APX Logistics Solutions Co, Ltd: Revolutionising Land Transport
Uwe Dettman and Sukanya ‘Poon’ Thamthada share a long history of working together in logistics. In 2020, just four years ago, they set their sights on introducing a new concept to Thailand and Southeast Asiain land transport with the establishment of APX (Asia Pallet Express) Logistics Solutions Co, Ltd. For the next two years, they conducted in-depth research and began organising their company. Then, in 2022, they were able to recruit Sorawit ‘Kong’ Tantrakulchareorn to join their founders team as their COO and CTO because of his IT & Tech background and innovative approach to developing a digital platform to support their LTL (Less-Than-Load) service.
Uwe Dettman was born and brought up in Germany. He has always loved to read, and because of this, from an early age, Uwe wanted to travel and see the world. So, he set his sights on joining an international business, and logistics seemed like it offered a great way to fulfil these dreams. As he progressed in this career, he was able to move and work in England, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. With his growing experience and know-how, he was continually promoted until he was managing company operations. As the logistics industry evolved, he worked hard to remain at the top. It was during this time that he met Sukanya, and they opened a logistics company in Thailand that they later sold. After enjoying some time to relax, they both began to look for a new venture, and thus, the founding of APX.
As Uwe put it, “I wasn’t ready to retire, and I had a good Thai partner, which I believe is vital to succeed in business in Thailand or, I guess, any country where a foreigner wants to invest.”
For two years, Uwe and Poon conducted their research. “To succeed in this endeavour, we needed a long incubation period. We had to develop detailed plans, which required talking to lots and lots of people. We needed to study the different markets, especially in Europe, which is much further advanced in logistical operations than Thailand and this region. We also needed to design our own operational matrix. The business is much like a puzzle, and we needed to figure out what assets were required and where to put them. We also applied for and received BOI backing.”
As they worked to develop their company and the services they would offer, they realised they needed a young, tech-savvy individual to join the founding team and help develop APX’s platform. They hired a recruitment agency to find this talent, and the headhunter approached Sorawit ‘Kong’ Tantrakulcharoen multiple times. However, Kong was deeply involved in his own businesses and felt that the opportunities presented to him were below his experience and credentials, especially compared to his current role as the head of a multinational ERP company. Kong holds a degree in Engineering from KMITL and a Master’s degree from Glasgow University, where he was a full scholarship student. He had worked with multinational clients in various roles, including Business Owner, Quality Engineer, Business Consultant, Executive Manager and Managing Director, quickly reaching top management positions within the first few years of his career. Kong also had a strong background in software development and implementation, particularly ERP software. Recognizing Kong’s impressive background and potential contributions, Uwe set up a personal meeting with him. After realizing how much Kong could bring to the new enterprise, Uwe invited Kong to join the APX team as a co-founding COO and CTO. Kong decided to take on this challenge and opportunity to build APX, the first digital LTL trucking network in Southeast Asia, at the age of 28. Six months later, they began operations, offering their digital LTL service, and the first pallet was delivered by APX.
APX does not own any trucks themselves. With their trailblazing digital platform, they have created an intelligent pallet-based freight network to connect truckers and shippers. Operations are divided into domestic and international business areas, the latter now including offering services in Malaysia and Singapore with plans to soon enter the Vietnam and Indonesia markets.
As Uwe put it, “We offer a mix and match service.Working with our partners, we can assure shippers-fast, efficient, safe service that includes first-mile and last-mile transportation. Through our experience and research, we found there was a significant gap within the trucking business, which Thailand and this region is still very dependent on. Here there are many small and medium sized trucking companies who find it difficult to scale their operations and manage their costs.
“So, what we have been developing is a network of partners located nationwide in Thailand which we are continuing to expand while at the same time organising such connections in Malaysia and Singapore first as we now are also planning further expansion to cover this region.
APX manages transportation routes under a hub-and-spoke model. They partner with local trucking companies to join the APX network, and they called these trucking companies as "members." Members can be categorized into three types: first mile, middle mile or line haul, and last mile.
“When we receive an order from a customer, we have a first mile member who is closest to the origin point pick up the goods and take them to the hub. Then, a line haul member, using a large truck to consolidate goods from multiple customers to maximize efficiency in truck space, will transport the goods between regional hubs and the main hub, back and forth. Once the customer's goods arrive at the main hub, they are sorted for delivery to their respective regional destinations. Finally, the last mile member will deliver the goods to the final destination."
This hub-and-spoke model allows APX to provide LTL (Less Than Truckload) door-to-door shipping nationwide.
“Europe has already a very effective rail network across the continent. They have developed very effective first-mile and last-mile transport services. But, this still isn’t the case here. We are still dependent on the roads and highways. The State Railway of Thailand (SET) is developing a dual-track railway system that when completed will comprise 3,400 kilometres. Once this is completed, we will be less dependent on long-haul trucking services, but shippers will still require service to and from the train depots, and SPX will already have the digital platform in place to best serve these requirements.”
Kong then added, “Thai consumers are very demanding. We must always be very careful. This again requires meticulous study of all the players involved to be sure we can satisfy their needs and demands. It is also important to develop close personal relationships with our partners, suppliers and customers. This way we can continue to learn from and with each other.
“To be honest, while Thai consumers do have general standards they expect to be met, they also have their own special standards, which we must always be aware of.”
Currently, as much as 90% of SPX clients are local entities. Even when a company is regional or international, they are still mostly working through their local office. This may change as they expand their network throughout ASEAN.
Both Uwe and Kong expressed how the Government and companies must realise that the logistics sector relies on the drivers. They both said, “Driver training and then their welfare should be major concerns as these personnel are vital to the industry and its development. Even now, especially in Malaysia, there is a shortage of qualified drivers as they feel they are worked too hard and not appreciated.”
They also said that the authorities must be much more devoted to traffic law enforcement, especially when it comes to over-weight loads that damage road surfaces, which directly affects service standards.
As the Thai government here and those in the region promote economic advancement, logistics becomes much more of a concern for businesses to be profitable. APX (Asia Pallet Express) Logistics Solutions has become a trailblazer in this industry in Thailand and the region with its digital platform and intelligent pallet-based freight network setting the route forward for logistics.
