Logistics is an extremely competitive segment, with high operational costs, financial risks, and significant capital investment that end up putting pressure on the sector’s margins. Operating on a still largely analog and inefficient highway, the logtech company Freto, which acts as a digital carrier for low and medium value-added industries, achieved a 45% growth in its gross margin in 2024, also reaching business profitability.
With six years in the market, the company found revenue through an approach that is neither fully digital nor entirely traditional, as CEO Thomas Gautier likes to emphasize, explaining that the sector opens doors to technology when it sees value in practical knowledge, transmitted by professionals with real experience in the pain points of their businesses. So far, over R$13 billion in freight has been transported, 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 carrier that then subcontracts another transporter is what we call outsourcing, quadruple outsourcing, and even quintuple outsourcing. The result is a loss of control for the contractor, sometimes total, over the goods being transported. With Freto, the industry has 100% visibility into the operations of the transporter handling the cargo,’ explains Gautier.
It’s as if Freto acts as the Uber of industrial logistics, maintaining a qualified base of drivers and capable of handling all stages of transportation for its clients—this is where technology comes in. Last year, the company expanded its fleet base to 217,000 vehicles, serving over 3,300 cities in Brazil with a delivery effectiveness rate (SLA) of 99.9%. In 2024, the number of trips increased by 15%, surpassing 55,000 contracts, growth driven by continuous process improvements 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. Besides the Southeast, the logtech has also been growing in the Northeast, a region that will remain part of its growth plans for 2025.
Scaling phase
Investors who also appreciated Freto’s performance and ability to balance the books (including the Edenred Capital Partners Fund and the Galló, Corrêa da Silva, and Stumpf families) injected R$12.3 million in a follow-on investment at the beginning of 2024, totaling R$34.8 million invested so far.
In its early years, the company focused on the MVP (Minimum Viable Product), testing the solution and validating the product’s feasibility. This period was crucial to understanding whether the idea truly made sense in the market. The goal was to validate the concept and adjust the initial versions of the product, keeping in mind user needs and market demands.
‘In 2021, we underwent an important transition. We moved from the incubation phase to a more structured and independent business model. This change was marked by efforts to solve the sector’s pain points and create a scalable platform capable of growing and sustaining itself in the market long-term. This process required extensive planning, reflection, and continuous adjustments but was fundamental in establishing what we call ‘viable business models,’ which laid the foundation for our future,’ says Gautier.
In 2024, Freto completed an important phase of market openness, testing different revenue-generating methods, understanding the costs involved, and mapping out how to make the model sustainable in the long term—all while maintaining a focus on service excellence, operational safety, and cost reduction and profitability for each client and operation.
For 2025, the CEO believes the economy will bring significant challenges to the sector. ‘The high dollar and elevated interest rates are two of the main sources of tension. The unstable exchange rate may impact the cost of imported inputs and raw materials, making price forecasting difficult and increasing pressure on operational costs. Additionally, high interest rates tend to make credit more expensive, straining companies’ cash flow, which will need to adopt agile and innovative strategies to minimize the impact of these economic variables, focusing on operational efficiency and rigorous cost management to maintain competitiveness,’ he concludes.
About Freto
With the purpose of simplifying road logistics by moving truck drivers, Freto is a digital carrier where the best truck drivers and the best industrial loads meet. An organization born 100% digital with technology and 100% rooted in 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, the company eliminates fleet subcontracting, expands its base of truck drivers, and handles all stages of transportation with technology. These loads are posted by large producers of grains, sugar, steel mills, paper and cellulose manufacturers, and cement plants, which use Freto’s fleet of 217,000 vehicles to distribute their products across Brazil. Freights can be accepted in up to 1 minute, gaining agility, strengthening operational fronts, and reducing operational costs. Among the company’s main pillars are service excellence, operational safety, and cost reduction and profitability for each client.
From its founding in 2018 to the end of 2024, the company:
– Moved over 106 million tons of cargo;
– Accumulated over R$13 billion in effectively contracted freight and R$2.7 million in contracted loads.
