Sendle off? Small businesses left to carry the parcels

Australian courier Sendle has gone from small business darling to logistics nightmare almost overnight.

The Australian-founded parcel delivery company has abruptly ceased operations, leaving thousands of small business owners scrambling to rebook deliveries, manage angry customers and absorb unexpected costs. And it all happened with next to no warning.

In an email sent to customers on Sunday, Sendle announced it was halting all parcel bookings “effective immediately” from January 11. Any parcels already collected and in transit would only be delivered “at the discretion of the delivery partner”, while all bookings scheduled for January 12 or later were cancelled.

“We understand this may be disruptive to your business and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the email read, offering no explanation for the shutdown, as reported by news.com.au.

A follow-up message was even starker. “Our team is no longer available to respond to inquiries, and this email account is no longer being monitored.”

That was it. For small business owners who rely on Sendle to keep orders moving, the impact was immediate and messy.

‘High and dry’ with parcels to send

Sydney-based Bubka co-founder Alicia Segal said the business was blindsided by the decision.

“We usually alternate between Sendle and Australia Post. With the ongoing frustrations around Australia Post, we were in the process of moving all our postage to Sendle – so this update has left us feeling high and dry,” Segal told nine.com.au.

Cost was a big part of that decision. Segal said Sendle was “generally much cheaper”, with a three-kilogram parcel costing $13.20 compared to $19.30 through Australia Post, according to nine.com.au.

That price gap matters when margins are tight.

Across social media, business owners vented their frustration. CLD Fabrication posted that Sendle, its main shipping partner, had “bit the dust with 0 warning”, forcing the business to resend orders via Australia Post and rethink its flat-rate and free shipping offers.

Sydney-based 3D printer filament business Siddament said it was already more than $4,000 out of pocket after Sendle cancelled labels for orders packed and ready to go.

“Give us 3–4 days this is crazy HAPPY NEW F******G YEAR,” the business wrote in a post later reported by news.com.au.

Melbourne retailer The Brick Store relied on Sendle for around 90 per cent of deliveries. Founder JP Haddad told SmartCompany that 27 orders scheduled for pickup were suddenly cancelled.

“The convenience and the cost outweighed everything else,” Haddad said. “I couldn’t sleep last night, I had so much stuff on my mind.”

Instead of simple pickups, Haddad now has to handwrite labels and physically line up at the post office. It’s extra work many small business owners simply don’t have time for.

Why Sendle mattered so much

Founded in Sydney in 2014, Sendle built its reputation by pitching directly to small business owners. No subscriptions. No residential surcharges. Parcels Australia Post wouldn’t take. Flat-rate pricing. Carbon-neutral delivery.

It claims to have shipped more than 65 million parcels across Australia, the US and Canada.

For many online retailers, it was a genuine alternative to Australia Post, and often a cheaper, more flexible one.

That’s why the sudden shutdown has hit so hard.

The merger that unravelled

Behind the scenes, trouble had been brewing.

Just months ago, Sendle merged with US-based logistics companies FirstMile and ACI Logistix to form FAST Group, headquartered in California. At the time, Sendle co-founder James Chin Moody described the move as a “significant leap forward” for customers, while FAST Group CEO Keith Somers promised a “complete and powerful logistics ecosystem” for e-commerce businesses.

But the merger quickly unravelled.

According to US logistics publication FreightWaves, Federation Asset Management froze redemptions from one of its funds late last year after discovering “significant deficiencies” in ACI Logistix’s financial statements following the merger. Business News Australia later reported that Federation withdrew support altogether, citing due diligence lapses, financial discrepancies and concerns about potential bankruptcy.

FAST Group is now reportedly at risk of filing for US bankruptcy protection if it can’t secure new funding.

Sendle has declined to comment further, telling SmartCompany: “We are not able to provide any further comment at this time.”

What the Sendle shutdown means for small business owners

The immediate lesson is a hard one: relying on a single courier is risky, even if they’ve been rock solid for years.

“When a logistics provider stops overnight, small businesses are the ones left exposed,” Interparcel Australia and New Zealand CEO Steve Zammit told Business News Australia. “Right now, there are merchants with stock ready to go and no clear way to move it.”

Competitors are already seeing an influx of enquiries, but switching providers isn’t always quick or cheap. Different pricing structures, surcharges and size limits can all bite.

Sendle competitor Aramax has also stepped in to offer a solution, providing the following comment to media:

“We encourage customers impacted by Sendle’s operational cessation to open an aramexConnect account at aramexConnect.com.au. It’s simple, fast and free to set up. The Aramex team is available to assist businesses in transitioning their deliveries and ensuring continuity of service.

While there is no doubt that there are alternative logistics solutioins, Sendle’s sudden exit has left small businesses holding the bag.

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