KargaX chains islands in 1 touch
As the logistics industry has learned to embrace digitization as part of business normal, Filipino-owned technology has emerged to provide a mobile application that answers the peculiar need of the archipelago which is separated by hundreds of islands.
KargaX president Kristofer Montebon officially unveiled on Friday the services of the logistics platform designed to connect shippers to multiple carrier options and vice versa and provide shippers with the most cost-effective solution and the truckers an optimized trip.
“We’ve seen use-cases where truckers traverse the Philippines with cargo on the forward and backload and shippers, saving 10 to 30 percent of the shipment costs by finding the right truckers,” Montebon noted.
KargaX is the first inter-region and inter-island delivery and cargo app in the Philippines that bridges the gap between truckers and clients to create a centralized platform.
Montebon is drawing from his 12-year experience in technology and startups, from Ninja Van, Lalamove, Transportify among others, to sharpen his focus on the logistics industry as he believes, that “everything from food, fuel to construction materials hinges on an efficient supply chain”.
Filling empty miles
According to a study by the ASEAN German Technical Cooperation in 2018, 56 percent of delivery trucks from Manila to the provinces return under-utilized or empty while 35 percent of those outbound of Metro Manila returning to their base in the provinces are under-optimized or without cargo.
Montebon believes innovations like the KargaX platform can solve one of the most persistent problems of “empty miles” in the industry, adversely affecting not just the truckers but the shippers, as well as they get charged for the two-way trip.
The KargaX president saw the need to create a freight matching mechanism to encourage wider use of available logistics management solutions and coordinate supply and demand.
He sees opportunities, as the transport industry is projected to grow at an eight percent compounded annual growth rate according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
“The pandemic has given impetus to develop the technology to optimize the price for shippers and maximize the load for carriers. In some of our use cases, this resulted in a 10 percent to 30 percent reduction in transportation costs for the shippers,” according to Montebon.
Reaching every corner
The company has a sales and operations team all over the Philippines located in the National Capital Region, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and Cagayan de Oro (CDO), as its stringent accreditation process for truckers guarantees that partners are all legitimate.
A trucking company may also enrol multiple vehicles and drivers seamlessly through the app, and they just need to upload photos or take pictures of the vehicles and other identification requirements.
The KargaX team reviews the enroled vehicles and approve them within an hour. Once approved, the trucking company can assign vehicles for bookings.
“We are integrated with Google maps for a more seamless routing. Clients can choose vehicle type, input cargo details, and their budget. The operator receives notifications through SMS and in-app about a booking and offers prices to the client through the app. They can chat and negotiate with the client,” Montebon explained.
Once the client accepts the offer, the trucker can assign a vehicle which is then tracked up to delivery address of the shipment in real-time through mobile phone.
The information on the assigned vehicle such as plate number, model, and driver information are provided to the client.
We’ve seen use-cases where truckers traverse the Philippines with cargo on the forward and backload and shippers, saving 10-30 percent of the shipment costs by finding the right truckers.
Montebon is drawing from his 12-year experience in technology and startups, from Ninja Van, Lalamove, Transportify among others, to sharpen his focus on the logistics industry.