Supply chain start-up in the spotlight: Quicargo

Quicargo

Quicargo is focused on road freight matching through an online transport platform that identifies unused empty space in trucks from different carriers. The smart technology matches real-time shipment requests with directly available carriers, enabling customers to benefit from cost-cutting prices. Its fair dynamic pricing algorithm enables tailor-made matching within just 60 seconds. The company supports palletized general cargo like plastics, packaging, textile, fashion and dry foods, but does not currently support parcel delivery, ADR or products which need conditioned transport. The start-up was founded in the Netherlands in 2015 by Avishai Trabelsi, and officially launched in September 2017 following a successful ten-month trial-period.

The company’s proposition is based on the idea that trucks running empty or partially empty waste a huge amount of fuel and cargo space as well as increasing pollution and traffic congestion. Quicargo values this damage at over half a trillion dollars every year worldwide, and 50% of the six million trucks in Europe are estimated to run partially empty. Since the launch of the start-up, the number of shipments and revenue has grown on average by 27% month-on-month, amounting to thousands of transactions. The start-up currently connects almost a thousand businesses to roughly 5,000 trucks from 200 carriers. Up until now, Quicargo claims it has saved up to 120,000km of empty truck space on the road and has thus reduced carbon emissions by 3% within its network.

The Quicargo team are a group of people born from generations of truckers and trucking businesses who have set out to change the way trucks, shippers and carriers operate. Their ultimate aim is to connect supply and demand to help transport companies increase profitability, resulting in an efficient world with no more empty runs. The solution is also aimed at easing the burden on planners and other employees within logistics companies and carriers, who already work with various transport management systems and software solutions. Rather than requiring them to change their current workflow by using new interfaces, apps or external software, Quicargo’s technology is embedded into the existing situation, enabling the company to connect with new shipping providers within 24 hours. Furthermore, the Quicargo platform substantially reduces the administrative burden for customers by adding payments and insurance options.

Launch in Belgium and Germany

Up until now, with €450,000 in raised capital, the Dutch start-up has been focused on tackling inefficiency in the road freight industry within the Netherlands only. In April 2018, however, after its promising performance in the Dutch market, the company secured €900,000 in seed funding from a group of Dutch and German logistics experts and angel investors to launch in Belgium (the Antwerp and Ghent areas) and Germany (the Ruhr area). According to CBS, 83% of the Dutch road freight traffic already goes to those two countries, and founder and CEO Avishai Trabelsi is quoted as saying that those areas already account for 17% of the company’s revenue.