Delivery sharing made easy with Mober

"We are a cargo sharing type of platform, which has recently gotten investments from the 2Go group," says Dennis Ng, founder and CEO, Mober. "As a cargo-sharing platform, we are focused on delivery of orders from the appliance centers, which sell TVs and furniture."

The concept for Mober started when Ng, who runs a showbiz magazine in Hong Kong for OFWs, wanted to bring the magazine to Manila. He searched for a delivery service that would do it. 

"I looked for a delivery van here and found none," he shares. "So, I decided it was time for a delivery van service — one that is similar to the ride-sharing services, which was already popular at the time."

Mober wants to fill that gap that we may sometimes experience when we buy appliances from appliance centers and we have to wait for a few days before these can be delivered to us. 

So, when a consumer wants an appliance delivered on the same day it is as easy as booking Mober for the delivery, which promises same day delivery. 

Mober has contracts with SM appliance centers and more recently with Anson's and Abenson.

"The beauty of Mober lies in its cargo sharing," adds Ng. "This means our van partners, people who own delivery vans, have joined Mober, never go for a delivery until the vans are full of appliances or furniture."

The concept of Mober is to do cargo sharing for appliances or furniture to be delivered in one area. This lessens the underutilized delivery vans on the road and in the long-run Mober hopes that this will help ease traffic congestion.

Mober Technology PTE Inc. is a Filipino startup cargo-sharing mobile application that allows users to book the nearest available cargo vans and trucks and lets them track the status of the delivery through the Mober App. This application provides cargo-sharing services with a click of a button.

Mober's same-day cargo delivery service connects small and medium enterprises (SMEs), shoppers, and all families with a cost-effective, safe and fast logistical service with a dedicated customer support. Mober has changed the buying behavior of the Filipino market as they now expect their appliances, furniture and other bulky items to be delivered within the same day. 

Mober grows

Ng shares that with the current investment of 2Go Mober has been able to reach Cebu as there are big appliance and furniture centers in Cebu.  There are plans for reaching out to Pampanga and then Davao.

At present, Mober can deliver as far as Bulacan and Cavite with its Metro Manila deliveries. 

What Mober does is to balance the platform — so if there is Uber and Grab for moving people — there is Mober for cargo sharing.

In Cebu, Mober has pilot tested with SM appliance center. And, so far it has been doing well. 

"What makes Mober unique is that of focuses on the big furniture or appliance items," adds Ng. "We have a fleet of L300 vans, mini aluminum vans and six-wheelers, which we use for our deliveries."

How are deliveries on Mober scheduled? Mober has what it calls advanced booking, where a client can do a booking for the next day at a specific time. 

All a customer has to do is download the Mober App, which works 24/7. And, because most Filipinos want to talk to a customer service representative,  Ng shares that the call center of Mober is open until 10 p.m. 

"We have zoning delivery that we offer in our appliance partner centers.  What it does is that is it allows the client to pick the time of delivery he or she prefers," says Ng. "We have timed deliveries between 12 p.m. to 3 p.m, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for appliance centers."

Mober app works 

If you buy an appliance from any Mober partner you will be informed about Mober and that it can do the delivery of the appliance on time. The rates for a Mober delivery range from P750 for the first five kilometers using an L300 van. So, for as long as the furniture or appliance fits into the van it uses the same rate. 

After the first five kilometers, there is a charge of P30 per kilometer. 

"From experience, our deliveries average about seven kilometers. That is about P900 for the use of the van," shares Ng. "But, we know that our delivery charge is not much higher than the delivery charge of the appliance manufacturers. Plus we deliver at our clients' convenience."

Mober has been successfully able to segregate the van partners by area this way delivery of items is organized. 

Although, he admits that delays cannot be prevented and that they too have been victims of the traffic in Metro Manila. Of course, if the first delivery is late there is a domino effect and all deliveries are delayed.

"We try to solve this issue by telling our van partners not to overbook," Ng adds. "We train our van partners on the value of their deliveries and we also make sure that the delivery items are insured."

Ng adds that beyond appliances Mober has gone in catering deliveries. 

In the past, Ng says that caterers had to buy vans for the deliveries, but now, they can use Mober for this service, too.

"We have caterers who no longer buy their own vans, but who book through us," Ng shares. "We pick up the food for delivery in the morning and then when the catering is over, they book with us again and we pick up at the end of the day."

Ng says that what they would like to do is help SME so they no longer need to buy their own vans — there is Mober. Just like Ng who shares that when they started they had to buy 10 vans. He explains that because the concept was new no one wanted to invest in Mober. 

That was in December 2015. 

"Now, we say, 'join Mober and we give you more bookings for your vans,'" he adds. "We will expand this year by including refrigerated vans."

The Mober app is downloadable at the Apple Store and Google Playstore.