I'm trying to understand the relationship between "Uber for trucks" and software platform, is this just some name dropping to get people's attention?
The reality is that we think Uber is a whole lot more than a simple "Connect X driver to Y passenger". They've created a mesh of human transport infrastructure that can take you from point A to point B in the most efficient way. Trust me, the technology behind this is not trivial and their system is almost like a living being, constantly changing itself to meet demand. We're doing the same with trucks and commercial cargo. We don't have the "I need a ride now" problem (although we do have schedules to follow) so it makes it a bit easier for us.
On the tech side this means that we have to predict supply/demand for the products we move. We also have to take the 2000+ trucks we have and treat them like a big pool of resources so we can get volume pricing, make good use of deadhead miles (done with location/route info.) and optimize underperforming routes (by getting more customers A -> B/B -> A.
The current "our business model" section in the letter is confusing and I think the letter should be more up front about what their value proposition is. I had to read their "nosotros" page to figure it out:
Más del 25% de los camiones en Brasil, México, Colombia y
Argentina viajan vacíos cada semana, dejando de lado
ganancias potenciales de US$4.5 billones cada mes. Nuestra
tecnología pone en contacto a quien tiene la carga con
quien la puede transportar, así el transportador nunca
viajan vacío,...
It appears they are filling empty trucks which I find similar to "empty leg flights" which are sold by private jet operators.
Thanks for the feedback, and from a first read of what we do, yes. You are spot on.
We believe we can make use of a severely underutilized pool of resources (empty trucks) in developing countries, some of it as a result of a huge industry that has transformed very quickly to adjust to the organic growth, as well as to other factors like free trade agreements that have escalated the need for transportation companies to be much more competitive in a global landscape.
The same challenges apply to the cargo generators, which have relayed on excel sheets or custom tools to manage their logistics, but that are constantly struggling to find the right solution to manage their specific needs.
I won't bore you with details, but logistics is much more than just putting cargo on a truck (think of security, insurance, satellite tracking, etc...), and we are integrating several services to simplify this for our customers.
Btw, it was a good read. I'm definitely not the target audience but it kept my interest.