This is how we become probably the biggest bicycle courier aggregator in the country (maybe even in the whole of AFRICA)
A rolling stone gathers no moss. #bicyclecouriers started with a single account way back when we were young. And we’ve since grown into probably the biggest bicycle courier company in South Africa based on being an aggregator and now have accounts and relationships with 20 different service providers as below.
*Please note this has long since extended from just sending boxed bicycles across the country, as we now do many other parcels and specialized items as well, big or small, fast or slow, overnight or standard, bulk or once off. If you want a comparative quote for shipping your items request it from get-a-quote/
Here are some of our service providers, in no specific order, and with a summary below…
Netwerk Koeriers
The Afrikaans female transport team who operates from CPT up the West Coast towards Namibia and along the East Coast towards Port Elizabeth. Their bicycle booking process is slightly different to the others, very manual indeed, but quick and personal and we go way back. I love working with a fast and responsive team and Netwerk couriers is a perfect fit. What started as a pre-paid ad hoc referral system has since transpired into a formal account. Just be sure that you have boxed your bicycle the correct way, or ask us to arrange. Netwerk couriers is also very quick to react and book on WhatsApp, just like #bicyclecouriers.
Logistical Solutionist
A new and tech savvy online courier company that I inadvertently came across during my search for comprehensive bicycle goods in transit cover that we now offer on product/git-insurance/. This clever suggestion was made by one of the insurance brokers (a referral from a longstanding friend in the industry) who said they might be able to assist us. And indeed, they can. Thanks Travis and the Logistical Solutionist team. Here we go. Oh, and did I mention they also use the ParcelPerfect™ platform? I love it.
DSV logistics
OK I bet you already knew about this one. The deep-blue DSV logistics is one of the global juggernaut courier companies and yes, we do use them to send bicycles all across SA. With their massive new warehouse next to the N2 at the CPT International airport, they are also highly visible, and it acts as a reminder every time we pass there. There have been some recent changes in the local account managers but at the same time we were able to renegotiate a 20% discount on rates. Now there you go. Their DSV Clientzone online booking platform is certainly not as smoot as some of the others listed here, but it has come a long way over the years that I have been with them
DCB Logistics
DCB is the courier company with the green logo and that requires a monthly spend of around R20-30k per month on last count before you may open an account with them. As a courier company, DCB Logistics has a hands-on service that crosses from tech over into personal — and the many phone calls before collecting and delivering ensures that our drivers do not arrive at a collection point and then the sender is not available…
DPD Laser
Formerly Dawn Wing couriers with the yellow and red hues, DPD Laser with its clean white and new dark red logo is now to be seen with their trucks around events like the EPIC and more. What initially prompted me to open and account with them was the seemingly sleek front-end for booking collections from the website. However at the time the reality of the (what looked like a legacy Dawn Wing booking platform) process was slightly different, nevertheless, we deal with the sometimes complicated systems so that you don’t have to! And with #bicyclecouriers you can Send your MTB to+from the ABSA Cape Epic!
Gavic Express
Up in the North. Is tumbled on Gavic Express either as a last-mile third party delivery or as a favour or recommendation from another provider when they were not in a position to deliver a bicycle according to a certain schedule, and the rest is history. Avril from gavic express is always quick to assist and the fact that they also use the ParcelPerfect makes it so easy to book with them. PS, small world, this software provider contacted my just yesterday to enquire how I liked their product… want to know more on Using Parcel Perfect™ to send your bicycle?
ITT Intertown Transport
Focused on the Southern and Eastern cape (where they have their head office) and also quick and easy for sending bicycles on one of our main routes from JHB to CPT and return. ITT Intertown Transport was the perfect solution for certain areas but not for all areas as the lack of presence in KZN caused some third-party delivery timing anxiety from a bicycle courier company’s perspective. ‘For everything else, there’s Mastercard’. ITT remains a firm favourite as it was our first introduction to PARCEL PERFECT and I love the tiered item structure where the comparative cost becomes cheaper as you send more items.
Triton Express
TRITON was one of the first accounts we opened back in the day at the start of #bicyclecouriers. But I quickly learned that our volumes were too low and the rates we received were not competitive. Hence it made a lot of sense to send bicycles through one of our friends (and some might say, technically competitors, even though I see it differently as we don’t cross swords and I send referrals their way). And I still do, as below. Triton express is competitive (given volumes) for main center bicycle transport but at the same time they cannot compete with low rates for remote bicycle deliveries. And that’s why we have options.
Triptych resources
Full circle. At first, I placed a lot of business through husband-and-wife team Andrew and Dianne, as I share their principles and value their work ethic. However, these days it has become less so, only for the reason that I now have competitive solutions to pretty much all the nuances of boxed bicycles deliveries in South Africa that I wanted to address. You are in safe hands with Triptych and when I go on a trip myself, I will happily share the workload with them. And it is easy to manually book with Susanne from Triptych resources operations. Even though our own preferred method is pre-printed PDF waybills that goes straight onto your boxed bicycles.
Joggie’s bicycle transport
What a man. Joggie started our very own bicycle transport journey by pioneering the specialized bulk bicycle transport trailer system many years ago. And he has not looked back since. It’s a brilliant concept and works wonders for sending bicycles quickly and effortlessly to events. But herein lies the problem, and our solution. There is a certain economy of scale required (ie minimum order quantity) to justify going to a race event or location. Which makes ad hoc, once-off, and small-scale trips not viable for the bigger bicycle trailer transporters. Enter #bicyclecouriers…
VIP Bicycle Transport and Logistics
Thanks Barend for sending over customers to our side. Our businesses differ in the way that we deliver bicycles. For the most part, #bicyclecouriers is the perfect boxed bicycle solution for individuals who BUY & SELL bicycles online and need to send their bikes from the seller to the buyer. OR for racers and tourists going to partake in an event like the CTCT or IRONMAN® or specifically smaller and niche events that are not being serviced by the large ‘take-it-unboxed-and-as-is’ bicycle transporters like VIP Bicycle Transport and Logistics.
TCG The Courier Guys
Oh wow I’m pretty sure everyone in south Africa knows about the courier guy, especially with they witty and topical advertisements, almost along the lines of what you’d expect from Nando’s. What does TCG stand for – The Cable Guy? The Courier Guy! Either way, they are seemingly everywhere, are great for small items, even though we found their pricing less competitive when it comes to large and bulky items. Nevertheless, this one is on the books, although I can safely say we have never used them to send bicycles with…
RAM hand-to-hand express
RAM couriers offer local & international & special courier services, together with distribution and warehousing. In their own words: With over 40 hubs across South Africa, over 1 600 fully-serviced vehicles and 3 000 personnel, we offer industry-specific technology solutions and logistics infrastructure to service every type of business and timeously deliver for all our customers. RAM hand to hand couriers can be used to send your package from A-to-B, seamlessly. Bicycle couriers say door-to-door, and RAM says hand-to-hand.
IE Internet express
Seems to be very much an e-commerce focused door to door courier company. They store and pack and ship your orders with multi-channel fulfillment across South Africa and abroad. Pick, pack & dispatch. And they also offer a worldwide courier service through their extensive distribution network. I really like the tagline for global shipments that says ‘let’s make the world smaller place’. Internet express couriers provide a RESTful API for custom developed websites as well as plugins including WooCommerce, Shopfiy, Magento, NOP Commerce.
Skynet express
Skynet worldwide couriers offer domestic & international & specialized courier services. Their omestic courier services are designed to provide you with a fast and easy way to send your packages all across South Africa. Worldwide they offer international express courier and logistic services to more than 190+ countries around the world. And when it comes to special courier services, Skynet worldwide express couriers have the right solution for you, whether it is e-commerce, warehousing and fulfilment or a dedicated fleet you need,
Wumdrop on demand delivery
Now this is something different. Wumdrop offers Frictionless last-mile delivery and driver crowdsourcing. With Same-day and on-demand delivery in CPT JHB PTA DBN OMB BFN PLK NLP KBY PLZ and Mosselbaai – pretty much all our very own major centers all across South Africa, with the exception of ELS. And if you are skeptical about using them, consider their partners; Makro, Game, Builders, CTM, Standard Bank, Oasis water and more. How did I find them? Easy. IT. Wumdrop couriers has a Same-day and on-demand last-mile delivery for WooCommerce and Shopify stores.
Fastway couriers
F is for Fastway and for Franchising… From what I gather, Fastway does the courier thing differently, with many individual branches working together rather than one centralized ownership and multiple outlets. They offer Low start-up costs | Exclusive territory | Multiple award winning franchise system | and Unparalleled support and training. Fastway courier depots are all our usual main centers, PLUS Klerksdorp, Newcastle, Rustenburg, Vereeniging and Witbank.
Rush platform
The red RUSH platform that says your courier and your choice has a lovely quick interface where you can get comparative quotes for deliveries on TCG and DSV. There are others listed on the site but don’t appear in the search results, unless maybe inter as in within the same city not between cities. It’s quick to do a city/town lookup for the TO & FROM areas yet the results are often more expensive than I get when going direct to the respective senders. The RUSH couriers platform at least gives you a very quick minimum and maximum price as a gauge.
Expressway couriers
The KZN freight solution. I’m glad to see a newly updated website and beautiful blue logo. And when they refer to freight it is typically bigger loads, more often full truck loads iso shared. So you better know hoe to calculate what goes into the different sized vehicles in order to ensure that (A) you don’t book to small a vehicle because then you need to run multiple trips which is way more expensive than (B) booking a larger vehicle, but you also don’t want unused capacity and the associated costs. Expressway couriers shows the importance of volumetric weight and accurate dimensions.
Anderson transport
A family business that has already done 40 million kms or 1000 times around the earth… Anderson transport has been running for over 4 decades and have 200 of their own plus 100 dedicated sub-contracted super link long haul trucks (Volvo & Scania) on the road. The 5 depots are in Wellington CPT, Alberton JHB, PLZ, DBN and Windhoek Namibia; and they have warehousing of 3000sqm in Wellington and 8000sqm in Alberton. Anderson transport runs around 45000 loads every year and this shows they certainly know what they are doing.
Bicyclerentals.co
Last but not least, this is not a bicycle courier company, but a bicycle rental company. I added Bram’s venture in here because they are closely related to what we do and bicyclerentals.co makes use of our #bicyclecouriers bicycle delivery services to send their rented bikes to and from races and IRONMAN® events and accommodation venues on behalf of their participants. Bicyclerentals.co remains our top stop for road bike rentals in RSA. Have a look at what they offer on: FINALLY! High-end carbon road bicycle rentals in South Africa
In summary
20 different providers below…
- A is for Anderson
- B is for Bicyle Rentals
- D is for DCB and DPD and DSV
- E is for Expressway
- F is for Fastway
- G is for Gavic
- I is for ITT & Internet Express
- J is for Joggie
- L is for Logistical Solutionist
- N is for Netwerk
- R is for RAM & for Rush
- S is for Skynet
- T is for TCG & Triptych & Triton
- V is for VIP and
- W is for Wumdrop
And this is why to use #bicyclecouriers, as you don’t need to bother finding out which provider to use for which route and you don’t need to open an account with each provider and adhere to the minimum monthly spend limits.
Now, where can we send your bicycle today? And not just bicycles, send anything you like…
