How Pargo helped thousands of South Africans during the Post Office strike

The South African Post Office was on strike for almost 2 weeks in July, leading to millions of South Africans not being able to send or receive any orders. It is not the first time the postal workers’ went on strike and it had widespread implications for businesses across South Africa. This particularly affected companies, that rely on SAPO as a delivery method, as orders came to a standstill, resulting in millions of Rands’ worth of losses. Several companies have now shifted to South African smart logistics company Pargo who helped to save orders and retain customers with their reliable and flexible delivery alternative.    

How did Pargo help?

  Pargo is a smart logistics company that offers an alternative to the Post Office by allowing people to send and receive parcels at thousands of Pargo pick-up points throughout the country. During the Post Office strike, various large retailers turned to Pargo to use their services to deliver parcels to their customers using Pargo’s pick-up point network. Pargo’s reliable and hassle-free service tracked the deliveries to the customers’ nearest pick-up point and notified them when it was ready for collection. Pargo ensured there were no missed deliveries, delays or disappointment during the strike. Faithful to Nature was one of the companies that used Pargo as an alternative during the Post Office strike. They had previously used SAPO in smaller towns where courier delivery was too expensive, but now they use Pargo for all these customers at a rate much lower than couriers.  

What were the results?

  • Pargo helped companies save up to R 5.5 million in sales value per day by ensuring that these orders were processed and delivered to customers, which would otherwise have been delayed significantly or not been delivered. • Companies using Pargo ensured that thousands of satisfied South Africans per day received their parcels on time instead of having to wait for the strike to end and the backlog to clear, or not receiving parcels at all. • The collection rates at Pargo were 17% higher than these companies usually have with the Post Office. This increase is caused by the sophisticated tracking and communication capabilities that Pargo offers. Customers receive an email and SMS notification when their parcel is despatched and when it is ready for collection instead of being clueless when using the Post Office. It also helps that the Pargo pick-up points have longer opening hours. Most stores are opened 7 days a week (some even 24 hours a day) allowing customers to collect parcels whenever it suited their schedule leading to higher collection rates. • Pargo deliveries were 3 times faster than the Post Office. Pargo’s service guarantees the average delivery time across the country is 2-5 days (depending on location).  

What is Pargo?

  Pargo is a smart logistics company that offers an alternative to the Post Office by allowing people to send and receive parcels at thousands of Pargo pick-up points all over the country. These Pargo pick-up points are set up at existing retail stores in convenient locations nationwide, such as Clicks, Lewis, Spar and Caltex. Pargo solves the challenges of last-mile logistics in South Africa where many people live and work in areas with limited access to goods and services, making delivery a big issue. These areas include security estates, office buildings, townships and small rural towns. Couriers have limited access to these areas or delivery is very expensive, meaning the Post Office is often their only option.