Haulio — Driving Change in Container Trucking and Logistics
Sebastian Shen and Goh Chun Lin share what it’s really like to take on the big boys.
Starting up in the maritime industry might seem like an unusual choice for two millennials whose previous experiences include consulting at a media tech company and software development in the travel sector. We spoke to Haulio Co-founder & Chief Product Officer Sebastian Shen (NUS Project and Facilities Management, ‘14) and Chief Technology Officer Goh Chun Lin (NUS Computer Science ‘11) on what it takes to hustle amongst industry heavyweights in unfamiliar territory.
“Not just young people, but almost no one gives a hoot about how things are sourced, manufactured, shipped and delivered. And even if you did, you probably thought it was like this amazing worldwide conveyor belt where everything went like clockwork. No sir. It’s far from that. It’s a messy space, many players, many hands, never enough time.”
Haulio is a centralised, collaborative platform designed for the container haulage industry to better optimise their resources through better handling of the peaks and troughs of the business. Their B2B platform pools together ports, truckers, and customers to match incoming hauling requirements to available hauliers (companies employed to transport goods by road).
A series of happy coincidences
With a keen interest in gadgets and toys since a young age, Sebastian always knew that he wanted to build his own products one day. Participating in the NUS Overseas Colleges Singapore programme (previously iLEAD) during his undergraduate days was his introduction to the start-up world and the potentials it offered.
Sebastian: “As luck would have it, in my first job as a Business and Tech consultant in software house 2359 Media, I was given all sorts of opportunities to dip my toes into the logistics industry. I had to come up with product concepts, plans and deliver them to companies doing Last Mile Deliveries, Air Freight Forwarding, Warehousing, Milk Runs, etc. I knew little about logistics then, but slowly the logistics bug bit me. I realised I really liked it. I even signed up for a Masters in Supply Chain with The Logistics Institute - Asia Pacific at NUS. Then when I got to know about Haulage, speaking to customers, hauliers, and then speaking to haulier associations, the burning feeling of wanting to build something for this space came. In early 2017, I was still struggling to find my way within the haulage space when I happened to catch up with Caleb Leow [co-founder of the pslove company] at a BLOCK71 Chinese New Year party. He recommended that I meet Alvin Ea [now CEO and fellow co-founder of Haulio], who was already in the logistics business, and the rest is history! We’ve been chionging together ever since.”
For Chun Lin, an initiative started by NUS Computing Associate Professor Dr. Ben Leong called Computing for Voluntary Welfare Organizations (CVWO) opened the then-freshman student’s eyes to how he could use the skills he learnt in school to contribute to a social good.
Chun Lin: “In CVWO, I worked on building IT systems that serve VWOs in a significant and sustainable way. There was one day when VWOs who specially travelled to NUS to thank us for helping them so much. Since then, I wanted to work in companies that can help to build a better society.”
With subsequent stints at Easibook (an SME to help people travel easily between Singapore and Malaysia cities) and Changi Travel Services (part of the Changi Airport Group), Chun Lin was intrigued when Sebastian approached him with the vision of bringing transformation and new technology to the Singapore logistics industry. “With the skills and knowledge that I gained previously, I realised that’s a fantastic opportunity for me to contribute more in a start-up like Haulio.”
David + Goliath = 💪💪
Since launching in May 2017, Haulio has made monumental progress. Almost half of Singapore’s 230 or so hauliers are now on their platform (with a fleet of over 1,000 trucks!), and their transaction volumes have seen a 30% month-on-month increase. In May 2018, they also raised S$1 million in a seed funding round, led by PSA unboXed.
“Together, we cargo faster.”
Haulio’s motto (above) aptly reflects their vision of greater industry-wide collaboration. In a fragmented industry like logistics and supply chain, the team firmly believes that collaboration is the first step to solving its inefficiencies.
Sebastian: “Starting out was tough, so choosing PSA as an investor and collaborator was one of the best moves we have made. Advice to other start-ups — Always strive to remain neutral, and find support from neutral parties in the ecosystem. For us, it was the port and our users are hauliers. No conflict of interest, it was a perfect match.”
To convince reluctant haulage companies to get on board with their platform, the team has adopted a bottom-up approach of meeting haulier owners over coffee to explain their solution. In an industry where companies are wary about sharing resources with competitors and price undercutting, Haulio seeks to help hauliers understand that while competition is natural, it can enable the industry to grow as well, and there will be mutual benefits if companies start helping each other instead.
The “how” of change
With big dreams for the industry, the idealism of youth is on their side. The average age of the Haulio’s team is just 27+ years, resulting in them getting a fair bit of attention from industry counterparts who tend to be in their forties or older. This attention has generally been to Haulio’s benefit, as Sebastian shares:
“A misconception we realised along the way is that a handful of ‘uncles and aunties’ in the industry are actually very very forward thinking. They know that they have to change, they know that they need to change, but they don’t know how. We represent the ‘how’, the youth, and the energy required, and because of that, we’re very close partners with them.”
Big changes are on the horizon for the haulage and logistics industries, with economic shifts and the advent of new technologies. But the wave of change also brings ripening opportunities that start-ups can capitalise on. Sebastian is humble about Haulio’s success so far. “The problem we’re solving has been brewing behind the scenes for the past decade, and it will be worse over the next. I think we’re in the right space, right time, with the right support.”
Some parting words of advice?
Chun Lin: “It’s very important, especially for us who are working as software developers, to always keep ourselves updated with the latest technology and best practices to continue improve our skills on delivering better products to serve the society. In short, stay hungry, stay foolish.”
Sebastian: “For fresh graduates and those still in school, don’t feel that you have to start-up the moment you graduate. I personally felt that. But I think spending some time in the working world exposes you to problems you never knew existed. In the B2B space, there’s a tonne of things to be fixed, but because you didn’t grow up with it, you’ll never know. So spend some time, follow a good boss, and keep exposing yourself to as many things as possible. Dig hard, and be ready when opportunities come.”
Haulio is currently on the lookout for passionate individuals to join their team in attempting to change the industry. Keen to play a part in their vision? Check out their current openings here.
Looking to explore opportunities in maritime innovation? Our PIER71 initiative may be the perfect avenue— https://www.pier71.sg/
