Do you know that the transportation and logistics market in India is growing at a rapid speed? In 2025, the Indian logistics market was valued at 317.3 billion US dollars. And, this industry is growing at an average yearly growth rate of 8.8 %, which projects that it will reach 484 billion dollars in 2029. The reason for the growth of this industry is the increasing number of E-commerce platforms, SMEs, MSMEs, FMCG, and Infrastructure developments.
According to the Ministry of MSME, India is home to more than 6.30 crore small and medium-sized enterprises. These enterprises include local kirana stores, manufacturing units, textile, and furniture factories etc. Most of these businesses operate offline and use trucks and mini trucks regularly to move their products. In addition, they use traditional truck booking systems which always creates problems for them. These problems include variable truck fares on a daily basis and delays in arrival and delivery times.
In this blog, we are going to discuss the problems in the intracity logistics from both the sides, customers (demand) and drivers/riders (supply). Then, discuss how innovations from different online truck booking apps are solving them. Also, these apps changed the transport services in India in such a way that you can do online lorry booking and online pickup booking by sitting on your chair.
The Problems
After all, the market is too large and fragmented which creates difficulties for consumers and drivers to execute work efficiently on a daily basis. In this section, we are going to cover the challenges that stop small businesses from flourishing. Also, discuss problems of small drivers whose trucks are not getting work regularly and are idle for a long time. Let’s start with the consumer side challenges.
Highly Fragmented SMEs
There are millions of small businesses out there and they all are very fragmented. They are not part of an online transport app, and most importantly they are operated individually unlike big organisations that have proper logistics teams. As a result, this fragmentation stops them from making their work streamlined.
Poor Visibility of Supply
Most of the small businesses have limited contact numbers of truck drivers or transporters. On average, they only know around 3 to 4 drivers in their local areas. If we take the example of a furniture shop in Gurgaon, they have contact numbers of some drivers with whom they worked earlier. If there is an urgent order and their known drivers are not available, the owner has no other choice but to wait. As a result, the delayed deliveries will risk their business and impact the customer experience.
Non-Standardization of the Fare
If we talk about the traditional transport services in India, there was no standard pricing. The fares were heavily based on the requirements, type of goods, routes, availability, and even on timings (day or night). For instance, if someone booked a truck from Gurgaon for Rs 8000, to shift furniture to Ghaziabad, the next day they might charge Rs 2000 more for the same trip because of high demand. This gap of standardization doesn't let SMEs plan their budget. However, the online transport apps have simplified these challenges, which we will discuss in further sections.
Custom & inFrequent Demand
In SMEs, there are no fixed or predictable transportation needs. There are some days on which a business has to send a small parcel weighing 100 gm, for example sending a fabric sample to their prospect and the next day it could be 4 tonnes of shipment, for example sending the goods material in bulk to a regular customer. So, the business doesn’t book the same mini truck for a 2 kg parcel and for 5 tonnes shipment. As a result, this ad hoc demand makes it challenging to find the right type of vehicle at the right time. Also sometimes they want an open vehicle instead of a closed body due to their custom needs.
These are the problems from the small enterprises side that they are facing in their day to day life. Let's talk about the vehicle's side of problems as well.
Highly Fragmented Market Vehicles
In India, there are likely more than millions of truck drivers but most of them operate independently. Instead of being a part of a larger network they operate locally and get work on the basis of word of mouth. As a result, most of the time their trucks remain idle. Overall, this fragmentation limits their opportunities because they are unaware of the vehicle demand nearby to their location.
Fragmented Customer Base
The limited consumer base is a common problem from both the customer and driver side. On average, drivers also know only a few small businesses (SMEs) in their local area that regularly need transportation services. As a consequence, this lack of access to a wider customer base makes it difficult for drivers to find work regularly.
Lower Income and Tough Conditions to Negotiate
The major problem for truck drivers in India is low income and disrespect in their profession. After working for long hours in tough conditions, they are underpaid and undervalued. Additionally, drivers have poor negotiating power when it comes to pricing because they think it's better to earn less than to stay idle.
On top of this, whatever they earn, they have to pay commissions to brokers who provide work to them and often payments are delayed. All and all, this financial instability makes it difficult for drivers to maintain their trucks or raise their families.
Challenges in Outskirts or Remote Areas
Drivers who most often work on long routes and rely on intracity transportation, might face a struggle to find return orders. Because they are new to those areas and not in contact with the businesses of that area. Due to this, they have to wait for hours in outskirt areas in the hope of finding some orders. In some cases, they have to come back empty, wasting time and fuel.
Solution: Online Truck Booking Apps
As the years pass, the new technology trends are changing the way of doing work in every industry. If we talk about the transportation and logistics industry, technology has changed the workflow in so many ways.
Due to the recent technological upgrades, you can book a truck by using online truck booking apps. These online transport apps help you to book mini trucks online in Bangalore or in any city with just a few taps on your mobile. There are several truck booking companies in the market, such as MOVER, that provide convenient transport services in India.
MOVER is a tech-enabled marketplace connecting customers to drivers to improve the visibility and efficiency of the drivers. With MOVER, the driver gets money as soon as they complete the trip, and the customer gets the vehicle and their goods delivered safely whenever they need.
Now let's discuss the benefits MOVER provides to its customers and drivers:
Improved Vehicle Utilization
Low vehicle utilization is one of the biggest problems in the trucking industry. There are many trips from where trucks return empty after delivering goods, which wastes fuel and reduces earnings for drivers. However, this online transport app solves this by ensuring drivers find return loads (orders for the return trip) with their large organized network of enterprises.
Better SLA (Faster ETA, Higher Fulfillment)
MOVER app ensures the shipment will be picked up and delivered on time with better SLA. SLA stands for Service Level Agreement, which means the app ensures faster delivery times (ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival) and higher fulfilment rates. For companies who rely on on-time delivery to satisfy their clients, this dependability is a big benefit.
Better Pricing for Customers and drivers
MOVER app offers competitive pricing that is up to 30% lower than traditional market rates. At the same time, drivers can earn up to 40% more in comparison to traditional rates. It is possible just because there are no middlemen and uses technology to optimize routes and reduce costs. This cost savings is a big win for customers, especially small businesses that operate on tight budgets. Additionally, the increase in drivers' income improves their quality of life and motivates them to provide better service.
MOVER USPs
There are several features that make this app stand out in the market, check all of them below:
Safe Delivery
MOVER guarantees the safe delivery of products by using advanced safety features, such as GeoFence, OTP, and Goods Insurance. With GeoFencing, the frauds are mitigated and with a real time live tracking feature, you can track the location of the truck and always keep an eye on your delivery. Once the order reaches the location, the receiver will get an OTP to confirm the delivery. This feature ensures the order is delivered to the right person. Lastly, this online transport booking app provides in-transit insurance to cover any accidental damage or loss of goods while transporting.
Strict KYC Checks and Video Verification
This online truck booking app ensures that only verified and trustworthy drivers are part of its network. For that, it follows a strict KYC procedure by which consumers can verify the driver's identity and background. Additionally, this app also does video verification to check if the driver is genuine or reliable. Overall, it guarantees hassle free online truck booking experience.
Proof of Delivery (PoD)
Proof of Delivery (PoD), which MOVER offers, attests to the effective delivery of the products. The consumer signs a digital receipt that is saved in the app once the driver delivers the items. This guarantees openness and gets rid of disagreements regarding delivery/
The Way Forward: Future Innovations
In order to advance the intra city logistics sector, MOVER is dedicated to ongoing innovation. The online truck booking app plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to bring more efficiency to logistics and operations. The app will reduce the requirement for human interaction by using AI chatbots to address common consumer enquiries. Additionally, this online truck booking system is rapidly adding Electric Vehicles (EVs) to its fleet. Because EVs are eco-friendly and cost-effective, reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions.
Whether you need to book a mini truck online in Hyderabad, online mini truck booking in Delhi, or online truck booking in Gurgaon, MOVER is here to make your experience seamless and efficient. So, the next time you need transport services in India, consider using an online transport booking app like MOVER for a reliable and hassle-free experience.
