NEXT Trucking announced a $21M series B round of financing to expand the “trucker-centric” online freight marketplace it launched two years ago.
Lydia Yan, chief executive of NEXT Trucking, says the extra resources will be used primarily for new product development and talent acquisition for sales and operations.
The company has approximately 10,000 owner operators and small carriers and has tripled revenues year over year. NEXT Trucking’s revenues come from margins on loads; carriers do not pay a subscription or transaction fees.
Financing for the Lynwood, Calif.-based company was led by Sequoia Capital.
To haul for NEXT Trucking, owner operators and small carriers are required to use its mobile app and online platform to enter route and rate preferences and share real-time shipment location using the GPS of their smartphones.
Its marketplace connects carriers with shippers based on routes, pricing, driver behavior and other matching algorithms. Based on truckers’ inputs, NEXT Trucking proposes rates to shippers that have freight in truckers’ lanes of interest.
To date, NEXT Trucking has focused on business with large, blue chip shippers that include Pioneer, Hisense, Jinko Solar, Jakks Pacific and steamship lines with lanes for California-based carriers. The company plans to expand to other freight markets and announce new lanes soon, she said.
According to a new report published by the American Truckers Associations, the shortage of truckers may reach 50,000 by the end of 2017 and could add up to more than 174,000 by 2026.
“Instead of letting the rapid decline of qualified carriers continue to and potentially destabilize our supply chain, and economy in general, we need to overhaul the way the industry works and empower the truckers,” Yan said.
NEXT Trucking’s free marketplace app offers 48-hour quick pay and fuel advance options. Available loads are automatically matched to the vetted carriers based on preferences and predictive load offering technology.
Carriers have free access to an online fleet management platform to take loads from NEXT Trucking, dispatch and track drivers, manage invoicing and monitor their business performance.
For shippers, NEXT Trucking provides access to its virtual fleet of independent carriers with visibility of shipments through its Shipment Dashboard that includes timelines, route information, cost summaries, locations and status of shipments.
“Logistics is at the very core of our economy, yet it faces some real challenges. NEXT Trucking has created a marketplace powered by sophisticated technology that resolves many of the critical imbalances that exist between the shipper’s needs and driver’s availability,” said Omar Hamoui, partner at Sequoia who will join NEXT Trucking’s Board of Directors.
Original Source: https://www.ccjdigital.com/next-trucking-gets-21m-of-funding-to-grow-freight-marketplace/