Logistics is an extremely competitive segment, with high operational costs, financial risks, and significant capital investment, which ultimately put pressure on the sector's margins. Operating on a still largely analog and inefficient path, the logtech company Freto, which acts as a digital transport provider for low and medium value-added industries, showed a 45% growth in its gross margin in 2024, also achieving business profitability.
Having been in the market for six years, the company's success story has been an approach that is neither entirely digital nor entirely traditional, as CEO Thomas Gautier likes to emphasize. He explains that the sector embraces technology when it sees value in practical knowledge, transmitted by professionals with real-world experience in the challenges of their businesses. To date, they have transported over R$ 13 billion in freight, moving more than 106 million tons across Brazil.
One of the main logistical bottlenecks that Freto solves with innovation is the subcontracting of road freight. “Hiring a large transport company and that same company subcontracting another carrier is what we call outsourcing, fourth-party outsourcing, and even fifth-party outsourcing. The result is a loss of control for the contracting party, sometimes total, over the goods being transported. With Freto, the industry has 100% visibility of the operations of the carrier that moved the cargo,” explains Gautier.
It's as if Freto acts as the Uber of industrial logistics, maintaining a qualified base of drivers capable of handling all stages of transportation for its clients – that's where technology comes in. Last year, the company grew its fleet to 217,000 vehicles, serving more than 3,300 cities in Brazil with a delivery effectiveness rate (SLA) of 99.9%. In 2024, the number of trips increased by 15%, exceeding 55,000 contracts, growth resulting from continuous process improvement and the expansion of its customer base.
Focusing on steel mills, cement plants, and other suppliers of raw materials for the construction industry, Freto saw its operations double in Minas Gerais, driven by high demand from the mining sector. In 2024, the company invested in a new branch in the state. In addition to the Southeast region, the logistics technology company is also growing in the Northeast, a region that will remain in its growth plans for 2025.
Scaling phase
Those who also liked Freto's performance and ability to balance the books were its investors (including the Edenred Capital Partners Fund and the Galló, Corrêa da Silva, and Stumpf families), who in early 2024 invested R$ 12.3 million in a follow-on offering, totaling R$ 34.8 million invested to date.
In its early years, the company focused on the MVP (Minimum Viable Product), testing the solution and validating the product's viability. This period was crucial to understanding if the idea truly made sense in the market. The goal was to validate the concept and adjust the first versions of the product, without losing sight of user needs and market demands.
“In 2021, we went through an important transition. We moved from the incubation phase to a more structured and independent business model. This change was marked by the search for solutions to the sector's pain points and the creation of a scalable platform, capable of growing and remaining in the market in the long term. This process required a lot of planning, reflection, and continuous adjustments, but it was fundamental to establishing what we call “viable business models,” which provided the basis for our future,” says Gautier.
In 2024, Freto completed an important stage of opening up to the market, testing different ways to generate revenue, understanding the costs involved, and mapping out how to make the model sustainable in the long term. Always maintaining a keen eye on the excellence of the service provided, the safety of operations, and the reduction of costs and profitability for each client and each operation.
Looking ahead to 2025, the CEO believes the economy will present significant challenges to the sector. “The rising dollar and high interest rates are two of the main sources of tension. The unstable exchange rate can impact the cost of imported inputs and raw materials, making price forecasting difficult and increasing pressure on operating costs. Furthermore, the maintenance of high interest rates tends to make credit more expensive, hindering companies' cash flow. Companies will need to adopt agile and innovative strategies to minimize the impacts of these economic variables, focusing on operational efficiency and rigorous cost management to maintain their competitiveness,” he concludes.
About Freight
With the purpose of simplifying road logistics by connecting truck drivers, Freto is a digital transportation company where the best truck drivers and the best cargo from various industries meet. An organization born 100% digital with technology and 100% rooted in tradition, based on the solid know-how of a team with years of experience on Brazilian highways, focused on combating the inefficiencies of the traditional model. Operating as a logtech company, Freto eliminates fleet subcontracting, increases its truck driver base, and technologically handles all stages of transportation. These loads are published by large producers of grains, sugar, steel, paper and pulp, and cement, who use Freto's fleet of 217,000 vehicles to distribute their products throughout Brazil. Freight can be accepted in as little as 1 minute, gaining agility, strengthening operational areas, and reducing operational costs. Among the company's main pillars are excellence in service, operational safety, and cost reduction and profitability for each client.
From its founding in 2018 until the end of 2024, the company:
– It moved more than 106 million tons of cargo;
– It accumulated more than R$13 billion in effectively contracted freight and R$2.7 million in contracted cargo.
