Have you ever wondered about the ins and outs of the trucking industry in Bangladesh? Trucks aren’t the most glamorous thing to ponder about, but let us tell you why this is such a booming industry in the subcontinent and Bangladesh today.
Trucking business was introduced in the early 18th century in South Asia, and this industry has gotten bigger gradually ever since, especially with the development of roads and highways. Road transport is the most popular form of commercial transport in Bangladesh, carrying 70% of passengers and cargo. Notably, this country has an immense demand for truck services. There are about 4 lakh registered trucks (small pickups to large trucks) in Bangladesh presently, of which 1 lakh runs on the road everyday.
The advancement of new inventions, industries and opportunities have enabled the increase in demand for trucking services today. The development and growth of heavy industries such as shipbuilding has contributed to the growth of the commercial vehicle industry as they require more transport of heavy raw materials. Another cause for the boost in the purchase of trucks has been a new axle load policy that limits the weight carried by each truck to reduce damage to roads. This has increased the number of services needed by businesses. Seeing this enormous demand, a vast number of people delved into the truck service business, resulting in the emergence of many trucking companies. Today, people who own truck businesses are seeing growth in an unprecedented manner.
Despite considerable expansion and profit, truck businesses in Bangladesh face multiple challenges. The disorganized and complicated industry can often cause businesses to collapse. Some of the challenges they face can be in regards to -
Location
Most truck service companies do not have proper booking centers, and if they do, they’re spread all around the country. This makes it very inconvenient for customers to book trucks and for the truck owners to find a ready stream of customers.
Profit reduction
Truck businesses rely heavily on word of mouth for promotion. Due to the gap in communication between the truck owners and potential customers, some people work as middle men to connect the two for some monetary benefits. This leads to reduction of the owner's profit.
Road safety
With frequent accidents and crashes, the roads of Bangladesh can be very unsafe. The truck owners usually have to burden the responsibility of such accidents as there is no definitive way to track the vehicles.
Payment system
Sometimes customers refuse to make the full payment after the delivery is done, picking at negligible faults in the products, or other such excuses. In such situations, the truck owners have to bear the losses, and that affects their businesses further.
Time-management
Truck drivers travel long distances to deliver products, and occasionally the delivery can be delayed due to lack of time awareness. This particular problem has been the most concerning because punctuality is a vital entity in this business. With the traditional method of contacting truck dealers, there is no guarantee that the delivery of goods would be delivered on time, resulting in customer dissatisfaction.
Truck services operated manually since the initiation of the trucking industry. However, some companies are taking the initiative to make things easy and convenient by digitizing all the manual processes integrated in the industry. Such companies have introduced apps that act like the bridge connecting the customers and shippers, offering the former a quick and easy way to book trucks at the tap of a button. These companies are offering to find trucks at a competitive price for shipments, so that businesses can save their time and money. They’re offering real-time visibility on the progress of the shipment until delivery with their advanced truck monitoring system.
Through the ease of the apps, people can now manage their entire freight requirements optimally with their comprehensive range of services, and fast and reliable support at every step. They are building the service's platform, which aims to be a non-stop destination for all input needs of the fleet owners, and are solving and disrupting the working capital financing problem of fleet owners successfully. Customers can book trucks and truck owners can now get customers easily without any hassle. This digital system has brought an extra layer of transparency to the truck industry by promising to show customers the exact amount of fare that they have to pay at the end of the service, diminishing any unfair demands from the truck driver’s end.
Trading system of a country is projected to flourish when the transportation system is well structured and streamlined. And that is what the leading digital logistic companies in Bangladesh, like Shohoz Truck or GIM digital truck, are striving to accomplish. Companies like these are working digitally towards solving all truck owners and drivers operational problems, along with delivering the product successfully to end consumers. Furthermore, implementation of strict regulations and monitoring of the government has encouraged these companies to put more focus on road safety by offering advanced truck supply and demand monitoring systems and ensuring truck weight limits are being followed.
