Convoy: Standing Apart From Uber And Other Competitors

These days, the news is filled with articles focusing on Uber, Amazon, and other companies which are focused on matching shippers with haulers for on-demand trucking. However, many people overlook that Convoy, a start up from the Pacific Northwest, was the first company on the scene.

Convoy Has A Dedicated System

Many on-demand trucking apps have been criticized for being inaccurate, or having hidden fees. A lot of this can be traced to companies that focus on another industry first, and trucking second. Uber started out as a ride-hailing service, and only recently tried to carve out a spot in the trucking industry. Amazon, as always, likes to have a finger in every business, but the trucking industry is one of the newer forays. Convoy, unlike the others, has been working with the trucking industry from the start, with no intentions of deviating or branching out. Also unlike the other companies who have thrown their hats in the ring, Convoy does not purchase brokerage when trying to match drivers with shipments. This means there are no additional fees, and drivers who use the service do not get undercut on revenue.

Building A Network Across The united States

Convoy has met with great success in the state of Washington and other locations. The big goal, right now, is to build a network to provide services to truckers across the country. Convoy shows so much promise as a leader in on-demand trucking, that they recently announced that they have raised an additional $62 million in funding. The funding itself did not come from a sketchy crowdfunding campaign or random angel investors. Instead, the capital came from Bill Gates, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and more. On a side note, even Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, was one of the earliest backers of Convoy, and possibly got the idea for Amazon’s on-demand service during the early fund raising rounds.

Remaining Focused

Convoy is still about truckers, and the company has made no motion to do otherwise. While Amazon, Google, and Uber are spending billions to secure spots in the future with automated vehicles, Convoy’s CEO, Dan Lewis, knows that there is a lot to be done in the here and now. Truckers have been making decent bank by using Convoy’s app, and that is set to grow as the company plans to make its way into other regions.