Hacobu, Inc.

As e-commerce accelerates and global logistics grows toward an expected $6.55 trillion valuation by 2027, the industry faces mounting staffing shortages and pressure to improve efficiency. Many logistics operations, especially in the B2B sector, still rely on legacy, analog processes that slow down communication and resource allocation.

“Logistics is an analog world centered on the exchange of paper and faxes,” said Hiroki Kusumi, Product Manager at Hacobu. “In order to work around the shortage of truck drivers, we need to acquire data through digitization, eliminate waste, and improve efficiency.”

While large courier companies have introduced real-time tracking for consumer deliveries, smaller and medium-sized transport providers have lacked access to affordable, scalable solutions for fleet visibility and coordination across multiple partners.

Hacobu’s goal was to design a system that could be used commonly across operators, enabling a shared, digitized approach to tracking delivery status and streamlining communication between businesses.

The Solution: MOVO Fleet and the Connected Logistics Ecosystem

Hacobu’s MOVO suite consists of five applications designed to work together and integrate with third-party services for a full logistics ecosystem:

• MOVO Fleet: GPS-based fleet location and route tracking, plus drive recorder capabilities.
• MOVO Berth: Reservation and reception scheduling for truck arrivals.
• MOVO Vista: Delivery case management.
• MOVO Seek: Distribution and material monitoring.
• MOVO Dispatch: Centralized dispatch management.

At the heart of this suite is MOVO Fleet, which uses GPS-equipped IoT terminals to track vehicle positions in real time, optimize delivery routes, and provide accurate ETAs. Devices transmit data every five seconds, replacing slow, phone-based status updates with a single dashboard view — even allowing subcontractor vehicles to be monitored alongside a company’s own fleet.

“We saw small and medium-sized transportation companies unable to improve and streamline their delivery routes because they couldn’t afford to efficiently monitor the status of their vehicle deliveries,” said Kusumi. “We thought that by providing a tool that would allow them to manage their dynamic information inexpensively, we would be able to raise the level of digitization in the industry as a whole.”

Why Soracom: Affordable, Scalable Connectivity

When searching for a connectivity partner, Hacobu prioritized cost efficiency and scalability to make MOVO accessible for SMBs. Soracom’s pay-as-you-go pricing and strong connectivity in target markets stood out.

“The first requirement in terms of communication was to keep costs down,” Kusumi said. “We considered whether there was anything suitable for our usage environment, where communication is frequent but the data volume is not that large at a time.”

MOVO Fleet devices use Soracom Air for cellular connectivity, enabling not only affordable data transmission but also remote monitoring of communication status via the Soracom User Console. This allows Hacobu to oversee all deployed devices, order new SIMs quickly, and integrate API commands for added operational efficiency.

“Soracom had a high affinity for developing low-cost, easy-to-manage services,” Kusumi noted. “It was also important to be able to monitor the communication status remotely. Soracom’s ability to do so from the management screen was highly valued.”

The Outcome: Widespread Adoption and Tangible ROI

Since launching in 2018, MOVO has grown from a small-business-focused tool to an industry-spanning platform used by more than 500 manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies.

One transport company used MOVO Fleet’s route optimization capabilities to reduce its fleet by eight vehicles — then redeployed those vehicles to start a new business.

“Today, the system is used not only by small and medium-sized transportation companies but also by major retail and wholesale distribution companies,” Kusumi said.

Looking ahead, Hacobu aims to extend MOVO beyond telematics and asset tracking to address broader industry challenges, including reducing CO₂ emissions in response to climate change.

“We would like to provide functions and data that can support these efforts,” Kusumi said. “We want to help support various challenges in the logistics industry digitally.”