About Cape Coffee Beans
Cape Coffee Beans is a South African ecommerce business specialising in freshly roasted coffee and everything needed to enjoy and serve great coffee. Founded in 2013 by Phaedon, the business started as a one-man, fully virtual operation run out of his apartment.
Over the years, Cape Coffee Beans has grown into a full-fledged business with a warehouse, a retail store, a team of over a dozen people, and a product range of 800 items. Being an ecommerce business allows them to connect with coffee lovers across the country, even though the speciality coffee market is a niche with customers spread far and wide.
As the business expanded, Phaedon wanted to ensure that each customer received their coffee quickly and reliably, no matter where they lived. Delivering fresh coffee nationwide required a logistics solution that could grow with the business and keep operations simple.
The logistics challenge
When Cape Coffee Beans was just a one-man operation, reaching customers across South Africa presented significant challenges:
- Limited access to courier services: As a small business, Phaedon didn’t have the same systems and courier options that larger companies could access.
- Efficient order fulfilment: Handling all orders alone meant juggling packing, shipping, and customer communication.
- Visibility and cost management: Even as the business grew, keeping track of deliveries and costs remained complex.
Speciality coffee customers expect their orders to arrive fresh and on time. Meeting these expectations while managing a growing number of orders and products was difficult without the right tools in place.
Bob Go has been supporting Cape Coffee Beans since the early days, evolving alongside the business as it grew. The platform provided the team with access to courier services and tools to manage shipping efficiently, helping them handle growing order volumes while keeping costs under control.
Phaedon said:
“The way Bob Go has served the business has changed as the business has evolved. It allows us to optimise our costs, work efficiently, communicate efficiently with customers, and maintain visibility of how all our orders are going.”
By giving the team full visibility over each order’s delivery progress and cost, Bob Go helped Cape Coffee Beans maintain high standards of service and keep customers informed throughout the process.
The results
With Bob Go supporting their logistics, Cape Coffee Beans has been able to grow while keeping operations smooth and efficient:
- Business growth: From a one-man show to a team of over a dozen staff with a warehouse and retail store.
- Operational efficiency: Shipping processes are streamlined, making it easier to manage increasing order volumes.
- Clear visibility and efficient cost management: Cape Coffee Beans can track orders and shipping costs, ensuring smooth operations.
- Customer satisfaction: Efficient delivery and communication help maintain trust and loyalty among customers spread across South Africa.
The team says Bob Go has made their shipping process much easier, allowing them to focus on growing the business, expanding their product range, and providing exceptional service. Even as new products are added and order volumes increase, the platform ensures the team can keep up with demand without losing control over delivery quality.
Conclusion
Cape Coffee Beans’ journey shows how the right tools can help small businesses overcome logistics challenges. By providing an easy way to manage shipping and courier processes, Bob Go allowed the team to focus on serving customers and growing the business.
From a small apartment-based startup to a thriving ecommerce brand, Cape Coffee Beans demonstrates that with the right systems in place, even niche businesses can grow efficiently and reach customers nationwide.
You can watch Phaedon share the full story and talk about working with Bob Go in our video below.