Imperial buys e-commerce specialist Parcelninja

JSE-listed Imperial Logistics announced on Tuesday that it has bought South African e-commerce logistics specialist Parcelninja. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Imperial revealed details of the acquisition in its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2020, in which it reported a 15% increase in revenue to R26.4-billion.

“The Parcelninja acquisition will provide specialised warehousing and distribution management in e-commerce, direct to consumers and to informal markets,” the logistics giant said in notes alongside the financial results.

“Enabled with leading software, processes and people capabilities in South Africa, Parcelninja provides fulfilment in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business channels, including the informal market, supported by the management and optimisation of courier parcel deliveries,” it said.

“This acquisition supports Imperial’s strategic ambitions to accelerate our digital capabilities and expand our logistics and market access services into last-mile distribution, e-commerce fulfilment, footprint and scale in Africa, while ensuring local relevance for our clients and principals.”

“IT and marketing people — the guys who typically start e-commerce shops — do not like to pack boxes and write labels for couriers. This is why we exist,” Parcelninja co-founder and CEO Justin Drennan explained in 2019. “We offer a complete outsource solution for online shops, which allows them to focus on selling more products and making more money.” — © 2021 NewsCentral Media