Ablao (PM): You wanna do English or..?
Lebria (client):Yeah, I think it’s easier to understand if I speak in English
Ablao (PM): Hello good evening, what is your name and what is the business your company is in.
Lebria (client): Hello, my name is Matthew Gerald D.C. Lebria, I am one of the co-owners of the Lebria
Transport & Allied Services Corporation. Our business offers freight forwarding services and it’s been
running for 3 decades. We have over 80 employees, all have been working for at least a decade with
us and they are flexible, they can drive, they can manage shipments, and others.
Ablao (PM): So everyone in the company can fill up any position?
Yes, so we call them and assign them whenever we get orders, whoever is available at that moment,
let’s say I called you and ask you to drive, on your next job, you might be managing at the branch so
yeah, everyone can perform every task.
Ablao (PM): What difficulties do you face in the business that you think needs a solution?
Lebria (client): I think that our business did not adapt to the modern freight forwarding business. We
still do everything by paper. The client has to contact us and either by the phone or..them going to
one of our branches, we negotiate on the shipment details and the prices, if they need anything of
course like special instructions and stuff is included there. So yeah I think how we are old school.
Ablao (PM): so old school means, everything is still manually do everything?
Lebria (client): Yeah! You know how almost every freight forwarding company has like a computer
system that stores their data, we use excel to do everything, from the data, the schedule. We use
papers or word to store information about the client, the shipment and other stuff.
Ablao (PM): Who are the usual customers you get and how do you price a shipment?
Lebria (client): Well customers are usually those who need to move items from books, magazines,
personal belongings, you know, the small ones and the big ones such as machinery, liquors and wines,
feed additives are just some to name. We also have customers that have been using our services for a
long time. In terms of pricing, we based the price off freight charge, which includes the type and
numbers of packaging multiplied by the weight of the packaging, the type of vehicle used because we
offer the small vehicles like pickup trucks and 4 wheeler vehicles, then we have those 6 wheeler and
10 wheeler vans and then there’s the tractor heads that can carry 20ft and 40ft chassis. So the bigger
the vehicle, the bigger the pricing, along side the destination with the gas needed.
Ablao (PM): So the type of vehicle multiplied by the type of packaging, the number and weight of that
packaging, the destination and the gas the driver will need? Did I get it correct?
Lebria (client): Yes so now you calculated freight charge, we also have insurance cost which is usually
calculated using 2% of the total value of your goods, then the service charge which also depends on
the type of vehicle because some require higher types of license so we take those into consideration.
Then that’s it, freight charges plus insurance cost plus service charge is the subtotal, then you get 20%
of that subtotal and add it to the subtotal then you get the total shipping cost.
Ablao (PM): So that’s the calculation of pricing?
Lebria (client): Yes, congrats you now know how to calculate shipments. After calculating those, they
either pay a down payment which is half the price or they pay in full. They usually pay through bank
transfer or if it’s cash-on-delivery, they pay the down payment when they negotiate with us and then
pay the rest when the shipments arrive.
Ablao (PM): How do they get updates about their shipments?
Lebria (client): We usually call them to update them if it’s in the branch, if we are checking it or
packaging it, the driver will be on a call with them if they will inform them that they are on the way.
Ablao (PM): Do you guys use a software or website So how does the website operate how long have
you been using the website for the business what problems do the website face?
Lebria (client): We have a website that was created many years ago, I think around 2010, there you
can find the services we offer and how to contact us like our branches. The problem I guess that I can
say is that customers have to contact us to get a quote, unlike the others that can quote it
themselves.
Ablao (PM): Is there any other ways for the customers to avail services aside from contacting the
business?
Lebria (client): No, not at the moment.
Ablao (PM): Supposed that we have a proposed solution for your business, what kind of features do
you want implemented.
Lebria (client): Well number one thing is, for a system that allows the customers to get a sample
quote using our pricing, as well as ordering there. A system that would also store data will greatly help
our employees so that they won’t scramble around papers trying to look for that one order. If
possible, a GPS system so that the drivers can focus on delivering the goods.
Ablao (PM): Anything else?
Lebria (client): Well I heard your specialization is mobile so maybe make a system for that one as well.
