E-commerce, trade growth drive Africa's digital supply chains

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Growing order volumes, more complex distribution networks and rising customer expectations are increasing pressure on businesses to replace disconnected systems and manual processes with integrated digital tools that improve inventory management, transport planning and order tracking.

E-commerce drives logistics digitisation

E-commerce is an important part of this shift. FurtherAfrica, citing Statista projections, estimates that the continent's e-commerce market could grow from $40.49bn in 2025 to $56.03bn by 2029. The US International Trade Administration has similarly described African e-commerce as a predominantly mobile-led market, noting that mobile devices accounted for 69% of the continent's web traffic in 2021.

Those figures do not mean that growth will be uniform across the continent. Internet access, banking penetration, delivery infrastructure and consumer behaviour differ considerably between markets, while online payments remain a constraint in several countries. What they do suggest is that more goods will be ordered through channels that demand speed, visibility and more flexible fulfilment than traditional retail models generally require.

Regional trade reshapes logistics

Regional trade could place further pressure on these networks. The World Bank estimates that deeper implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area could increase intra-African exports by 109% by 2035, with South Africa's intra-African exports potentially rising by 61%. It also argues that achieving the agreement's potential will require better trade procedures, infrastructure, transport and logistics alongside the removal of formal trade barriers.

For logistics teams, the effect is likely to be greater variation in the volume, origin, destination and urgency of orders. A network may need to handle business-to-business deliveries, individual e-commerce parcels, store replenishment and time-sensitive orders simultaneously, often across several facilities, transport partners and customer systems.

Manual processes limit efficiency

This is where the limitations of manual processes tend to become visible. Stock discrepancies affect order availability, slow processing delays dispatch, incomplete information makes route planning less reliable and weak traceability leaves teams investigating problems after they have already reached the customer.

Spreadsheets remain useful for specific tasks, but they struggle when several parts of a distribution network need to work from the same information at once. The problem is not necessarily that the data does not exist, but that it is recorded in different places, updated at different times and interpreted by different teams.

Better visibility narrows those gaps. When inventory, order, transport and delivery information can move between systems, businesses are better able to adjust replenishment, allocate vehicles, plan routes and identify exceptions before they become wider service failures.

Connected systems improve visibility

Global Market Insights' research into logistics automation reflects this emphasis on visibility and throughput. Although much of the investment covered in its research relates to fulfilment facilities, the underlying drivers include real-time inventory information, faster order processing, automated sorting and the pressure to meet same-day or next-day delivery expectations. Its analysis also points to growing demand for cloud-based systems because they are easier to integrate with other digital platforms and can be scaled as volumes change.

Developments among some of Africa's largest e-commerce businesses show how this thinking is extending beyond individual facilities. Takealot Group consolidated its logistics, courier, on-demand delivery, supply-chain and freight capabilities under Takealot Fulfilment Solutions (TFS), describing the business as an integrated service spanning the first and last mile.

According to the company, TFS connects these stages through barcoded tracking, live delivery updates, system integrations and automated courier selection based on cost and speed. The significance is not that every business needs to replicate Takealot's infrastructure, but that a major e-commerce operator increasingly regards connected logistics information as a service that can also be offered to other businesses.

Jumia has followed a comparable direction in its African markets. Its logistics platform brings together hundreds of partners, ranging from individual entrepreneurs to larger logistics businesses, across line-haul and last-mile delivery. This distributed model gives marketplace sellers access to a broader delivery footprint without requiring each one to construct an independent network.

Jumia has also begun opening parts of that infrastructure to transactions that do not originate on its marketplace. Jumia Delivery uses its existing pick-up station network, routes and technology to offer parcel services to individuals and businesses, effectively turning an internal e-commerce capability into a wider distribution service.

Building connected supply chains

These examples point to a broader change in how logistics networks are being organised. Rather than treating stock records, transport planning and customer communication as separate functions, operators are beginning to connect them around the movement of each order.

That does not require every business to begin with a large automation project. In many cases, the more practical starting point is to establish accurate visibility through scanning, digital order records, consistent status updates and track-and-trace systems.

Once that foundation is reliable, businesses can begin automating repetitive processes, connecting transport and route-planning platforms and using operational data to improve forecasting and resource allocation. This phased approach also reduces the risk of installing sophisticated technology over inconsistent processes or unreliable information.

The obstacles are not only financial. Legacy systems may not communicate easily with newer platforms, operational data is often structured differently across departments, and employees may understandably resist systems that change established routines or create concerns about how performance will be measured.

Digitisation therefore requires decisions about process ownership and accountability alongside decisions about software. A system can identify that an order is late, but the business still needs clear rules governing who responds, what information is shared and how the rest of the network adjusts.

Digitisation complements infrastructure

City Logistics is one example of how logistics companies are using connected digital systems. Its technology offering includes customer-specific system integrations, business-intelligence reporting and track-and-trace tools, supported by automated sortation and cross-docking where faster processing can improve the flow of goods into the distribution network.

Its OnRoute platform carries that information into the last mile, giving customers access to parcel tracking, estimated delivery times and driver information. Delivery activity is fed back into management dashboards, where it can be assessed against service levels, cost and operational performance rather than remaining within a separate driver or vehicle record.

"The objective is not to digitise one isolated part of the operation while the rest of the network continues to work around it manually," says Ryan Gaines, CEO of City Logistics. "The real value comes from allowing accurate information to follow the goods through the supply chain, so that teams can make better decisions before a delay or error reaches the customer."

The emphasis on connected information is important because digitisation cannot remove every constraint affecting logistics in Africa. Road quality, border delays, customs processes, regulation and limited competition on certain transport corridors continue to affect the cost and predictability of moving goods.

A 2009 World Bank review of African transport corridors identified market-access restrictions, customs regulations and fragmented transport markets as barriers to the development of more efficient supply chains. While the study is now dated and conditions differ considerably between regions, its broader conclusion remains relevant: investment in physical infrastructure alone does not necessarily produce lower prices or better service when the systems and market structures surrounding that infrastructure remain inefficient.

Digital systems cannot repair a road, clear a border post or create competition in a restricted transport market. They can, however, show where delays occur, give businesses a more accurate understanding of their effects and provide the information needed to use available vehicles, facilities and labour more effectively.

The distinction helps explain why digitisation should be considered an operational tool rather than an end in itself. Its value lies in reducing uncertainty, allowing problems to be addressed sooner and giving businesses greater control as their networks become more complex.

As e-commerce and regional trade expand, the businesses best placed to manage that complexity will not necessarily be those with the most technology. They will be those able to produce accurate information, move it across the supply chain and use it to make faster, better-informed decisions.