Logistics Vehicle Management Platform "McEasy" Receives Initial Funding from East Ventures

SaaS startup logistics vehicle management and tracking McEasy announced a $1,5 million (approximately IDR 22 billion) seed funding from East Ventures. The funds will be used to build logistics technology, recruit marketing and sales teams to reach more users.

"Smart tracking systems are not new in the automotive and industrial world, but we know how to integrate hardware everything, from sensors to GPS, with our platform to be the perfect solution. With the business plan that has been designed, we believe that funds from investors will drive the company's growth exponentially," said McEasy Co-Founder Raymond Sutjiono in an official statement, Tuesday (14/9).

East Ventures Partner Melisa Irene added that at this time the application of technology solutions to drive increased asset management efficiency and achieve customer satisfaction is the main key in winning the competition in the logistics industry.

“McEasy has succeeded in providing solutions and products that are suitable for various players in the Indonesian logistics industry to help them identify the potential of the logistics market that is currently developing until the post-pandemic. We are delighted to welcome McEasy to the East Ventures ecosystem,” he said.

Industry growth momentum

This startup was founded in 2017 by Raymond Sutjiono and Hendrik Ekowaluyo. Both have experience working at Ford. Hendrik specializes in structural design and in-car program management, while Raymond specializes in engine electronics, system control, and even handling vehicle data.

Both pioneered McEasy as a digitalization catalyst in the B2B logistics and transportation industry. So far, logistics transportation management in Indonesia still has a number of challenges. Among them, the limited integration from one party to another, even though they are still in the same supply chain.

Next, business operational processes tend to rely on manual methods with complicated administration, so that the digitization process has not run smoothly; and automation and optimization systems to simplify logistics operations which are also not maximized.

According to the Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ALFI), Indonesia's logistics industry business growth potential from year to year is around 40 trillion Rupiah ($2.8 billion). Based on analysis Redseer, the industry has experienced up to 100% growth during the pandemic.

Solutions offered

McEasy provides two solutions, namely Vehicle Smart Management System (VSMS) and Transportation Management System (TMS) & Smart Driver Apps. VSMS is a -based digital solution smart tracker to assist logistics operations and track vehicle location real-time.

Meanwhile, TMS is a SaaS for integrated planning, implementation, monitoring, and optimization of freight forwarding processes. Through integration in Smart Driver Apps, McEasy customers can track their vehicle position and all operational costs transparently, without the hassle of checking them manually.

Both of these solutions can be used by logistics business players, from manufacturing & distribution companies to large brand companies that already have their own fleet or are integrated with logistics service providers.

McEasy Co-Founder Hendrik Ekowaluyo added that the main strength of its service lies in its flexible platform, which is a solution to every customer's needs. Different from provider development others, will usually explore problem main client, then describes how to use elements on our platform to work around the issue.

“For example, logistics company A has problem X, so we will look for the most optimal settings on the platform and guide the client using those settings as a solution. By scalability, this business concept is much more sustainable because we just have to explore the features in the platform without having to make development different every time," he said.

McEasy uses a subscription-based business model (subscription) and provide solutions that can be tailored to the customer's business scale, such as 3PL, 4PL, distributor, or owner brand. To date, the areas covered by McEasy's digital solutions include Java, Bali, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

Its customer portfolio spans a wide range of industries and business sizes, for example Bosco's MGM for the cold supply chain sector (cold chain), Rosalia Indah Group for the public transportation sector, and RPX and FeDex Indonesia for the logistics sector last mile in Indonesia.

Since the pandemic, McEasy's business has also been boosted thanks to digital transformation in the logistics industry. The number of its subscribers has grown 10 times. The company targets in the last quarter of this year to double the total number of vehicles integrated with the system, as well as assist in digitizing the transportation system for corporate customers.

Meanwhile, in the following year, the company will increase its target to achieve a minimum growth of four times from 2021. McEasy's ambition is to create an integrated ecosystem that makes it easier for stakeholders to optimize all logistics and supply chain processes.

Logistics startup funding trends

In supporting the digital economy, the logistics industry still has a lot of friction in its business processes. This opportunity encourages startup players to jump in which requires a lot of investment in developing their technology.

From the beginning of 2019 to July 2021, the research team DailySocial note there is around 16 funding transactions announced to involve technology-based logistics companies. This investment managed to record a total fund value of $586 million. There are at least 4 logistics startups that have a valuation above $100 million, namely SiCepat, Waresix, Shipper, and GudangAda.