Getting your goods delivered in Singapore can be a huge headache. The costs of looking for an affordable and reliable driver can almost seem impossible, and it’s not like drivers themselves are easy to find. But with the rise of personal transportation options, people can get things delivered easily and quickly. The big bad buzzword “logistics” wouldn’t have to drive fear into all of our hearts anymore.
And everyone knows that when it’s on your phone, it cannot get easier.
First launched in Hong Kong in December 2013, EasyVan started its operations in Singapore in July 2014. According to Gary Hui, the Managing Director of EasyVan Singapore, the idea behind EasyVan began when a friend of their CEO and Co-founder, Shing Chow, needed to find a new driver in Hong Kong. What they discovered instead was how the mobile technology was changing the passenger transportation market, and how backward the commercial goods transportation market was. Without any major innovation in the past decade, it was a blue ocean that’s up for disruption.
What resulted was an app that provides personal users and businesses with the logistical help they need almost instantly. By accessing the app through your smartphone, you can instantly be matched with a driver who will reach you within fifteen minutes to complete the task.
“One Word”
Local businesses have stepped up to claim support from EasyVan. A local company, FroyoFresh, faced a problem when their scheduled driver’s vehicle broke down, and were at risk of delivering their products to customers late. They sought the help of EasyVan at the last minute, who stepped up and arranged 3 deliveries immediately, with no late deliveries at all.
“If I could use one word to describe EasyVan, it would be efficiency – there’s no lead time, no lag time,” said Mr. Souren, from FroyoFresh. “If I need a service now, a driver would arrive half an hour or even 15 minutes later. It makes my daily job scope easier, and I don’t have to go on a head hunt or goose-chase every time.”
Another company, Daekyo Eye Level, relies on EasyVan to transport booklets to its 20 education centres around Singapore. Mr. Jong from Daekyo Eye Level used to drive the company van himself, which proved to be time-consuming and tiring. He eventually sought the help of EasyVan to make his work easier.
“We needed EasyVan’s help as a professional company, as it is very important that the drivers arrive on time and deliver on time. So far they have kept to their promise. As EasyVan’s customers, we are very satisfied and happy to have them on board.”
Virtual Fleets At Your Fingertips
Adapted from its Hong Kong predecessor, Hui mentioned to Vulcan Post that EasyVan Singapore is tailored specially to further improve the logistics situation in Singapore.
“For users, we bring the flexibility and transparency that they never had before. That means no more scheduling and fixing deliveries weeks ahead of time, no more difficult price negotiations and no bill shock from their deliveries. For drivers, we offer a platform where they can be their own bosses and grow their businesses by providing quality services.”
But what EasyVan really brings to this industry is a new way of dealing with logistics – smarter matching. Through crowd-reviewing and EasyVan’s smart-matching system, it’s able to put the power to control deliveries into users’ hands by allowing them to create their own ‘fleet’. By rating and reviewing drivers, and even placing unsatisfactory drivers into a personal ban list, the app seeks to increase match accuracy between driver and user to the point where customer satisfaction is ensured over time.
“We understand the importance of matching users with drivers that can fulfill their specific requirements, so we allow users to customise and build their own EasyVan fleet,” said Hui. “Users can add a driver they like into their fleet, and send their orders to their list of favourite drivers first.”
While the competitive climate for EasyVan is uncertain, we’re very sure that EasyVan has its users in mind every step of the way. And this doesn’t seem to be a bad thing. So far, EasyVan has garnered 350,000 users in Hong Kong and Singapore, with over 2,500 Singapore drivers registered with its platform in just a few months – a great achievement.
“Just 2 months after our launch, we saw existing and new competitors adopting things that we’ve created,” said Hui. “We will continue to set the bar high and lead the charge in transforming the logistics industry in Singapore.”
