Homegrown parcel delivery startup Sendle has abruptly ceased all new parcel pickups and shipments, forcing small business customers to scramble for alternative delivery options.
Sendle informed business customers of the decision via email on Sunday, declaring an immediate pause to all new orders.
The service, which taps into third-party logistics providers to complete deliveries, says all parcels already picked up and in transit will be handled “at the discretion of the delivery partner”.
However, “Any existing bookings scheduled for pickup on 12 January or later will be cancelled”.
“We understand this may be disruptive for your business and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the email added.
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In a statement provided to SmartCompany on Monday, a Sendle spokesperson confirmed it is no longer taking future bookings.
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“We are not able to provide any further comment at this time,” they said.
Online businesses face disruption
Small businesses reliant on Sendle for deliveries have been forced to find alternatives on short notice.
JP Haddad, founder of Melbourne-based specialist LEGO set retailer The Brick Store, told SmartCompany he has used Sendle for eight years with little incident.
The service was cheaper for most deliveries compared to Australia Post, he said, and his business was able to organise parcel pickups via text message.
“The convenience and the cost outweighed everything else,” he said.
But Sunday’s surprise announcement means 27 orders scheduled for pickup by Sendle on Monday were cancelled.
Haddad, who runs The Brick Store alongside his full-time job, says channeling those orders through Australia Post will require extra legwork.
“I have to hand-write labels, and I have to physically deliver to the post office and wait for them to weigh and measure and scan,” he said.
“I couldn’t sleep last night, I had so much stuff on my mind,” he continued.
“Those parcels, I’ll just go home and over the next 48 hours, just rewrite everything and go to the post office on Wednesday.”
Despite some reports of Sendle customers being charged for cancelled orders, Haddad does not believe he was slugged for deliveries affected by Sunday’s announcement.
Other businesses have temporarily postponed new orders to deal with the backlog.
Siddement, a Sydney business providing 3D printing materials, has paused operations while diverting 200 packages scheduled for delivery through Sendle to Aramex and Australia Post.
The business, which was already coping with delays caused by the city’s extreme heat, apologised to customers through a notice on its website.
“This is so f*****,” the business said.
“I am sorry to all new customers, the heat wave and this has [sic] created the perfect storm to cause delays.”
Sendle challenged after major growth
Sendle launched in 2014, pledging to support small businesses in delivering their parcels without subscription fees or excess warehousing costs.
Co-founder and CEO James Chin Moody positioned Sendle as a competitor to Australia Post, with flat-rate fees, free tracking, and a focus on carbon neutrality.
The startup raised significant investment capital, including a $45 million Series C round in 2021, when it was buoyed by the COVID-era spike in online shopping and e-commerce deliveries.
A smaller $16 million round in 2024 preceded Sendle’s three-way merger with US logistics companies FirstMile and ACI Logistix, creating the FAST Group in August 2025.
The new-look logistics giant faced fresh challenges shortly after.
Federation Asset Management, a major FAST Group financial backer, reportedly froze redemptions from a fund with significant FAST Group holdings in December while asking post-merger questions about the financial position of ACI Logistix.
Logistics industry publication FreightWaves reports Federation Asset Management last year provided FAST Group with emergency capital to keep operations stable.
More to come.
