Sendle competitors face massive influx of enquiries from abandoned customers
Sendle competitor Zappy has seen an 880% increase in search volume since the collapse of the parcel delivery service.
In the first three days after the announcement, Zappy has signed the same number of customers that would have normally taken two months.
Sendle’s collapse on Sunday night sent SMEs across the country into a frenzy to find an alternative.
Zappy CEO Jimmy Wu said the company’s call centre and website were inundated with enquiries starting on Sunday night.
“You could tell from the tone of the emails that companies needed to find a solution, and quickly,” he said.
One enquiry said: “We are a previous Sendle customer and are directly impacted but their sudden cease in operations. We are a small business needing to get courier services back on track ASAP.”
Mr Wu said Zappy was prepared for the rapid increase in traffic because it had happened before.
“Many in the industry still remember what happened with Temando. When Temando exited the market, thousands of merchants lost access to a critical piece of logistics infrastructure,” he said.
Temando, once one of Australia’s most widely used multi-carrier shipping and delivery-orchestration platforms, played a key role in helping online retailers — access multiple couriers, manage rates, and offer delivery choice at checkout. When its operations were wound down following its acquisition by a global parent company in 2019, merchants were forced to replatform fulfilment workflows, renegotiate carrier access, and absorb service disruption during trading periods.
“The lesson from Temando was clear,” Mr Wu said. “When a key logistics platform exits, the impact ripples far beyond the company itself. It exposes how dependent startups and small businesses are on shared infrastructure — and how little margin for error they have when that infrastructure disappears.”
Mr Wu explained that while large enterprises are often able to absorb disruptions such as the Sendle closure, smaller businesses face a very different reality.
“Big retailers usually have multiple direct courier accounts, established trade references, and enough shipping volume to negotiate terms,” he said. “If one provider exits, they can rebalance volume quickly.
“Startups and small businesses don’t have that luxury. Without scale or long credit histories, it’s much harder for them to open direct carrier accounts. They’re often last in the queue, with limited bargaining power and fewer alternatives.”
This lack of access also makes it difficult for smaller merchants to manage risk.
“When you only have one egg, you can’t put it in different baskets,” Mr Wu said. “If your volume is small you can’t easily split volume or spread risk. The result is delayed orders, unhappy customers, and immediate pressure on cash flow.”
Mr Wu said that repeated exits like Temando and now Sendle highlight a structural imbalance in Australia’s ecommerce ecosystem — one that disproportionately affects the smallest participants.
He said Zappy has focused its efforts on supporting startups and small businesses by providing access to a multi-carrier network without requiring individual courier contracts, minimum volumes, or extensive trade references.
Mr Wu added that while platforms such as Zappy can help bridge gaps, long-term resilience will require broader collaboration across the logistics and ecommerce sector.
“If we want a healthy ecommerce economy in Australia, we need to design it for the smallest businesses — not just the biggest,” he said. “Otherwise, we’ll keep repeating the same cycle.”
Mr Wu said the loss of a major courier provider risks pushing more volume back toward Australia Post, strengthening what is already a dominant market position.
“Competition is healthy for consumers and for ecommerce,” Mr Wu said.
“When one major provider exits suddenly, it doesn’t just disrupt deliveries — it reduces choice, drives up pressure on remaining networks, and risks creating a heavier reliance on a single dominant carrier.”
Mr Wu said that according to Australia Post’s own publications, around 11% of all retail purchases in Australia are made online — a figure that remains significantly lower than other developed markets, where ecommerce penetration typically ranges between 20% and 30%.
He believes the gap is not due to lack of consumer interest, but structural constraints in the delivery ecosystem.
“Australia doesn’t have a demand problem — it has a logistics bottleneck,” he said. “When deliveries are smooth, reliable, and competitively priced, customers buy more, businesses grow faster, and the entire economy benefits.”
Zappy has been in operation for 14 years with around $100 million in shipments annually.
