Daraz Express, known as DEX, has expanded well beyond its original role as the delivery network behind Pakistan’s largest online marketplace, positioning itself instead as a broader logistics partner for businesses across the country. Since formally launching its last mile delivery solution for companies outside the Daraz platform in November 2025, DEX has recorded sixfold growth and built a portfolio of more than 200 brands, reflecting a shift toward serving Pakistan’s growing direct to consumer and online retail market as a standalone logistics provider.
The network has recently onboarded a number of well known Pakistani retail names, including Sapphire, Sana Safinaz, Khaadi, SAYA, Nishat, Generation, Edenrobe and Saeed Ghani, joining a wider portfolio that spans fashion, lifestyle, beauty and personal care categories. According to Ahmed Tanveer, Chief Logistics Officer at Daraz, the company built DEX to address operational challenges it encountered while scaling its own e-commerce business, gradually developing the physical infrastructure, technology and operating experience needed to eventually offer those same capabilities to businesses beyond Daraz itself. Originally launched in 2018 as the marketplace’s dedicated logistics arm, DEX was created to give Daraz greater control over the delivery experience rather than depending entirely on external courier companies, a shift driven by how directly delivery performance affects customer trust in online retail.
DEX has since grown its footprint to more than 100 cities across Pakistan, building its own linehaul network connecting major urban centres. The company says it can complete local deliveries within 24 hours and inter-provincial deliveries within 72 hours in eligible locations, while maintaining a delivery success rate above 90 percent. Central to this scale is automation through its Smart Distribution Centres in Karachi and Lahore, which the company describes as the first facilities of their kind in South Asia. These centres use automated sorting systems capable of processing more than 10,000 parcels per hour, with the two facilities together able to handle up to one million parcels daily, giving DEX the capacity to manage sudden spikes in order volume during major retail campaigns and product launches without compromising sorting accuracy or delivery timelines.
Tanveer said the expansion reflects a broader shift in Pakistan’s retail sector, as more established businesses invest in their own websites and direct to consumer channels rather than relying solely on marketplaces, creating demand for logistics partners with deeper e-commerce specific expertise rather than conventional parcel delivery experience. Cash on Delivery remains a central part of this proposition given its continued dominance in Pakistan’s online retail market, with DEX offering merchants multiple settlements each week along with visibility into their payouts, addressing what Tanveer described as one of the most persistent cash flow concerns for growing online businesses. Looking ahead, Tanveer said the company sees DEX evolving into a broader logistics partner for businesses across Pakistan, providing the infrastructure and operational scale needed for brands to reach more customers and grow their online presence without having to build out their own nationwide delivery networks.
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