Manbang!
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Trucker's version of
GrindrUber
Ok, this post's a bit puerile, but it's the first time I've heard of them.
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Manbang is a platform owned by the Truck Alliance group (aka Huochebang),
Yeah! Bang some hoochey!
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I get the theory of what they're trying to do, but how often does a company do ad-hoc logistics anyway?
Yeah, sure. Here we are, we've received an order somewhere unusual. Let's wait until the goods are ready to go before we book transport!
And if you have a warehouse full of stuff, you have haulage outfits that you routinely use, and they have spare capacity so that they can handle this sort of case.
Are they really expecting there to be many ad-hoc truckers around?
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@steve_the_cynic I used to work at a place that sold aircraft parts to airlines and repair facilities. Most of the sales were for stuff they'd stock for regular usage but there were a fair amount of "AOG" situations where they needed a part right then to get an airplane moving. We generally had to call couriers, even in the middle of the night, to take the part and possibly get on an airplane to take it wherever it needed to go.
That's not quite what they're talking about, but I agree that this sounds very odd and I wonder what the market is for this sort of thing.
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@steve_the_cynic said in Manbang!:
I get the theory of what they're trying to do, but how often does a company do ad-hoc logistics anyway?
Yeah, sure. Here we are, we've received an order somewhere unusual. Let's wait until the goods are ready to go before we book transport!
And if you have a warehouse full of stuff, you have haulage outfits that you routinely use, and they have spare capacity so that they can handle this sort of case.
Are they really expecting there to be many ad-hoc truckers around?
There are already ways that this is taken care of. There are load boards online where you can post a load to be hauled and truckers monitor those looking for loads to haul. That is how one-of loads are currently handled.
Beyond those odd loads you would just contact your logistics firm that you usually work with. They would be able to fit most things in. They have frequent deadhead trips and they just route one of those in to get the load and haul it.
I am sure there are inefficiencies in the systems, like the deadhead loads, but I seriously doubt there is enough to warrant multi-billion investments. These problems are already largely solved.
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One of my close friends (best man at my wedding) owns a trucking company that specializes in hauling heavy machinery. He has contract jobs hauling for several large national construction firms. Usually those are priced as deadhead loads. Then he checks the load boards for a return load. Which means that return trips he gets paid double for when he can find a good paying load to come back with.
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@steve_the_cynic said in Manbang!:
I get the theory of what they're trying to do, but how often does a company do ad-hoc logistics anyway?
Yeah, sure. Here we are, we've received an order somewhere unusual. Let's wait until the goods are ready to go before we book transport!The wtfcorp I just left is a 3PL (third-party logistics provider). They didn't do ad-hoc loads every day, but it was common. And it wasn't always last-minute on purpose. Things happen. Trucks break down or get stopped at the border. Snowstorms cause delays, which matters because auto plants rely on just-in-time delivery so that they don't need to keep extra inventory.
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Cash-sprinkler Softbank and Alphabet hand over $1.9bn to Manbang
