Striving for sustainable e-commerce supply chains

The e-commerce boom that was fuelled by Covid-19 is showing no signs of slowing. It is predicted that in 2025, e-commerce transactions in South Africa will grow by 150% to R225 billion. So says THATO MOLOI, the newly appointed president of supply chain industry body SAPICS.

While consumers are clearly sold on the speed and convenience of online shopping, they are also increasingly recognising that there is an environmental price to be paid, and are demanding greener e-commerce supply chains. Integrating sustainability into e-commerce logistics is therefore a growing imperative and a significant supply chain trend in South Africa in 2025.

Dire reports from a few years ago warned of e-commerce “heating up the planet”. According to CBS News: “The rush toward ever-faster shipping is creating the need for more truck trips, undoing the ecological benefits of shopping online. Amazon’s package deliveries in 2017 alone emitted about 19 million metric tonnes of carbon, according to one estimate. That’s just under five coal-fired power plants.”

That was then. While the transport and logistics industry is still responsible for around 24% of global CO₂ emissions, strides are being made to reduce this, including in e-commerce supply chains. Companies are investing in electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy sources, and advanced data analytics to measure, manage, and minimise their environmental impact. They are optimising transportation routes to have fewer vehicles on the road and to cut CO₂emissions. They are adopting circular supply chain models, to get more use out of products and move beyond the traditional “take-make-waste” approach.

E-commerce giant Amazon reduced its overall emissions by 3% last year, and the business has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. To reach this target, Amazon is expanding the use of zero-emission transportation such as electric delivery vans, cargo e-bikes, and on-foot deliveries. It has launched initiatives to remove carbon emissions from transportation systems like ocean shipping, aviation, and trucking. The organisation is also using innovative construction techniques and building materials to make fulfilment centres, data centres, offices, and physical retail locations more sustainable.

Takealot has also embarked on a green journey, including transitioning to battery-electric trucks to cut emissions. The group has fleets of battery-electric trucks on the roads in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Woolworths, in partnership with DSV and Everlectric, was the first South African retailer to embark on an extensive rollout of electric panel vans to deliver their customers’ online purchases. To power the EVs, as much electricity as possible is sourced from renewable sources by utilising the extensive solar infrastructure at DSV’s Gauteng and Cape Town facilities.

Global logistics leader DHL is offering a portfolio of green shipping services to help reduce the environmental impact of e-commerce deliveries. DHL Express’s GoGreen Plus, which uses sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), is part of this. The biofuel is produced from renewable sources such as vegetable oils, animal fats, and agricultural crops. SAF is designed to be used as a substitute for traditional jet fuel and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil fuels.

South African logistics firm Bakers SA, meanwhile, is also testing various EVs with a view to integrating them into its fleet.

There is still a long way to go, but research shows that e-commerce has the potential to significantly reduce vehicle miles travelled and greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing individual shopping trips. This will depend, however, on whether e-retailers and supply chain managers are committed, knowledgeable, skilled, and suitably qualified to optimise their supply chains.

Thato Moloi named Sapics president

Supply chain industry body SAPICS has announced that Thato Moloi is its new president.

Having served on the SAPICS board of directors for nearly three years, Moloi succeeds outgoing president MJ Schoemaker.

Commenting on the current state of the supply chain sphere and the organisation’s plans as he takes the helm of SAPICS, Moloi says: “Today’s turbulent supply chain landscape calls for a new breed of supply chain manager. Our profession must navigate continuous technological advances and shifting global dynamics while meeting customers’ demands for speed, quality, affordability, and sustainability. Adaptability and innovation are the keys to success in supply chains today. Whether this means leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, accelerating sustainability, or rethinking traditional supply chain models, the need to innovate is more critical than ever.”

SAPICS has been elevating, educating, and empowering supply chain professionals in South Africa and across the continent since 1966. “We will ensure that our SAPICS supply chain community keeps pace with change, continuously improves, and is resilient and innovative by giving them all the knowledge, strategies, tools, and techniques needed,” promises Moloi.

He believes that supply chain networks are at the core of Africa’s development and industrialisation process. “SAPICS remains committed to being the catalyst for change. ‘Innovation in Motion’ has been chosen as the theme of this year’s 47^th annual SAPICS Conference in Cape Town, and it encapsulates the dynamic and forward-thinking approach that today’s supply chain professionals must adopt to stay ahead and that SAPICS will strive to support and advance,” he concludes.