TheLorry is a Malaysian Uber-like startup that links logistics providers with both individual and corporate customers. Nadhir Ashafiq and Goh Chee Hau co-founded the startup in 2014, since then their team has grown to a size of about 20 members, and they’ve connected thousands of lorry and van owners with customers to move everything from household appliances to commercial cargo.
Recently, they’ve even stepped into the e-commerce vertical and they’ve been working with leading e-commerce vendors and retailers to deliver bulky items. While the team hasn’t explicitly confirmed any big names, they believe that there’s a great potential in this vertical.
In order to fuel their continual growth and expansion, they recently raised their Series A round of funding valued at US$1.5M, led by SPH Media Fund with participation from Silicon Valley-based equity fund manager, Elixir Capital.
TheLorry will use the capital raised from this round of funding to introduce newer technology-enabled products to their customers and to further make the entire transportation cycle more efficient. “Our back-end system allows us to fully utilise capacity and optimise delivery routes. It enables customers to send anything across Peninsular Malaysia cost effectively,” Nadhir told Vulcan Post.
A portion of the funds will also be used to strengthen their team and their brand reach. TheLorry will also be rolling out a new service around mid-2016 that will allow their individual and commercial customers to save costs through consolidation and space optimisation.
This service will enable customers to only pay for the items that they’d like to send rather than paying for the entire vehicle. They can use this cost effective option to transport a few items that would only take up minimal space in the lorry or the van.
Goh Chee Hau, the Managing Director also highlighted that this round of funding will enable TheLorry to maintain an overall stronger footing in the Malaysian market, and that it will also empower them to expand into other South-East Asian markets such as Singapore.
In regards to this move he said, “It is a competitive market but having investors familiar with the Singapore market will be useful for our expansion plans.”
SPH Media Fund is Singapore Press Holdings’ S$100M venture capital fund with a global mandate to invest in early-stage innovative companies in the areas of advertising technology, content aggregation, distribution, e-commerce, etc. SPH Media Fund’s CEO Chua Boon Ping believes that TheLorry can viably replicate their business model in Singapore, as they’ve already executed their strategy here in Malaysia, and also due to the high volume of cross border logistics between the two countries.
“There is much room for disruption in the South-East Asian logistics space in the South-East Asian logistics space and TheLorry has been particularly strong in adding value to businesses with commercial cargo,” he said. “With the team’s strong and consistent execution, we believe they are well positioned for exponential growth.”
In support of this move, TheLorry also appointed the former Group General Manager of Kerry Logistics, BK Teoh as a special advisor. They believe that his extensive experience of over 30 years in the logistics industry will help them strengthen their networks and operations both locally and regionally.
