Kobo360, the Goldman Sachs-backed truck-hailing startup, is developing a subscription-based fleet management software called HaulSight. The software enables businesses to track their fleet of vehicles, plan routes, and access invoice discounting.
Developed this year, HaulSight is an opportunity for Kobo360 to increase revenue from its existing clientele—manufacturers like Flour Mills, Dangote, and FMCGs like Unilever—all of which operate in-house fleets and work with third-party logistics providers. Unlike Kobo360’s truck-hailing platform, HaulSight is a pure software solution that doesn’t involve sourcing trucks, managing drivers, or handling cargo-related liabilities during transit.
“The businesses can vet and onboard their truck drivers themselves on the app,” a person close to the company told TechCabal.
HaulSight comes at a time when rising fuel prices are shrinking margins for truck drivers in Kobo360’s network, forcing the company to adjust its commission structure. The company faces a delicate balance between truck drivers seeking higher fares and cargo owners, who must keep costs low to maintain affordable pricing throughout the supply chain.
Kobo360 did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Over the years, Kobo360 has reduced its commission from 20% in 2019 to 8% in 2021, highlighting the limited negotiating power of truck-hailing startups compared to their corporate clients. This contrasts with the taxi-hailing sector, where companies like Uber, Indrive, and Bolt started with low commissions but have since raised rates to around 15%.
“The bureaucracy it takes to renegotiate new prices with [corporate] cargo owners to meet demands of the truck owners can go on for weeks,” said Alex Adenuga, CEO of Movam, a B2B logistics startup. “And it only works out favorably if the truck aggregators have a close relationship with the cargo owners [manufacturers, suppliers, etc.]”
Fleet management software offers Kobo360 a new revenue stream from cargo owners and micro-fleet operators, bypassing the challenges inherent in the aggregator model.
“The visibility provided by fleet management software can help companies save significant amounts of money,” said Adenuga, whose startup also offers fleet management solutions. “However, the market is not large enough to generate the revenue and growth expected by a VC-backed company.”
Several established fleet management software providers are competing for a small pool of large clients, including Flour Mills, Dangote, and Tolaram.
Foreign fleet management software providers in the region typically charge $7-$50 per vehicle per month, while local providers charge ₦100,000-₦150,000 per vehicle, which is affordable for large companies but costly for small businesses.
Focusing on large companies often means long sales cycles. “It could take a year if you’re lucky. If you haven’t run out of funding by then, it can be a challenging and frustrating process,” Alex said. However, Kobo360’s long-standing presence in the B2B logistics sector since 2017 gives it the advantage of established relationships that could help accelerate the sales process for HaulSight.
Nonetheless, software sales are even harder to pull off with big corporates because of switching costs. “One popular manufacturer in Nigeria has been using Nova Truck for years. Switching to a different provider would be a painful transition for them.”
However, Kobo360 is not the only logistics startup willing to look beyond these challenges. SendStack, a 2-year-old logistics startup, recently ditched the aggregator model for its last-mile delivery platform to sell fleet management software to fleet owners.
Another B2B logistics expert who declined to be named agreed that the margin in software is an easier sell to VCs. However, he also thinks fleet management products can bring necessary visibility into the “chaotic” industry of truck logistics. “There is a pain that efficient truck management can solve for [manufacturers and FMCG businesses] because those assets are very expensive [and these businesses want to make the most of them.]”
With this new product, Kobo360 can extract more value from its current customer base, including the micro-fleet owners within its network of over 50,000 trucks.
“Truck logistics is a chaotic industry,” one B2B e-commerce expert who asked not to be named said. “There is a pain inefficient truck management can solve for these guys because those assets are very expensive [and these businesses want to make the most of them].”
*Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated Kobo360 launched HaulSight. The product is still in development.