Local tech start-up Haulio unveiled the first mobile app in Singapore for container haulage companies and drivers yesterday, as it seeks to drive the sector's digital transformation in line with Singapore's Smart Nation initiative.
The Haulio Connectivity System (HCS) connects such companies, clients and drivers on a single interface, in an effort to improve efficiency and collaboration. Hauliers are afforded greater visibility of drivers and their trips. The app also syncs with PSA's port messaging system for easier assignment and management of jobs, helping to reduce manual paperwork.
Customers can also track job progress and fulfilment more easily, while drivers can access an overview of their performance, trip incentives and behaviour via their app dashboard, and communicate with their controllers via mobile. The app is available on Android and iOS, and more than 20 haulier companies have signed up to its pilot version.
"Beyond adding convenience and productivity to hauliers' current workflow, the introduction of HCS into the haulage ecosystem will allow older workers to upskill and keep abreast of technological advancements," said Haulio chief executive and co-founder Alvin Ea. "With HCS, we hope to drive the technological sophistication of this profession, and thus attract the younger generation to revitalise this ageing industry."
Last month, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon highlighted the need to help upskill workers in the logistics industry, calling the sector "the backbone of Singapore's economy".
"Companies will need to embrace innovation, and to do so, it is critical that our workforce is equipped with the right skills to lead in innovating," he said.
The app will complement Haulio's resource-pooling Web portal that functions like a ride-hailing or bike-sharing platform, except with containers instead of human passengers, and with customers setting the price.
More than 170 haulier companies comprising about 70 per cent of the local industry are active users of Haulio's portal. The firm said it has helped to move more than two million tonnes of cargo since launching its portal in May 2017, averaging 300 containers a day.
At its launch event, Haulio also signed a memorandum of understanding with local firm Yang Kee Logistics to integrate its Web portal with the latter's cloud-based platform to further connect various stakeholders in the industry.
Yang Kee's platform, called the Logistics Integrated Transport Ecosystem (Lite), seeks to improve productivity by digitising manual processes and enhancing supply chain visibility. Lite is being developed with the support of government agency Enterprise Singapore.
The integration with Haulio's portal is expected to be completed by the year end. Haulio and Yang Kee are targeting a combined 150,000 job transactions on their platforms in the next three years.
