DUBAI 17 September 2017: When I finally caught up with him in his office, Janardan Dalmia, told me simply: “I want to be the biggest”.
He was earnest – and it was not surprising for me either. Dubai has a fascination – even culture – of being the biggest and the best.
It allows entrepreneurs such as Dalmia to dream – and then helps makes those dreams come true – just look at the almost 200 Guinness Book of World Records the city holds.
Janardan Dalmia is a partner and CEO of a recently launched business in Dubai – Trukkin.
As the name suggests, Trukkin is a marketplace and aggregator for shippers and transporters with technology at its core. It is a purely B2B surface transport concept with a GCC-wide footprint – to start with.
Though it has a website [www.trukkin.com] and multi-lingual and user-friendly apps on IoS and Google Play platforms, business is not limited to online alone. Dalmia is mostly out meeting clients as well as a fleet operators and even private truckers, braving the daunting Gulf summer.
All that energy, drive and effort is focused on just one goal. “We want to become the biggest aggregator for shippers and transporters,” Dalmia states with simple conviction.
The signs seem to back his claims.
Trukkin was launched in Dubai in May and a couple of weeks ago in Riyadh.
“We did 100 shipments in our first week after the Riyadh launch,” says Dalmia. “There is very strong interest from local enterprises to partner with us.”
How did it all begin?
“I come from a business background. We are three brothers – and I’m the youngest. My dad started from scratch. We’ve had our ups and downs,” said Dalmia.
“My brothers encouraged me to go abroad and study to get exposure and a world vision. In 2001, I joined Purdue University in the US studying management, finance and marketing. I wanted to get into Wall Street and I worked very hard and was successful.
“In 2015, I was raising capital in New York and Dubai when I realized the UAE was a young country with lots of opportunities to do something entrepreneurial. There are still a lot more opportunities here than more mature markets,” says Dalmia.
“My Saudi partner and I were brainstorming one day and there was a ‘meeting of minds’ on opportunities in commercial surface transport. Business in this sector is still done in the old-school traditional manner. The sector is functional but unorganized and chaotic. There is lack of efficiency, technology and professionalism.
“We did market research and saw a gap we could fill – Trukkin was born,” said Dalmia.
Trukkin aims to organize the market using modern management practices and new technologies.
“Our key strength is that we are a neutral platform that brings shippers and transporters together and allows both sides to get the best possible deal.
“We first verify the shipper. Once that is done the shippers gets ‘onboarded’ and can start placing his orders and requirements.
“As it’s an online marketplace, transporters can offer best price. The shipper can then choose the best option that focuses on both price and professional experience of the transporters. This removes the dependency on long term contracts with specific transporters.
Asked if he was – like Uber or Airbnb – trying to disrupt the regional market, Dalmia said: I am not disruptive. I am an enabler trying to make surface transport business more efficient.”
Best of Luck to Janardan Dalmia.