to consumers and to informal markets.
Digital disruption of the distribution and the supply chain is one of the most intensely innovative areas in key African markets such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco and Egypt. Trendtype’s tracking of digital disruptors reveals that these seven markets dominate innovation and funding interest.
The COVID-19 pandemic particularly has ignited further interest in digital disruptors, even in countries that have ostensibly been less affected by the disease (because of younger populations and under-diagnosis).
