The global market size for the courier, express, and parcel (CEP) is growing at an annual rate of 6.7%, according to procurement intelligence firm Beroe Inc., and is currently valued at US$336 billion. 

Beroe said the boom of e-commerce is mainly driving the growth of the industry with revenue performance estimated to grow 21.7% at a value of US$2.8 trillion.

The North Carolina-based market intelligence company noted that the CEP market is "highly mature" in North America and Western Europe with fierce competition among the top global suppliers like DHL, UPS, and FedEx while the opportunity for growth is in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

"The CEP market is emerging due to the e-commerce business and there are numerous service providers with a highly fragmented market share," the firm said in a statement.

According to Porter's Five Forces Analysis, there are no or few substitutes for CEP in developed regions. However, if the digital transmission is made a standard, it may serve as a substitute for physically shipping documents.

In emerging regions, however, evolving digitization in metros will serve as a threat for CEP. In particular, the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector, as well as government organizations, are still looking for CEP service for confidential document transactions.

Beroe said global suppliers are enhancing their presence by having tie-ups and M&A with regional players to use their expertise (on a regional level) like FedEx' recent acquisition of  TNT Express to expand its presence and market size in Europe.

The current revenue of the e-commerce industry in the Middle East is estimated to be at US$30.7 billion, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.4 percent until 2021 with the UAE and Saudi Arabia being the largest and fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the region.