In a sudden and dramatic move, Australian-founded parcel delivery service Sendle has shut down all operations, throwing thousands of customers into disarray and resulting in an unknown number of job losses.
Immediate Halt to All Services
The company, which specialised in affordable, carbon-neutral deliveries and was once considered a rival to Australia Post, sent an email to customers on Sunday announcing it was "halting all bookings for parcel pick-up and delivery" effective immediately.
The communication provided minimal explanation for the abrupt closure, leaving many shocked. It stated that any parcels already collected and in transit would be delivered "at the discretion of the delivery partner." All bookings scheduled for pick-up on January 12 or later have been cancelled.
A banner on Sendle's website now confirms the shutdown, and the company's social media accounts have been disabled.
Customer Confusion and Business Disruption
The email advised customers with questions about existing deliveries to contact the relevant delivery partner directly, naming platforms like eBay, Shopify, and WooCommerce. It included an apology for the disruption caused to businesses.
Online, customers expressed their dismay. "Had literally booked jobs over the last few days and they've all been nuked," one person said. Another remarked, "Ouch. Think about someone working for Sendle now."
Several business owners highlighted that Sendle's closure would cause serious issues, praising its policy of not charging residential surcharges and its willingness to accept parcels that were longer or heavier than Australia Post would handle.
A Legacy Cut Short After Merger Troubles
Founded in 2014, Sendle claimed to have sent more than 65 million parcels and helped shape the small business parcel delivery industry for the better.
The collapse comes just months after a merger that rolled Sendle into a new entity called the FAST Group, alongside two US-based companies, FirstMile and ACI Logistix.
However, reports from logistics site FreightWaves indicate that investor Federation Asset Management has closed funds with FAST Group. This decision followed the discovery of "significant deficiencies" in ACI Logistix's financial statements after the merger was completed.
7NEWS has contacted Sendle for comment on the sudden cessation of trading.
