Little Launches Bidding Platform For Delivery Services

Logistics business in Kenya is headed for a revolution following the launch of a bidding platform that links key players in the supply chain.

The product aims at solving the challenges in the transport industry by allowing corporate clients such as restaurants, supermarkets access affordable rates from geomapped drivers on the Little app platform.

Through the platform, corporate clients needing delivery services can display such opportunities and get quotes from various drivers involved in day-to-day delivery business. Through the innovation, Little Limited sees distributed earnings among drivers on the platform and on the other side better price offering for corporate clients shipping various goods across the country.

“This is a game changer on first mile, middle mile and last-mile delivery services, it offers drivers equal opportunity to compete for tenders from our corporate clients,” says Jacob Ochieng, Head of Logistics at Little Limited.

“We are looking at a situation where drivers will be able to compete for such tenders and also giving the suppliers chance to get better prices by comparing what is on offer,” he says. “Our clients will now have access to our bidding platform that allows them to get competitive rates across various geomapped drivers on a seamless and very efficient platform, this will reduce cost of transport by significant amount.”

Little which is currently in over six African countries will first roll out the service to its corporate clients and scale it up to retail market after six months.

Logistics industry saw an improvement in its fortune during the Covid-19 era in 2020 where many opted for courier services to ship goods shipped from supermarkets and various retail outlets. The move was necessitated to physical contact and movement restriction to prevent the spread of the virus.

In 2022/23 industry report by the Communications Authority of Kenya, delivery business registered an improvement in activities. The volume of outgoing domestic courier items increased by 7.6 per cent from 1,228,200 (July-September22) to 1,322,038 between October-December 22.

Inspired by the success of its mobility business, Mid-last year, Little ventured into the lucrative logistics industry with the integration of technology to offer reliable and convenient logistic services that reaches different parts of the country.

The company sees opportunity in consumer goods, hardware and construction materials, agricultural produce, shipment of vehicle spare parts among other areas to sustain the new venture. The plan is to later roll out beyond Kenyan borders in territories such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal among other countries where it operates.

“We learned and mastered the art of corporate ride-hailing and became a powerhouse. Now it is time to learn again in the logistics business,” said Little Chief Executive Officer Kamal Budhabhatti.