This 3-year-old startup wants to reduce cost of goods in Nigeria

PROMOTED POST: There are cost implications to the items we buy every day. However, other than the fact that things ought to be cheaper, many people are oblivious of any other explanation as to why the costs of goods are high.

Apart from blaming the usual suspects; inflation, government policy and a weak economy, other factors play significant roles in the high cost of goods in Nigeria, chief among them being logistics. Up to 75% of the price of a product in Nigeria and other parts of Africa is attributed to logistics, compared to only 6% in the U.S. The situation is made all the more difficult with infrastructural and socio-economic challenges that take the price of goods to alarming rates.

The peculiar nature of the Nigerian business environment, the poor state of the roads, and a congested seaport make it harder for cargo owners to get their goods across to end-users in a timely fashion. Also, the people who are tasked with facilitating cargo transport go through much trouble trying to ensure they keep the engine of commerce and businesses running, but the trade-off is that the consumers end up bearing the cost.

To help cargo owners overcome the operational bottlenecks and also reduce the cost of goods in the market, Lori Systems, a Pan African e-logistics company has developed a technology and operational process that enable the movement of goods through a transparent supply chain management system that is affordable, reliable and flexible.

Lori’s solution will create a more efficient logistics experience for cargo owners who are burdened with the task of moving their goods across the country.

The company which launched in East Africa in 2016, has been able to build a platform that seamlessly connects cargo owners to transportation and haulage services, has operated successfully in countries across Eastern Africa and completed a ten-month pilot in Nigeria with some of the country’s leading companies such as Olam, Dangote, Honeywell Flour Mills and Flour Mills Nigeria, before officially announcing its entry into the Nigerian market last month. The company has spent the time and care to customize and tailor its solutions to meet Nigerian realities and has also hired a rock star team of Nigerians who are proven leaders in investments, business operations, logistics and customer service.

Lori, a pan-African company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is on a mission to facilitate a more rewarding cargo experience in the continent by signing up truck owners and drivers on its platform and connecting them to cargo owners to enable the movement of goods through a transparent supply chain management system that will drive down the cost of goods in Nigeria.