The Story
David
China has a RMB3-trillion trucking market but the top 10 players have less than 2% marketshare. There are 800,000 companies competing across China, presenting an incredibly complicated market. We were trying to link them all together and make them easily navigable for all stakeholders.
Frank
Initially, Mirek and David were thinking to run the business using a server as they wanted to focus on large enterprises. But we saw the potential of oTMS becoming a service that changed people’s lives, not only enterprises but individuals. Previously, logistics management was immobile – everyone needed to be sitting in front of a PC to work. We recommended the adoption of the software as a service (SaaS) model instead.
David
But our target clients are different to those using other SaaS products – they are big enterprises not SMEs – companies like Bestseller, Panasonic, LVMH or Li Ning. In 2013, when PurpleSky invested, it was not so simple to explain why SaaS works – it was not yet as widely accepted. Now we have a steadily increasing list of satisfied clients that proves oTMS’s effectiveness.
Frank
Yes, oTMS were the first to offer this service, its benefits were obvious. Stakeholders can obtain real-time track and trace information, all logistical info is recorded, and even cargo receipts can be signed off through the app.
David
We had revenue from day one - we felt we could charge because we were locking customers into a platform, and that meant they had to be sure we would be there over the long term.