Website offers cheaper, more efficient transport

A Thai company has launched a website it hopes will soon become a logistics market place, helping to prevent the wastage incurred by empty trucks returning from long-haul deliveries.

The website, www.dxplace.com, is gathering participants and its parent company, DX Innovation, is focusing on building reputation and trust among logistics operators.

Managing director Wichit Saiklao said the website market place aimed to help logistics providers, carriers and shippers to reduce the costs of transportation and improve the logistics industry as a whole. 

It allows shippers wanting to deliver or distribute products to distant destinations from either Bangkok or upcountry points of origin to access logistics services via the Internet. They are able to hire trucks or logistics providers online - most importantly providing back-haul loads for trucks that have already delivered in one long-haul direction.

"Whenever truck owners, logistic providers or carriers deliver goods and products to a destination, there are shippers at that destination who want their products or goods delivered on what is, for the carrier, the way back. The cost of these so-called back-hauling operations are not so high, so back-hauling helps shippers to save both money and time because one truck is able to carry goods and products in both directions," Wichit said.

Logistics providers, shippers and carriers wishing to participate in the new logistics market place can register and verify their business at the website. Shippers are granted free membership.

When using the website, participants are able to track each truck by using geographic information system (GIS) facilities.

About 1,000 logistics and transportation providers are already using the website, and it receives more than 400 visitors per day to access information and services. The company is now concentrating on developing reputation and trust to create confidence among commercial participants and to add value to Thailand's logistics industry, Wichit said.

Chothip Luechaiyawut, the general manager of logistics provider N P Poll Group, said www.dxplace.com allowed her company and others to post information on their trucks and their locations on the Internet. Customers or shippers were then able to access back-haul transportation in real time.

"The website dxplace.com is very useful to the logistics industry because it reduces waste and lost energy," she said. "More than 1.5 billion litres of fuel a year, worth around Bt22.5 billion, is currently being lost [by running empty trucks]."

Chothip said the new online market place would also encourage competition between logistics providers, creating benefit to customers, who would be able to save around 20 to 30 per cent by delivering products on back-haul transport.

"I think that dxplace.com will create benefits for  both logistics providers and shippers who want to deliver their products to long-haul destinations," she said.

Pisit Apijirawat, assistant logistics manager for Cha-am Peerapat, a shipper using www.dxplace, said the website was an alternative choice for businesses looking for partners to ship products to destinations.

"Dxplace.com is not only reducing energy use through back-haul transport, but it will also create benefits for logistic providers and shippers who are delivering goods or products on two-way transportation. The use of back-haul transport saves around 30 to 40 per cent of transportation costs," Pisit said.