National linehaul transportation services for south african post office (4-Month contract)

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The South African Post Office Group (SAPO) requires suitably qualified service provider/s to

provide national and regional Linehaul transportation services for the collection, movement

and delivery of consignments, bulk mail, pallets, mail, parcels and related operational items

between SAPO sites.

Linehaul is a critical operational capability in SAPO’s service and order fulfilment model. It

links mail centres, regional centres, depots, hubs, branches and other designated operating

points. The service directly affects cut-off adherence, transit time, backlog clearance, chainof-custody integrity, customer service reliability, revenue protection and cost-to-serve.

SAPO is therefore procuring more than vehicle capacity. The requirement is for a controlled,

visible, compliant and performance-managed postal linehaul service that supports the safe

and reliable movement of mail and parcels across the national network.

2. Objective of Bid

The objective of this bid is to appoint service provider/s to provide scheduled, specials and

recovery Linehaul transportation services nationally and regionally for SAPO for a period of

four (4) months on a month-to-month basis, subject to SAPO’s operational requirements.

3. Procurement and Award Structure

1. Bidders may bid for one, more than one, or all vehicle categories listed in this specification

and indicated in the Pricing Schedule – Annexure F.

2. Bidders may bid for one, more than one, or all routes per vehicle category/categories

selected, as indicated in the Pricing Schedule - Annexure F.

3. SAPO will award per vehicle category and per route bidding for.

4. SAPO does not guarantee any load volumes, trip volumes, route volumes or minimum

revenue. Frequencies and routes may be reviewed based on operational requirements.

5. SAPO reserves the right to allocate routes to more than one service provider where this

reduces concentration risk, improves resilience, supports emergency recovery, or

improves value-for-money.

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South African Post Office

4. Commercial vehicles required as indicated in the Pricing Schedule - Annexure F

Vehicle category/types Mandatory minimum requirements (NO OTHER

Types/alternatives will be accepted)

One (1) ton Closed, lockable and fit-for-purpose vehicle.

Four (4) ton Closed, lockable and fit-for-purpose vehicle.

Five (5) ton Closed, lockable and fit-for-purpose vehicle.

Eight (8) ton with

Tail lift must be operational and suitable for palletised loads.

operational tail lift

Twelve (12) ton with

Tail lift must be operational and suitable for palletised loads.

operational tail lift

Horse and Fifteen (15) Trailer must be closed, be locked and have a place for a

metre trailer SAPO seal (sealable) and fit for Linehaul.

Horse and Eighteen (18) Trailer must be closed, be locked and have a place for a

metre trailer SAPO seal (sealable) and fit for Linehaul.

The successful bidder/s will be required to provide a complete Linehaul transportation service

covering the following service types:

Service types Description

Service Type 1: Regular movements between SAPO sites according to the agreed

Scheduled route schedule, vehicle category, operating frequency, departure

Linehaul window, arrival window which will be agreed and contained in the SLA.

Trips requested by SAPO additional to the day to day operations

Service Type 2: Linehaul (Service Type 1), subject to approved booking, capacity

Special availability and agreed pricing. Additional vehicles might be requested

Linehaul for special projects and supplier will be informed in advance to supply

the vehicles.

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South African Post Office

6. Linehaul Operating Model

SAPO’s Linehaul operating model follows a hub-and-spoke postal distribution logic. Mail and

parcels move from collection points and intake channels to mail processing centres and hubs,

then through national and regional Linehaul routes to destination centres, depots, branches

and last-mile delivery points.

Process stage SAPO and service-provider control requirement

1. Booking and SAPO issues or confirms route requirement, vehicle category,

route instruction departure point, destination, and service window and load type.

Appointed service provider allocates compliant vehicle, trailer and

2. Vehicle

driver, and confirms registration number, driver details, tracking

allocation

status and arrival time.

SAPO dispatch staff and appointed service-provider driver verify

3. Loading and

load units count, manifest, seal numbers, vehicle fitness and

dispatch

departure readiness.

4. In-transit Vehicle must follow authorised route, maintain GPS visibility, report

movement progress and immediately escalate exceptions.

5. Receiving and Receiving site verifies seal integrity, manifest, load-unit count,

offloading arrival time and discrepancies.

All delays, shortages, damage, tampering, missed trips, route

6. Exception

deviations and unresolved discrepancies must be logged,

closure

investigated and closed.

7. Regulatory, Labour and Transport Compliance

No vehicle, driver, route, subcontractor or load may be used for SAPO Linehaul unless it is

legally compliant, operationally fit, properly insured, safely loaded, traceable and capable of

meeting the agreed route service standard.

7.1. Road Traffic and Transport Regulatory Compliance

1. The service provider must comply with the National Road Traffic Act, applicable National

Road Traffic Regulations and all other applicable legislation relevant to road freight,

vehicle operation, roadworthiness, dangerous goods, overloading, transport safety and

municipal requirements.

2. All vehicles must have valid licence discs, roadworthy status where applicable, operator-

related documentation where applicable, tracking devices, safety equipment and evidence

of legal fitness before being used on SAPO routes.

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3. All drivers must have valid licences for the applicable vehicle class and valid Professional

Driving Permits where required.

4. The service provider must ensure compliance with permissible vehicle mass, axle mass,

gross vehicle mass, gross combination mass, load-body limits, vehicle dimensions, load

restraint and route restrictions.

5. SAPO may inspect and reject any vehicle, trailer, driver, subcontractor or document that

does not meet the required compliance standard.

7.2. NBCRFLI / Road-Freight Labour Compliance

1. The appointed bidder and subcontractor approved in writing by SAPO must comply

with the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry

(NBCRFLI), including registration, collective agreement obligations, levies, wage

requirements, employment conditions, working hours, overtime, allowances, leave,

dispute-resolution obligations and statutory records

8. Overloading, Load-Mass and Axle-Mass Compliance

1. The service provider shall ensure that all vehicles used for SAPO Linehaul services

comply at all times with legal vehicle mass, axle mass, axle-unit mass, gross vehicle

mass, gross combination mass and load-distribution requirements.

2. The service provider may not permit a vehicle to depart from a SAPO site where the

vehicle, trailer, axle, axle unit or vehicle combination exceeds the lawful mass limit.

3. The service provider must supply a vehicle with sufficient legal payload capacity for

the route and load profile.

4. SAPO and the service provider must jointly ensure that loading is safe, lawful and does

not result in overloading or unsafe load distribution.

5. Where the driver or supervisor believes that the load may cause overloading or unsafe

distribution, the matter must be escalated to the SAPO dispatch officer and National

Linehaul Office before departure.

6. The service provider has the right and obligation to refuse departure where the vehicle

is overloaded or cannot be safely and lawfully transported, provided the refusal is

supported by evidence and immediate notification to SAPO.

7. SAPO may require weighbridge verification before departure, during transit or after

arrival. Weighbridge slips and payload records must be made available on request.

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8. Overloading incidents, fines, impoundments, delays, losses or damages caused by the

service provider’s vehicle selection, incorrect payload declaration, unsafe load

distribution, unauthorised loading or failure to comply with legal mass requirements

shall be for the service provider’s account.

9. Repeated overloading, failure to report overloading, bypassing weighbridge

requirements or knowingly operating an overloaded vehicle shall constitute material

non-compliance.

9. Vehicle and Equipment Requirements

1. Vehicles must be closed, lockable, weatherproof, clean, roadworthy, fit-for-purpose

and suitable for the load, route and service window.

2. Vehicles, trailers and load bodies must have space for SAPO seals and must be

capable of being locked and sealed with a SAPO seal after loading.

3. Vehicles must have functioning GPS tracking before being used on SAPO routes.

SAPO must have access to live tracking, tracking reports or trip history in a format

acceptable to SAPO such as Excel format.

4. Vehicles must be fitted with appropriate safety equipment, including emergency

triangles, fire extinguisher where required, reflective equipment and any other legally

required equipment.

5. Tail lifts, must be operational, safe and suitable for the load type bidding for.

6. The appointed service provider must maintain and service vehicles at its own cost and

must ensure that vehicle breakdowns do not compromise SAPO service continuity.

7. SAPO may reject a vehicle that is unsafe, dirty, unsuitable, not closed, not lockable,

not traceable, not compliant or not fit for purpose in accordance with the specification

document requirements.

10. Driver and Personnel Requirements

1. Drivers must be professional, identifiable as workers or authorised representatives of

the appointed service provider, and trained to interact appropriately with SAPO staff

and customers.

2. Drivers must have the correct licence class, valid PrDP (where applicable as per

vehicle type i.e 8 Ton), and proof of identity.

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3. The appointed service provider must conduct driver background checks, criminal

record checks and licence verification, and must make records available to SAPO on

request.

4. The appointed service provider must ensure that drivers comply with working-time,

rest-period, fatigue-management and overtime requirements under applicable labour

law and NBCRFLI requirements.

5. SAPO may require removal of any driver who breaches safety, security, conduct, site

access, and confidentiality or compliance requirements.

11. Online Booking

1. The appointed service provider must have the capability in providing an online or

system-based mechanism that will be used for vehicle booking, route confirmation,

vehicle allocation, driver allocation, trip status, exception logging and reporting.

2. SAPO requires access to the online or system-based mechanism via API’s or a link.

3. Data must be exportable in at least Excel and CSV or another SAPO-approved format

as requested.

4. All route, trip, performance, tracking and invoice data relating to SAPO services must

be made available to SAPO on request.

5. The appointed service provider will be required to provide proof of the online or system-

based mechanism in place after award but prior to implementation of the contract.

Failure to comply will result in the cancellation of the award/appointment whereby

SAPO reserve the right to approach other approved & qualifying bidders.

12. Service Level Agreement and Performance Management

1. The appointed service provider must achieve a minimum monthly route-level

performance standard of 95%, as agreed in the SLA. Performance must be measured

across the full Linehaul service, not only arrival time. 5% penalty fee will be charged

on the trip where the failure occurred.

The SLA and performance measures will be discussed and agreed upon during the contract

negotiation process.

13. Service Credits, Penalties and Remedies

2. SAPO may apply penalties, route suspension, and recovery of costs, corrective action

requirements or termination remedies where the service provider fails to meet

contractual requirements.

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South African Post Office

14. Pricing and Commercial Model

1. Pricing must be provided for per vehicle category type/s and per route/s bidding for

on a CPK (cost per kilometre which is in line with the transport industry benchmark)

including VAT.

2. SAPO will request the bidder to provide and present cost offering (open-book

costing) during the Due Diligence phase to examine and verify how prices quoted

were derived. Bidders must distinguish fixed and variable cost

elements/components and the percentage contribution of each component as well

as the fuel contributor.

3. The rate must be all inclusive and include amongst other i.e. fuel, tolls,

maintenance, vehicle servicing, driver costs, insurance, tracking, administration,

online booking system services, waiting time, empty return legs and other route

costs.

4. No additional charges/costs may be claimed unless expressly provided for in the

pricing schedule or approved by SAPO in writing prior to execution of services.

15. Fuel Adjustment Mechanism

1. Fuel adjustments must be transparent, formula-based and symmetrical. Adjustments

must be apply upward and downward using official South African fuel price movements

and the approved bidder cost basket during the contract term period as applicable.

Fuel adjustment element Required treatment

The official diesel price applicable on the bid closing date or contract

Base fuel price

commencement date, as specified in the SLA.

Approved fuel Bidder must disclose the percentage of the route CPK attributable to

component fuel. SAPO may review, approve or cap the fuel component.

Adjustment frequency Monthly, aligned to official fuel price changes.

Fuel adjustment = Base CPK x approved fuel component % x

Formula

percentage change in official fuel price.

Upward and downward Increases and decreases must both be passed through using the same

adjustment formula.

Supplier must submit monthly calculation, fuel price reference, route

Evidence

invoice schedule and supporting cost basket.

No separate fuel claim may be made outside the approved fuel

Exclusions

adjustment mechanism.

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South African Post Office

Material fuel volatility or abnormal cost movement may trigger open-

Review trigger

book review or route-price review subject to SAPO approval.

16. Insurance, Liability and Indemnity

Bidders must provide proof of insurance cover as listed in the table below from their Insurance

Company that must be “Valid & Active” on the bid closing date and must be maintained

throughout the contract term period.

Type of Insurance

Minimum requirement

Cover required

Bidders must have Public Liability Insurance Cover to the minimum

Public Liability Insurance

value of Hundred Thousand Rand (R100 000) per incident.

Goods in Transit Bidders must have Goods in Transit (GIT) Insurance Cover to the

Insurance minimum value of Twenty Thousand Rand (R20 000) per incident.

.

Bidders must have Comprehensive All Risk Vehicle Insurance Cover

in place for all vehicles categories/types and routes awarded. Bidders

Comprehensive All Risk will be required to provide proof from their Insurance Company

Vehicle Insurance confirming Comprehensive All Risk Vehicle Insurance Cover for all

vehicles categories/types and routes awarded during the contract

negotiation phase prior to contract implementation.

SAPO will not be liable for losses caused by a supplier’s negligence,

Indemnity Insurance wilful misconduct, unlawful transport, non-compliance, security breach

or failure to meet contractual obligations.

17. Subcontracting and Capacity Control

1. No subcontracting is permitted after appointment and/or implementation without

SAPO’s prior written approval.

2. The bidder must provide current a) owned, b) leased and c) subcontracted fleet

capacity available for this contract. The bidder to submit proof of ownership as follows:

 Owned Vehicles: Vehicle registration certificates in the name of the bidding

company

 Leased Vehicles: Lease contracts from the Financing Institution in the name of the

bidding company

 Subcontracted Vehicles: Signed contract between the bidder and the subcontractor

including the vehicle registration certificates of the vehicles registered in the

subcontractors’ name.

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South African Post Office

All of the above documentation provided must be “Valid & Active” on the bid closing

date.

3. Subcontractors appointed after written approval has been obtained from SAPO, must

comply with the same specification requirements i.e. vehicle, driver, and insurance,

GPS, NBCRFLI, road traffic, OHS, security, chain-of-custody and performance

applicable to the main contractor (bidder)

4. The appointed service provider (main contractor/bidder) remains fully accountable and

responsible to ensure that the subcontractor in all respects comply with the

specification document requirements.

5. SAPO may at their own discretion reject any request from the appointed service

provider to subcontract Linehaul services or, vehicle/s or driver/s that do not meet the

required standard/requirements as contained in the specification document.

18. Bidder Experience and Capability Requirements

1. Bidders must provide at least three (3) different client reference letters on their clients’

company letterheads confirming that the bidding company has a minimum of five (5)

years’ proven experience in providing Linehaul/ road freight/ parcel/ logistics or similar

transportation services.

2. Bidders are required to use Annexure BR as a template to provide to their clients to

complete that will be used to evaluate the bidders’:

a) Completed experience (in yrs) and

b) Number of clients where Linehaul/ road freight/ parcel/ logistics or similar transportation

services were provided.

19. Delivery Lead Time

The successful bidder must implement and supply the awarded services within a maximum

period of fourteen (14) working days from receiving and accepting the award letter, unless

otherwise agreed in writing by SAPO. Failure to do so may result in SAPO awarding the

relevant service to a reserve bidder or another qualifying bidder.

Bidders to use Annexure DL as a template for purposes of confirming the delivery lead time

to supply the services after receiving and accepting the award letter, and for submission to

SAPO.

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20. Due Diligence

SAPO reserves the right to conduct a due diligence exercise on and/or request the top three

(3) highest scoring bidders per category to make presentation of their offering in order to verify

& confirm, amongst other –

 Compliance with scope of work/specification.

 Cost offering (open-book costing) to examine and verify how prices quoted were derived

 Fixed and variable cost elements/components and the percentage contribution of each

component as well as the fuel contributor.

 Cost/rate quoted is all inclusive and include at least i.e. fuel, tolls, maintenance, vehicle

servicing, driver costs, insurance, tracking, administration, online booking system

services, waiting time, empty return legs and other route costs.

 Fuel adjustments mechanisms applied in terms of the cost/rates quoted

 Fleet Capacity (Ownership) as it pertains to current a) owned, b) leased and c)

subcontracted vehicles available for this contract.

Should it be found that the information provided in the bid document and/or during the bid

evaluation process is not verifiable or misleading, SAPO will disqualify the bidder.

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offloading arrival time and discrepancies.

commencement date, as specified in the SLA.

proof of ownership as follows

pricing schedule or approved by SAPO in writing prior to execution of services.

in place for all vehicles categories/types and routes awarded. Bidders

vehicles categories/types and routes awarded during the contract

negotiation phase prior to contract implementation.

SAPO will not be liable for losses caused by a supplier’s negligence,

or failure to meet contractual obligations.

One (1) ton Closed, lockable and fit-for-purpose vehicle.

Four (4) ton Closed, lockable and fit-for-purpose vehicle.

Five (5) ton Closed, lockable and fit-for-purpose vehicle.

Eight (8) ton with

operational tail lift

Twelve (12) ton with

operational tail lift

Horse and Fifteen (15) Trailer must be closed, be locked and have a place for a

metre trailer SAPO seal (sealable) and fit for Linehaul.

Horse and Eighteen (18) Trailer must be closed, be locked and have a place for a

metre trailer SAPO seal (sealable) and fit for Linehaul.