Sometimes an existing service or industry can benefit from innovations and a new approach. Trella has made its point by doing just that. We learn more from Co-founder Omar Hagrass about how the Trella App has revolutionized the complex process of coordinating shipping and freight.
What services does Trella provide?
Trella is a technology platform that connects shippers to carriers in the widely fragmented freight
industry. Its mission is to induce structure with a goal of improving efficiency throughout the
entire supply chain. The vision is to empower carriers through intelligently moving freight,
creating unprecedented economic opportunities in the logistics space while allowing shippers to
book reliable, affordable and high-quality loads.
How long was the process of putting Trella together, from idea to reality?
The process took one year before the actual implementation. The one year consisted of
company legal set up, funding initiatives, fact finding missions and industry market research.
What challenges did you come up against?
This industry has been there for over 100 years, depending solely on paper. One of our biggest
challenges wasentering a market that lacks tech knowledge and basic literacy needs and shift it
all to the tech world.
Tell us about your team?
Our team comes from diverse backgrounds, including consulting, investment banking,
and a series of tech backgrounds such as: OLX, Vezeeta, and Uber.
How quickly have you been able to carve out your niche in themarket?
Besides cementing our position as the go-to logistics solution in Egypt, our team has managed
to sign a global partnership with the largest O&G player in the world in just 7 months of
operations. As well, we carry out thousands of loads every month, generating millions of
dollars in annualized revenues and receive multi-million dollar investments to expand our
services across the region.
What is the edge in theservice you provide?
There are very few competitors who are investing in this tech and truly adding value to the
market. While other players are merely tech-enabled truck brokerage companies. Trella is the
key to create a smoother and quicker flow of goods in the region
Where do you see your opportunities for further growth and expansion?
Within Egypt there are around 1.4 million registered trucks, this shows just how much we can
grow within Egypt alone.
Our business is scalable on two fronts:
1: Geographically: The MENA region is a limitless frontier for Trella in the provision of trucking
solutions to shippers and job opportunities to carriers. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and
Morocco are ideal locations for us in terms of volumes transported.
2: Product: Expanding into different truck types, industries and types of freight, such as cross-borders
etc.
In a digital age, what are the benefits of using a tech platform to coordinate services?
The tech platform has been opening endless efficient doors through intelligent matching, route
optimization and a digitized POD process. Hence, we can optimize dispatch and limit dead
hauls to improve truck efficiency. Investing in cargo pooling technology will also allow us to
make use of LTL shipments to improve container utilization for further overall efficiency gains.
Trella
Facebook: @trellaapp
