Kakao Mobility is recruiting pre-registrants before the launch of its ‘Kakao T Trucker’ service, aimed at helping freight drivers improve their transportation efficiency. Through ‘Kakao T Trucker’, Kakao Mobility will recruit vehicle owners and plans to introduce a new freight information network platform based on a freight yard within the year.
In 2022, Kakao Mobility signed a business agreement with the ‘National Freight Vehicle Transportation Business Alliance’ to discuss ways to improve the existing brokerage industry infrastructure and create a sustainable digital logistics ecosystem. As part of these efforts, the alliance has been working on enhancing the freight information network previously operated by it, ‘Freight Yard’, and launched ‘LogiNote Plus’ in July to assist freight brokers in improving their work efficiency.
The truck driver app ‘Kakao T Trucker’, which starts pre-registration today, incorporates various mobility technologies from Kakao Mobility to greatly enhance the convenience of cargo vehicle owners. The entire process, from customized order exploration to proof of delivery submission, tax invoice issuance, and fare settlement, can be handled automatically within the app.
Kakao Mobility has been listening to feedback from existing freight brokers and vehicle owners to enhance the freight yard. Notably, both small brokers and cargo vehicle owners face persistent challenges in the fare settlement process, prompting the company to contemplate solutions to automate and improve the settlement process.
In freight transportation, it usually takes an average of 30 to 60 days for a broker to settle fares with a vehicle owner after the shipper has paid the brokerage fee, leading to inconvenience as drivers have to verify each transaction manually.
The ‘Quick Payment’ service to be introduced by Kakao Mobility represents a revolutionary change in the settlement process. When executing a ‘Quick Payment’ order, fare payments to the vehicle owner are processed within an average of 1 hour once the brokerage’s payment approval is completed.
Similar settlement methods had been attempted previously but were limited to transportation cases of specific, larger brokers or shippers. Kakao Mobility has established a collaborative framework with relevant financial institutions to ensure that various brokers, including small ones, can utilize the ‘Quick Payment’ method. This is expected to aid not only in the rapid settlement of freight drivers’ fees but also in stabilizing the business operations of small brokers, who have previously found it difficult to prepare advance payments for drivers.
The Kakao T Trucker app does not merely display a list of transportation orders; it also provides customized ‘Order Cards’ tailored to individual cargo drivers. By setting filters based on tonnage, cargo type, and preferred pick-up/drop-off locations, drivers can receive order cards matching their conditions without frequently checking the app for updates.
In the future, Kakao Mobility plans to introduce a ‘back-haul transportation’ feature, which allows for bundling and transporting multiple orders. Previously, most of the work in selecting and calculating routes for back-haul orders was performed manually, leading to a high dependency on individual dispatch staff capabilities.
Kakao Mobility aims to apply its accumulated dispatch and routing technologies from services such as Kakao Navigation, taxis, and TMS (Transportation Management System) to present optimized back-haul transport options. This expansion of back-haul transportation is expected to minimize idle rates, increase drivers’ earnings per working hour, and enhance brokerage and shipper success rates in dispatching.
Pre-registration for ‘Kakao T Trucker’ is available from today until October 16 through the Google Play ‘Kakao T Trucker’ app. During this pre-registration period, various events will be held for pre-registrants. All approved cargo drivers among the first 10,000 to pre-register will receive 20,000 won, and every week, 10 individuals will be drawn to receive 1 million won each. Additionally, a lottery will be held during the pre-registration period for a total of 3 one-ton trucks as prizes.
Park Ji-eun, Director of Kakao Mobility, stated, “We aim to transplant the platform capabilities we have built while providing mobility services through Kakao T into the field of ‘movement of goods’ to contribute to the safe driving and revenue growth of drivers.” She added, “Ultimately, we will strive to create a logistics system that enhances the convenience of all stakeholders, from shippers and transportation brokers to consumers.”
This article was written by Lee Sang-jin at daedusj@autodiary.kr