Fastway Couriers is tapping into the power of the sharing economy to manage peak delivery demand over the Christmas period.

Its Blu Courier system will be rolling out across Sydney and Brisbane over Christmas connecting Fastway couriers franchisees with their local workforce.

Fastway CEO Richard Thame says the Blu Courier innovation allows franchisees to quickly up-scale to accommodate peaks in demand while providing a flexible work option for Australians.

“Following the success of our pilot program we anticipate in the next 12 months over 1000 Australians will take advantage of the flexible working style of Blu Couriers, with the jobs targeted to people wanting to work when it suits them like university students, parents between school runs and people looking for extra income,” Thame said.

Coping with surge periods is one of the biggest challenges the franchisees face, with Christmas the main period of overwhelming demand.

The Blu Courier system solves this challenge, providing additional resources on demand for Fastway’s participating courier franchisees.

“With three in four internet users in Australia now shopping online, delivery demand is going to continue to climb,” Thame said. “As well as helping our Fastway Courier Franchisees cope with delivery surges including at Christmas, Blu allows a really flexible opportunity to earn some extra cash at times that fits into people’s lifestyles. Our Blu Couriers will be fully trained and operate within the security of the Fastway Couriers delivery network.”