Efficient transport systems in any country are the lifeline of any economy. This fact cannot be disputed given that well-coordinated logistics and transport infrastructure feeds productivity across other sectors, boosting effective delivery of products and services, and ultimately increasing the overall national output.
Equally important, good transport is the ultimate ingredient for a thriving manufacturing sector due to the role it plays in the supply chain impacting on quality and cost of production.
It enhances export businesses and ensures prompt delivery of quality products in the global market, thereby increasing a country’s base for revenue collection.
Over the past few years, Kenya has seen several infrastructure projects initiated especially in the transport sub-sectors including road, rail, maritime and non-motorized transport, all intended to improve logistics and supply chain efficiency.
But despite these upsides, transport, and logistics, particularly in Kenya, has their fair share of challenges. Inefficient logistics companies, long distances, bad roads, and daunting border-crossing processes waste a lot of time and resources when doing deliveries.
In response, different companies offering technological solutions in the sector have emerged – all to address these challenges and facilitate easy transport. A good example is Sendy, a Nairobi-based on-demand delivery platform.
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Launched in 2015, Sendy provides end-to-end logistics, retail, and freight online solutions. It connects individuals and businesses to third-party drivers of delivery vehicles, including motorcycles, vans, and pickups.
The premiere of Sendy couldn’t be timelier. It came at a time when there were no reliable package delivery services to people’s doorsteps. Many individuals were spending hours in exhaustive commutes trying to collect packages from the city center. This insight opened Sendy’s first opportunity at PIVOT East, a mobile start-up competition.
What followed next was a series of major steps with a focus on better trade in Africa and improving the lives of its people. It continues to innovate with empowering solutions that make it easy for individuals and businesses to engage in profitable commercial activities.
In its latest innovation, Sendy repositioned its strategic direction to help meet the needs of its customers with the Sendy Transport, Sendy Freight, and Sendy Supply business units.
Sendy Transport cover parcels to large cargo and everything in between from the first to the last mile. Sendy Freight, on the other hand, enables companies to scale by providing a single platform to access certified transporters for loose or containerized goods across the continent.
Sendy Supply is a solution aimed at helping retailers purchase stock from suppliers and access flexible financing and reliable delivery to all their outlets.
In 2020, it launched Sendy Go, a home delivery solution giving shoppers access to a wide variety of household supplies from local traders and enables them to support families in need by matching every order made on the platform with a donation.
Among the many benefits of working with Sendy include improves access to fleets, reduced idle fleets and space in vehicles, and the provision of vehicle options to ensure that companies have ready logistic means.
This translates to quick access to assets they do not own or manage while paying only a marginal cost. The effect is adequate stock, lower cost of goods, and a higher quality of life for end-consumers.
The platform has also optimized routes for efficiencies through more return trips and has captured markets information that is shared with businesses for strategic decisions, and more business opportunities.
While at it, Sendy has ensured that drivers make a decent income through the company’s competitive rates for partners through improved vehicle access.
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So far, Sendy has over 5000 vehicles on its platform and more than 100,000 customers. It has made over 1 million deliveries since its inception across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Sendy has also managed to raise close to 30 million US dollars in funding from investors such as Atlantica Ventures, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Vested World, and Goodwell Investments.