“The Entire Business is Built on Trust & People" - How OX Delivers is Jumpstarting Logistics for Emerging Markets - MD, Simon Davis

OX Delivers is revolutionising the logistics space in Africa by adding electric mobility into the mix. The company’s proprietary software, purpose-designed electric trucks, and an entrepreneurial depot operating model blends together to offer a solution that opens up logistics services to millions of entrepreneurs, who will never be able to afford to buy their own vehicle.

“We’re building an affordable, clean transport ecosystem for millions of entrepreneurs in frontier and emerging markets," Simon Davis, Co-Founder and Managing Director of OX Delivers, tells Auto Futures.

Its focus is on the transport problem that plagues the Global South.

"There are 3 billion people who do not own a vehicle and never will – and we are bringing Transport-as-a-Service to these people. Here in the UK, next day delivery is nothing new, whether you’re running a business or ordering something for your home, but our customers in Rwanda are used to travelling by bus to a wholesale market to buy stock, and then waiting, sometimes for days, for the return trip with their produce. Ordering for delivery just wasn’t possible until they became OX customers,” says Davis. 

“We’re re-imagining how these entrepreneurs get their goods to market. This is affordable, reliable, profitable and carbon zero Transport-as-a-Service,” he adds

But that’s not all. OX Delivers' UK-based R&D team has developed a one-of-its-kind, electric truck called the OX truck. This 3.5 tonne EV truck, purpose-designed for on-demand operations in emerging markets, is being developed in the UK.

It runs two 37Kwh battery packs in parallel and uses a Dana Motor Inverter unit. The battery packs are currently supplied by Potenza, the same used in the Iveco eDaily. While preparing for production, the OX truck is also undergoing further research and in-market testing in OX Delivers' Rwanda operations.

Backed by the UK Government through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), the OX truck was even named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2022.

“The OX truck has been purpose-designed to navigate extreme terrain in difficult conditions, to reach the most remote places. Since poor infrastructure is one of the key barriers to connecting the last mile to markets, we see this truck as a game-changer for last mile distribution – both in Rwanda and elsewhere."

Repairability is a leading USP of the OX truck, and it has been designed with this in consideration.

"Take the doors for example, typically a complex system on vehicles designed for western markets, but on the OX we have minimal components with 80% unhanded and 60% off-the-shelf. Using durable sheet material for the construction of the truck enables us to easily cut and replace the non-handed panels in the market; reducing any downtime the truck has,” says Davis,

“Further benefits include the combination of a cab-forward design and large, plentiful windows which ensures that the OX driver has maximum visibility to aid navigating challenging roads and busy markets. And the OX platform, which underpins the truck, has been optimised for a lifetime of traversing unpaved roads whilst carrying a 2-tonne payload.” 

Impacting Millions of People

What is so unique about OX Delivers is the fact that it has developed its very own in-house application which serves drivers, depots, and customers. Now, Customers can book deliveries or collections via this app, or by calling a toll-free number. The OX team books in the work and completes it. It's as simple as that.

“The entire business is built on trust – and people,” says Davis.

“If you’re a smallholder farmer choosing to use our service, you’re entrusting us with something that’s taken a lot of time and effort to grow and is hugely valuable to you and your family. You need to have confidence in the people responsible for transporting it. Concreting this trust is central to what we do, and it happens locally, starting with our 'DriversPlus'. We call our drivers ‘DriversPlus’ because they do so much more than drive: they are also responsible for the upkeep of the vehicles, business development, depot management and, crucially, customer relations."

“The service we are offering – affordable and reliable transportation of their goods – is not something our customers have previously experienced. Not only can they grow and move more of their goods/produce, there is less stock spoilage, increased productivity and incomes. This is already making an enormous difference to the customers we currently serve and when we are able to scale, we have the potential to impact millions of people in the Global South,” he adds.

Affordable EV Technology

OX Delivers is currently running a pilot operation in Rwanda to test the demand. According to Davis, it is proving very successful. The team in Rwanda is currently only able to meet around 20% of incoming demand for delivery work. For instance, during 2022, it transported 13,000 tonnes of cargo.

“While the OX truck is still in development in the UK, we are using third-party hired trucks for this operation: we have four depots in different rural areas in Rwanda and each depot has five trucks and 10 drivers. Once our truck is fully developed and moves to production, we will grow our business even further in Rwanda. We are currently considering which neighbouring countries we can expand our operations into,” explains Davis.

Recently, OX Delivers received a grant from APC UK, which was close to GBP 8.5 million. This grant is funding a two-year project. The innovations in this project include the development of advanced, affordable EV technology through UK localisation of assembly and manufacture, battery cost and density optimisation, lightweight resilient structures, intelligent off-road traction, and an advanced end-to-end closed-loop digital ecosystem, all of which help optimise cost and efficiency.

A New Era For The Tranport Industry

Davis admits that like any other company, OX Delivers has faced its own set of challenges. “In our pilot operation, some have been getting used to the processes involved in the business of logistics,” he says.

“In the early days we had some issues with when to take payments from customers; but by establishing clear processes, issuing receipts, and entering into MOUs with customers that lay out the service we provide and our expectations in return, we’ve really improved the payment collection process. Likewise, we also had delays as customers didn’t have their orders ready because they just didn’t believe we would turn up when we said we would. For example, in one fishing village our cold truck would turn up to collect fresh fish to take to market, and the fishermen wouldn’t yet have been fishing that morning."

"We soon realised they had previously been left waiting around for unreliable trucks, which had resulted in food waste and frustration, and so they lacked faith in our service. Now that they know our cold truck will turn up when we say it will, they always have the fish packed in ice and ready to go,” he adds.

But despite all the challenges, this innovative company and its co-founders know that the future holds tremendous opportunities.

“The road looks exciting! Once we have completed our R&D operations here in the UK we will be in a position to move to scale. We will export the trucks flat packed to be assembled in micro-factories in Rwanda, and then in other countries as we expand. With 3 billion people without access to their own vehicle, the market potential is enormous."

"In Africa alone, around 450 million people – or more than 70% of its total rural population – are estimated to have been left unconnected due to missing transport infrastructure and systems. We provide not only a purpose-built truck, but a revolutionary zero-carbon automotive ecosystem designed to work in harmony with the terrain and the requirements of the challenge ahead. This is the beginning of a new era for the transport industry!” Davis concludes.