“Sherlock understand our business from an operational point of view. They always keep up with the latest technological developments which has allowed us to become a tech pioneer in Romania when it comes to the ride-sharing industry,” - says Radu Gogoasa, BlackCab, Romania.
Exceptional
fleet growth
Background
BlackCab is a 500 car fleet (and growing), operating in Bucharest, Romania with a focus on providing a luxurious, chauffeur service. The company launched in 2003 with six vehicles and approached Haulmont to discuss implementing Sherlock Taxi in 2013. By this point the business had 30 vehicles providing a predominantly retail service and needed the right technology in place to scale up.
Challenge
There is fierce competition in the private hire and taxi market in Bucharest as Romanian law dictates that drivers working for companies registered outside of Bucharest can ply for work in the capital.
This has the natural effect of increasing the number of drivers competing for jobs in the city. Additionally, there is competition in Bucharest from global tech giants such as Uber and YanGo (a ride-hailing company launched by Russian Yandex group).
In order to compete in such a strong market, BlackCab has diversified its offering. Approximately a third of their work is corporate which means that the business required a system which could help employees to manage various different corporate accounts and their requirements, easily and efficiently.
The business offers different service levels. They offer a premium chauffeur-style service which is aimed at consumers who might use Uber or similar apps. For a more budget-friendly journey, they have a car service called Joy which competes directly with the likes of Uber. In addition to these services, the business offers KidsCab which is a safe transport alternative for children across Romania.
With these factors in mind, it was important for BlackCab to find a technology partner who they could work with to deliver these ambitious goals.
The solution
The team at BlackCab were impressed with Sherlock Taxi’s auto-allocator.
They were confident that robust, reliable and efficient allocation was necessary in order to help their business grow and support staff in managing the different service levels offered and types of clients. Now, the business automates 99% of jobs, electing to manually allocate the final 1% of rare booking types, which means that they can maximise their fleet and ensure that drivers are doing as many jobs as possible to generate increased revenue for the business and earnings for themselves.
As the business needed to respond to the market and launches of Uber and other tech giants, they understood the importance of user-friendly, intuitive customer apps for both iOS and Android. BlackCab have seen phenomenal growth since partnering with Sherlock and now have 500 vehicles, representing over 500% fleet growth within six years. The business has grown from completing a few hundred jobs per week to tens of thousands.
As they continue to grow, they benefit from the flexible approach of Haulmont. Sherlock Taxi is not simply an off-the-shelf solution, the product offers multiple configurations and customisations. BlackCab continue to work with their Project Manager at Sherlock and the development team to customise the product to suit their individual business needs. Most recently, Haulmont has developed a custom iOS app. The business is now discussing their own virtual dedicated support team to be provided by Haulmont to ensure that they can continue to harness the power of technology to grow their business.
“We really appreciate that Sherlock understand our business from an operational point of view. They always keep up with the latest technological developments which has allowed us to become a tech pioneer in Romania when it comes to the ride-sharing industry. We collaborate with our team at Sherlock on a weekly basis to constantly iterate and improve the system and their advice with regards to scalability has been so valuable.”
