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Cargo owners have a reason to smile, following the proliferation in the market of mobile and web-based platforms linking them directly with truck owners and enabling them to achieve maximum and efficient haulage of shipments to and from the Port of Mombasa.

Cargo owners now have the option of using Senga, introduced in October 2016, Lorisystems in 2017, Amitruck, in March 2019 and the latest entrant, trucking App from Tai+, an Estonian-based technology company  launched last week.

The platforms connect vetted truck and pick-up drivers to clients who need to transport their cargo by road. They enable cargo owners to find the right transporters via a mobile and web app just like Uber technologies for cabs, and eliminating the need for brokers .

Rait Raal, Tai+ chief executive said brokerage commissions spike haulage expenses by up to 20 per cent through commission on the basis of securing business for cargo owners, a cost he says, his company will reduce by up to 10 per cent. 

The company is targeting small carriers who make up the bulk of players in the sector and are usually beset with cash flow pressures. 

The platform allows cargo owners to get reliable transporters, access and book loads at the press of a button.

Business owners

“ It will also enable business owners to be able to access data analytics that help them make the best decisions for their business,” said Raal (pictured), whose Kenyan company has invested Sh100 million in software, technology innovation and company set-up. 

The proliferation of the Apps promises to bring sanity to the Sh200 billion truck transport sector in the country and the region at large, in a sector where the relative cost of moving goods is one of the highest in the world – leading to about 75 per cent of a product’s cost going to logistics. 

Higher efficiency from these platforms is projected to drive costs down, in effect creating new jobs and stimulating the overall economic development in a tangible way.

Raal is optimistic the platforms will also address the last mile connectivity by efficiently linking goods transported from the Port of Mombasa by the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to inland container depots (ICDs) and onwards to the market.

In an interview with Business Hub, Raal also said the direct linkage between the carriers and cargo owners will improve Kenya’s truck user per kilometre (a concept where truckers maximise on the load carried to and from destination), from 6,000 to 9,000 km.

Android devices

“In Europe, the truck user per kilometre is between 12,000 and 15,000 km, which is twice useful than Kenya,” said Raal. 

The app for transporters is easily downloadable on Play store for Android devices. The company has already contracted 300 carriers, and is in talks with cargo owners to bring them on board.

On SGR, he said they are not worried by a government directive, requiring cargo at the Port of Mombasa to be transported by train to the Inland Container Depot  in Nairobi.