At uAfrica, we specialise in everything eCommerce. This includes everything from providing merchants with the ability to sell their goods across multiple platforms, and guiding them to streamline their shipping and selling processes by providing access to multiple South African couriers on one platform.
It’s with the latter that we identified a need for more advanced courier software, which is when Ship Logic was born. We sat down with the Ship Logic team to find out what their challenges and achievements have been so far.
Please introduce the team and the role each member plays:
- Andy Higgins: eCommerce Expert (the visionary and ultimate adventurer)
- Jaco Roux: Technical Director at uAfrica (health fanatic and voice of reason)
- Cornel Rautenbach: Head of Development (king of giphies)
- Johan de Klerk: Senior Developer (always wants to show you something cool)
- Liesl Steyn: UX Designer (general team cheerleader, likes sticky notes)
What is your main objective with the software you’re developing?
We are revolutionising the way parcels are delivered. Using modern technology, we increase efficiency by automating many of the currently manual operations. Our solution decreases failed delivery attempts, improves customer communication and enhances delivery security. We also focus on being environmentally sustainable by providing paperless waybills and digital proof of delivery.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced so far?
The first challenge of any startup is, of course, finding the right team members. The smaller the team, the more important it is for every member to work well together and have fun together. We’re pretty lucky to have been able to get a team together that does just that.
Secondly, since we are not a courier company ourselves, getting valuable user input and feedback from relevant stakeholders in the courier industry is super important. We’ve discovered that the needs of different courier companies differ quite a lot. Since we’d like to develop a system that caters for all courier companies, no matter how big or small, it is not a trivial task, but vital to understand each of their needs and requirements, and how our system should integrate with other existing systems, etc.
Thirdly, sending a parcel from point A to B, involves a surprising number of role players: from the person who would like to send the parcel to the courier company’s operations managers, warehouse managers, and drivers. Developing systems that address each of their needs in an intuitive manner has been challenging and exciting.
What is the most exciting moment you’ve experienced as a team?
We’ve had many small (and not so small) achievements so far. From delivering parcels ourselves to having the very first parcel delivered – without any issues – by an experienced courier driver. Seeing how he interacted with the app and how small new features excited him was a highlight in seeing our product come to life.
What does the future look like for Ship Logic?
The lack of team politics, the effectiveness of a small and dynamic team, and the immediate availability of experts in the field, all contribute to the rapid development of new and improved features. Even while courier drivers are busy delivering parcels, we’re deploying exciting new features such as alternative proof of delivery methods. We’re redefining the courier software industry and are super excited about what the future holds for Ship Logic and the courier industry as a whole.
If you are a company operating in the logistics industry that could make use of the Ship Logic software, contact them at support@shiplogic.com. You can also visit their website at: www.shiplogic.com.
