Thursday, March 10, 2016
The emergence of new technologies can add game-changing efficiency and convenience to industries that have been around for a long time.
The problem that many companies face nowadays is that with so many disparate apps, platforms and software solutions available, it’s challenging to manage and coordinate everything, particularly for those who aren’t all that tech-savvy.
Trucking has been one of the primary methods for transporting goods across the country for many decades, and it’s not going away anytime soon. More than most, the trucking industry is one bogged down by logistics, with business owners needing to keep track of assets, drivers, fuel supplies, documents, deadlines and much more.
The opportunity was ripe for an all-in-one trucking management software and Hassan Abdullahi created GADiiD with that purpose in mind: to bring an age-old industry into the 21st century.
The origins of his startup can fittingly be traced to the nation’s automotive heartland. Abdullahi graduated from Michigan State University with an electrical engineering degree in 2009. Obviously, it was a time period and location where gaining employment was tough. While trying to find work out of college, he connected with a friend who happened to be a truck driver.
“He asked me to create a small database for him to keep contacts and customers,” Abdullahi says.
It was a simple enough request, but the friend soon requested an expansion of the software in order to help run his growing dispatching business. Abdullahi looked around online for existing solutions but found nothing suitable. An idea was planted in his head, and thus, GADiiD was born.
A new job brought Abdullahi to Minnesota in 2012. With its central location in the midwest and its proximity to freight hotspots such as Chicago, this new home also proved to be an ideal spot for setting up shop with his developing startup. He began with a simple dispatching module, but gradually added features and now has a robust platform that purports to simplify and automate every aspect of a trucking company’s back-end functions.
A fully integrated logistics solution, GADiiD offers a wide range of features including dispatching, invoicing, payroll, accounting, asset management and more. Everything comes together in one centralized dashboard, making it easier to keep droves of data and information in order. The service is differentiated from similar tools by full mobile integration (including dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS) and a heavy focus on analytics.
Presently, the self-financed company is in an invite only mode, but Abdullahi says he already has nine paying customers participating. He’s continually refining the software and adding features solely on the basis of user feedback.
“The trucking market is extremely old. Most of the software there was developed in the late 90s or early 2000s,” Abdullahi says. “We want to be at the forefront of this technology drive. We want to head up innovation rather than reacting to it.”
He plans to publicly launch GADiiD this summer. Sold on a SaaS model, the service has monthly pricing options ranging from $15 to $40 based on future sets and number of drivers.