Truck Alliance to be crowned king of 'Internet plus logistics'

Guiyang Huochebang Technology Co Ltd, or Truck Alliance for short, has become one of 55 startups in China to be valued over $1 billion.

The Guizhou-based company is similar to Uber but for larger vehicles, providing a nationwide system which matches truckers with people looking to ship items. As of October last year, the company had received $427 million in funding.

Big data has played a crucial part in Truck Alliance's success, as it is what allows drivers to easily find items in need of transport. It is also an essential component of the app's truck sales and auto finance services.

"We are confident about the prospects of integrating the logistics industry with mobile internet," said Luo Peng, co-founder and CEO of Truck Alliance.

Last May, the company announced it had developed language apps in Uygur, Russian and Mongolian in a move to promote trans-border logistics and commerce for economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Many economies and regions included in the Belt and Road still lag behind in internet infrastructure and smart freight transportation.

By the end of July last year, Truck Alliance had 4.5 million registered vehicles and 880,000 corporate customers.

More than 140,000 transactions go through the company's books each day with total freight charges exceeding 1.7 billion yuan ($260 million).

Truck Alliance has also signed a deal with China Shenhua Rail and Trucks Co, which is heavily involved in the development of road and rail transportation in participating economies of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"We have experience building a logistics network which covers many parts of China," said Luo. "In the future, we plan to further connect different countries and regions in the Belt and Road Initiative."