Lalamove put the dispatcher in your pocket

Before there was an app, there was a voice. A customer in Hong Kong called a van-booking centre. A dispatcher shouted the job into a radio. A driver heard it, called the customer and collected the goods. When Shing Chow looked at this arrangement, he saw a transaction that already worked - and an awkward way of arranging it. There were customers. There were vans. The opportunity sat between them.

That is the pleasingly unromantic beginning of Lalamove. Founded in Hong Kong in December 2013 as EasyVan, it connects people with driver partners through mobile and web apps. A retailer needs stock moved. Someone needs furniture collected. An online seller needs an order delivered. The platform makes those requests visible to people equipped to carry them.

A very expensive little app

Chow’s route to logistics involved Stanford, consulting and professional poker. His investor MindWorks describes poker winnings and property-investment proceeds helping finance the venture. There is an appealing headline in that biography. The more useful detail is what happened when the money met the work.

In a 2017 interview, Chow recalled expecting an app build to take four weeks; it took eight. He initially put in HK$2 million, then HK$10 million, before seeking outside investment. His early budget underestimated the business surrounding the software. These are his recollections, not a complete startup cost ledger, but they expose the assumption that failed: a small app meant a small undertaking.

“We just took that model and make it digital.”

Shing Chow, in a 2017 interview

His change of mind was practical: the company needed outside capital. By 2019, a US$300 million Series D was intended to support technology, expansion and new services. The distance between a working booking screen and an operating delivery network is where the money goes. The screen can be finished; recruiting supply, supporting customers and opening markets remain ongoing work.

The van that became a motorcycle

The name needed adjusting, too. EasyVan described the Hong Kong starting point. In Southeast Asian cities, Chow explained, motorcycles became an important vehicle for entering the market. A van-shaped name was suddenly a poor fit. Lalamove was easier to carry into a conversation about different kinds of transport.

This remains a useful way to understand the product. Its distinguishing feature is the range of jobs and vehicles it can bring together. Hong Kong lists vans, trucks, motorcycles and walkers. Riyadh’s launch described cars, vans, pickups and four-ton trucks. The cargo determines the vehicle. A small parcel and a wardrobe can share an app without pretending to share a boot.

Buy the trip, not the whole year

For a small business, the attraction is easy to calculate in principle. An owned van brings costs when it moves and when it sits still. Lalamove offers delivery capacity when a business needs it. That can suit irregular demand, a burst of orders or cargo that requires a different vehicle from the one usually available.

The customers extend beyond small shops. A 2016 company announcement named Google and IKEA as enterprise examples and described a Bangkok partnership with LINE. Those historical relationships show the direction of travel: from arranging an occasional van to fitting delivery into a company’s workflow.

Corporate accounts bring teammates into one account, with payment and order-management tools. The developer API offers quotations, order placement and delivery updates in supported markets. For a merchant, that means delivery can become part of the order process rather than a separate task performed after every sale. Lalamove’s expertise lies in coordinating that handoff.

The company earns money through commissions and carrier membership fees, with arrangements varying by market. The wider group also sells other logistics and vehicle-related services. The marketplace’s central bargain is straightforward: customers gain access to transport, drivers gain access to jobs, and the platform charges for bringing them together.

A billion orders, one local match at a time

By 2025, the wider Lalatech group, including mainland China’s Huolala, reported 1.027 billion fulfilled orders. Its April 2026 draft listing document recorded 21.3 million average monthly active merchants, a category including individuals, and about 2.1 million active carriers. Group revenue was approximately US$2.14 billion. These measure different things: activity, participation and money retained as revenue.

Expansion continues to test whether the same transaction travels. Lalamove launched in Dubai in May 2025, Berlin in May 2026 and Riyadh in July 2026. Local vehicle choices accompany the familiar booking and tracking functions. Its careers site names passion, grit, humility and execution as values; its trainee programme sends recruits through different markets. The public message is that delivery requires local learning.

The street still gets a vote

The lesson to copy is modest: find an existing transaction with a clumsy coordination step, then make that step easier. A marketplace also needs enough nearby drivers willing to accept the available jobs. A national footprint cannot substitute for a suitable vehicle on the street where your shipment sits.

For customers, the practical work begins before pressing “order”. Check dimensions, weight and whether loading help is included. Hong Kong’s published table, for example, lists HK$78 for one-end handling of up to two boxes totaling 20 kilograms, and HK$156 at both ends. Those are handling extras, not a universal delivery fare. Traffic, availability, tolls and waiting can affect the bill.

Alternatives include GOGOX, local couriers, moving firms and an in-house fleet; smaller packages may suit GrabExpress where available. Dense, predictable routes may justify dedicated transport. Regulation can override the whole proposition: India blocked Lalamove’s customer and driver apps in November 2020. The phone screen simplifies the arrangement. The journey still depends on people, streets and permission to operate.