Rachel Keranen,
Rachel Keranen,Thursday June 22, 2017
Hassan Abdullahi is the CEO of Gadiid
Eureka! idea: Software that manages logistics for small to mid-size trucking companies
What the judges said:"The company saw a problem and true need and brought a solution to commercialization."
The logistics involved in the trucking industry are vast. There are driver logs and dispatch calls, fuel and maintenance expenses, customers and brokers, trucks and trailers, and much more.
Most of the existing software products created to handle trucking logistics were priced with large trucking companies in mind. And yet, according to the American Trucking Associations, 93 percent of trucking companies have less than 20 vehicles in their fleet. Trucking, one of the most common occupations in the United States, is an industry of small businesses. And for small fleets, the cost of trucking software that could help them improve efficiencies and cut costs, was prohibitively expensive.
“Too many people are using pens and papers and spreadsheets to manage their business on a daily basis,” said Gadiid Inc. CEO and Founder Hassan Abdullahi.
After a post-college stint helping a friend who owned a dispatching company, Abdullahi saw the need for less-expensive business software that would work for small and mid-size fleets. That need inspired him to build Gadiid, a web and mobile application for trucking business management.
Trucking companies can use Gadiid to streamline or automate almost all trucking logistics. The software is cloud-based, which means that office staff and truckers can use the app wherever they go.
For example, instead of having a dispatcher call a driver to give instructions and directions for the next load, dispatchers can assign drivers to loads via Gadiid and send the load status to the driver and customer. Instead of requiring drivers to save receipts and either mail, fax or walk the slips of paper into the office, drivers can take a photo of a receipt with their phone and upload it to the app.
The automation reduces the amount of time spent on paperwork and communication, and it also reduces the likelihood of losing receipts. The documents, which might otherwise travel thousands of miles before reaching the office, are essential for trucking companies to receive reimbursement for their sizable expenses.
Gadiid’s customer base ranges from fleets with 14 to 254 trucks. Abdullahi is not interested in pursuing enterprise companies, like FedEx and Wal-Mart, which have over 500 trucks in their fleets. Instead, he sees continued growth in the small and mid-sized markets.
Abdullahi also anticipates growth in the product’s capabilities. “We’re continuously working on our AI and deep machine learning algorithms to help our customers automate more and get insights into their data.”
Abdullahi expects to double the number of Gadiid employees by the end of 2017 or the first quarter of 2018.
–Rachel Keranen, contributing writer