A new online marketplace has been launched that aims to connect shippers and truckers as well as make booking trucks as easy as using the online consumer transport service Uber.
Created by Philippine information technology company Gliese, Inc., the electronic platform KargoX allows shippers—from big businesses to small enterprises—to search from a pool of truckers and compare the delivery prices of trucks in one online marketplace.
“The site is essentially an online transport marketplace, where users (provide information on) where the cargo has to be picked up and taken, as well as how much it weighs. (Shippers) will then be provided with a list of possible truckers who can handle the job for them,” Gliese said in a statement.
The company explained that “with the advent of technology has come an increasing number of third-party apps for virtually every service imaginable, such as restaurant reservations, travel planning and even booking a taxi or car for a trip.”
“KargoX aims to be that kind of service in the cargo trucking industry,” Gliese, a young technology start-up company that began in 2014, said. “We want to collaborate with relevant entities in trucking industry to realize our goal of transforming it,” it added.
Gliese said truckers that want to offer their services, especially to a larger audience, can easily do so with KargoX.
“This automatically helps with the issue that it’s difficult to advertise services unless one goes door to door, or already knows someone who can avail of what one can do for them,” Gliese said.
The online marketplace also helps ease the hesitation of consumers, as these services are now publicly listed, and the site can vouch for whoever has been more helpful and efficient. This makes it easier for those who do offer quality and reliable trucking services to expand their operations, Gliese pointed out.
Asked what guarantee clients have that the trucker or shipper is legitimate, Gliese told PortCalls in an email that all trucker-partners are screened and verified by their team first before they can advertise their services on KargoX.
“During screening, we ask for a copy of all relevant business documents including SEC/DTI (Securities and Exchange Commission/Department of Trade and Industry) papers, permit to operate, and certificates. Similarly, we also have on-boarding checklist for interested shipper customers to verify their entity and type of business,” Gliese said.
“Those who can’t pass the verification will not be able to transact through KargoX,” the company added. Aside from truckers and shippers, freight forwarders can also use the online marketplace.
KargoX’s services cover booking to end of delivery as well as providing partner-truckers with facilities to keep the shippers updated on their shipment deliveries.
For truckers, KargoX has features that include tracking of shipment bookings; updating shipment status and recording own shipments; online reporting; managing and monitoring of trucks through the Trucks Management feature; and monitoring of bills and transactions.
Features for shippers, on the other hand, include monitoring of shipments; generating, reviewing, and printing reports of shipment requests and invoices anytime for safekeeping; assessing a trucker based on each shipment request it has handled; and notification through email and SMS after a shipment request has been created, cancelled, or followed up.
Registration with KargoX is free, with no mark-up on trucking fees. “We earn through commission from trucker-partners per successful booking-delivery,” the company pointed out.
Still on soft launch, KargoX already has three partner-truckers and four customer-shippers registered. Interested shippers and truckers can visit and sign up at its website kargox.ph. – Roumina Pablo
