Logistics is the backbone of economic activities in a country. A sustainable and optimized logistics system can lower trading costs and help countries compete globally. Additionally, having a plan for logistics in supply chain management is extremely important to the success of businesses; either big or small. But, in the global Logistics Performance Index of 2018, Bangladesh was way behind India and Sri Lanka (Ranking Bangladesh 100th, India 44th, and Sri Lanka 94th among 160 countries). Then again, still being largely an informal sector, logistics for Bangladesh could improve its eco-system significantly. According to the World Bank’s report “a 17percent decrease in logistics cost will increase Bangladesh’s RMG (ready-made garments) export by 7.4percent” or almost $4 billion. Innovation in technology could accelerate the improvement process in logistics dramatically. Realizing the potential and underlying opportunities of this sector, Mr. Alamgir Alvi, a former faculty of BUET and a USA based tech leader, took the initiative of connecting the dots to ensure better usage of resources with cutting edge technology and efficient operating models. The Dhaka-based logistics app GIM (Goods in Motion) has already created significant values in the Goods transportation market of Bangladesh. Since the inception of the idea in early 2018 and eventually launching in mid-2019, GIM has been changing the historical conventions of the market. “Our goal has been to increase usage of the idle resources by breaking down operational silos and enabling direct shipper to carrier communication. Thus, helping organizations to champion operational efficiency and better customer experience,” says Alamgir Alvi the founder and managing director of GIM. Within 6 months, more than 10,000 trucks and 6000 drivers have been registered with a milestone of 90,000-ton capacity, facilitating thousands of trips every month for a wide range of customers entailing development projects and giant corporates like Lafarge, ACI, Abul Khair, and others. In less than a year, the service has set its footprint in 61 districts of Bangladesh covering almost 95percent of the country with corporate headquarter in Dhaka, and regional offices in Chittagong, Khulna, and Bogura; providing logistics service all over the country. This in turn has created a competitive and fair market for drivers, owners, and truck operators. Anyone having a truck with valid documents and an appropriate driving license can avail trips from GIM. Apart from access to trips, resolving cash flow, and insurance issues, the company has plans of bringing in banks, financial institutions, and insurance service providers into the ecosystem, already signing up with key partners like City Bank, IDLC, BKash, and SSL Wireless among others. “Our planning is largely focused around identifying key challenges pertinent to the transportation of goods where we can be of assistance and finding solutions that stood highest in impact. The rest has been about finding the right partners for maximum outreach,” says Mr. Rajibul Haq Chowdhury the Chairman of GIM. Initiatives like this, not just help the logistics sector to be competitive on a global scale but help the truck operator’s community enabling socio-economic growth.
