Blackbuck hopes to hitch truckers by offering discount on fuel, financing

Mohammed Ali, owner of three trucks, has been using logistics start-up Blackbuck’s app for getting business for one of his trucks.

Given his positive experience in the last three months, he now plans to shift his other two trucks too, which are currently engaged with another goods booking agent, to Blackbuck.

“I am able to discover customers faster, get enough of expense advance before a trip, and faster payment after the trip completion,” Ali said, adding that transporters usually release payments to truckers after 15-20 days of a cargo being delivered. Blackbuck wants to attract more truck owners to become the largest transport app company, Rajesh Yabaji, Co-Founder and CEO, Blackbuck, told BusinessLine .

Blackbuck’s platform already has 50 customers across 70 locations, and “tens of thousands” of such truckers who have signed up for the app. It makes money from each completed transaction. The Indian trucking market is highly fragmented, with 85 per cent holding less than five trucks.

Demand-supply gap Blackbuck wants to optimise the availability of information regarding demand and supply of cargo and trucks in the intercity, business-to-business freight segment, on a real-time basis, said Yabaji.

Each truck in India runs 70,000 km a year, while in developed countries they run for 400,000 km. Blackbuck’s target is to double the billable distance for each truck, increasing the asset utilisation, in effect increasing the earning of each trucker. While truckers using this app have seen their income rising, Yabaji hoped that it will also lead to a drop in freight charges in the long run as the unit cost for providing the service goes down.

Fuel, financing Now, the company has started using its growing user base to get attractive discount rates for the truckers with fuel outlets such as that of IndianOil and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, food-owners, as well as large private sector banks to offer attractive financing terms to truckers using the Blackbuck platform.

The platform ensures quality of supply of trucks by maintaining a checklist of 96 parameters including the width, regional transport offices and pollution certificate.

The move helps in preventive maintenance of the vehicles. As of now, only customers such as companies from FMCG, paint and metal firms use the option, while companies in the transportation space are yet to use it.

Blackbuck, which has already raised $50 million from Tiger Global, Apoletto, Accel and Flipkart, has no plans to raise more funds for now.

The company – which has expanded to 70 cities in India from 40 in December – may be looking at offering services outside the country, but Yabaji did not confirm it.

But, it has no plans to offer similar freight exchanges in other modes of transport such as air or ocean. Asked why, Yabaji sums up with “focus”!

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