- 1SHIFT platform tracks shipping routes and offers real-time arrival estimates to save businesses money on detention fees
- uBUCK app lets truckers, farmers and more get paid for their work the very same day that proof of delivery is offered
- Acquired smart waste technology company 3030IOT, an opening salvo of its plans to push into Internet of Things technology
What LiteLink Technologies does:
LiteLink Technologies (CSE:LLT) (OTCMKTS:LLNKF) Inc is using artificial intelligence to bring the shipping industry into the 21st century.
The Burnaby, British Columbia company operates 1SHIFT Logistics, a software platform that enables brokers, shippers, and carriers to track shipments and settle payments in real-time without having to micromanage individual drivers.
The platform precisely tracks shipping routes and offers real-time arrival estimates. Integrating global positioning systems allows 1SHIFT to accurately detect longitude, latitude, ground speed and the direction in which trucks are heading.
That level of certainty saves companies hundreds if not thousands of dollars in detention fees. With 1SHIFT, companies no longer have to ask “Where’s my stuff?”
Predictive analytics helps shippers review historical pricing information, partner ratings, and current factors such as fuel prices, weather, and backhaul capacity to make informed pricing decisions in real time.
1SHIFT streamlines workflow within the partner ecosystem and uses blockchain to record the immutable details of the shipment to automate the paperwork.
LiteLink also owns uBuck Technologies, a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary that is revolutionizing payment in shipping and other industries. The uBuck platform allows drivers to be reimbursed electronically within a day of submitting proof of delivery.
uBuck lets truckers and others get paid via the app and functions as a digital wallet, allowing them to transfer money to their families without having to pay for a traditional money transfer service.
The app works with a uBuck Mastercard, and users can withdraw money from ATMs. It brings in revenue via convenience fees whenever money is uploaded into the digital wallet. The company is also exploring a revenue sharing model that would make its digital wallet a net positive for its customers' bottom lines. That way, as uBuck CEO James Youn told Proactive, both parties are rowing in the same direction.
How is it doing:
In September, LiteLink signed its first US customer for 1SHIFT in the form of a deal with logistics provider Bay Water Transportation. The company said its initial focus is to provide 1SHIFT to carriers, brokers, and shippers in North America this year, followed by expansions into South America in early 2020.
As of August 31, the company had $1.7 million in cash on hand and more than $6 million in total assets. In the six months ended August 31, the company posted a nearly $4.4 million loss, compared to a $3.3 million loss in the same period in 2018.
As trials turn to sales, the company hopes to turn those figures in the other direction.
Last year, LiteLink released a second beta version of 1SHIFT’s desktop and mobile applications for its continuing consumer trials. The app is available for free on Apple and Android for truckers to download on their smartphones.
uBuck, for its part, received $500,000 in financing in December, the second tranche of a $900,000 total capital raise.
LiteLink is partnering with a prominent electronic logging device provider, a technology that automatically records driving time and hours of service. It's also exploring a partnership with a GPS tracking company.
Additionally, the company is making a play in the Internet of Things sphere. The company signed a deal in January to acquire 3030IoT, a firm that makes sensor technology to monitor fill levels in trash or recycling bins and notify truckers when full bins need picked up.
That technology marries quite well with it’s existing infrastructure within the shipping industry. The plan is to roll out five different sensors in the near future and market them to housing complexes, construction companies, parks and recreations departments and others.
The smart waste sensor are an opening salvo in what the company expects to be a continued progression into the IoT sector.
In November, LiteLink partnered with Pomme Ma-Gic, an apple and potato producer in Quebec. LikeLink provided a trial of its 1SHIFT platform, and in turn was able to open an east coast base at the agriculture company’s office.
Pommes Ma-Gic will provide LiteLink with cold room storage facilities and trucks and trailers for the company to use in its research and development into temperature and moisture monitoring. In addition, LiteLink will use the facility to test their IoT and 5G sensors and devices in different conditions.
Meanwhile, in January, uBUCK signed a deal with Good Gamers Corp, an online platform for gamers to engage with each other and earn rewards. Users can then turn those rewards into Streambucks, uBucks’s digital wallet and make online purchases or earn a prepaid debit card.
The digital wallet is also progressing into virtual ATM services. On June 24, the company inked a deal with Spare CS Inc, giving it access to QR-code processing technology. With Spare’s software, users can turn their digital currency into cash at about 2,500 participating Los Angeles stores without the need for a debit card or a bank.
Inflection points:
- Continued progression into the IoT sector
What the boss says:
LiteLink CEO Ashik Karim sat down with Proactive’s Steve Darling in November to discuss the Pommes Ma-Gic deal and the future of his company.
“Logistics is becoming congested,” Karim said. “Products are sitting in lots a little longer, there’s more chance for spoilage with climate change ... and having the ability to see when a product left the farm to get to the warehouse, to the retailer to the buyer so they get paid is critical. We’re starting to show that we’re playing the larger fish out there. Our product’s been out there for less than a year, and now we’re starting to see some of the fruition of our trials. our marketing, sales and demonstrations.”
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel