Business Model

 Shippers - who are the primary owners of the goods. Shippers put up the requirement of
shipping the goods from one location to the destination. The goods loaded may have
multiple loading and unloading points.
 Transporters – The transporter takes the financial and credit risk of moving these goods
from one place to another and it is his responsibility to place the necessary vehicles at the
loading point, ensure that the legal requirements are fulfilled, make the advance payment
to the vehicle supplier so that the goods can be shipped.80-90% of the advance payment
are borne by the Transporter. The remaining amount due is paid on receipt of proof of
delivery. The invoice cannot be raised to the shipper unless they receive a Proof of
Delivery which usually takes 2-3 weeks from the date of delivery of the goods. Once the
invoice is submitted, the shipper typically takes 30-60 days to make the payment. This
emphasizes on the fact that the transporter is heavily capital dependant.
 Broker – is a trusted local liaison who heads the supply side of the value chain. The
broker exists so that the vehicle after delivery completion can be re-routed back to its
origin. Broker’s key responsibilities are to ensure vehicle delivers and goods are delivered
while in transit. Since it is impossible for the transporter or shipper to directly transact
with fleet owners – the broker’s presence is vital in the process.
 Fleet Owner/ Carrier – is the owner of the vehicle and the primary objective is to ensure
maximum utilization of the vehicle. Each time the vehicle remains ‘un-placed’, the fleet
owner bears the cost involved.

The nature of spot market is such it is heavily time-bound i.e., a shipper requires a vehicle
urgently and reaches out to the transporter who, in turn, reaches out to the live spot market
(brokers and fleet owners) to get the current rates, and since these transactions are bound by
time, this leads to huge price volatility