CubeMonk, a new system for moving household goods and other valuable commodities around the USA has been launched by its founder, Dan Cunningham. The intention is to allow moving companies to regain market share by providing a fast and economic method of moving small loads around the country, challenging the old van line system.
Dan said that he has been working on CubeMonk for over five years, talking to shipping lines, forwarders and moving companies to perfect the process which gives movers the flexibility to position 200 cu ft, steel containers, called SmartCubes, at customers’ residences for them to load, then moves them to their destination using inexpensive scheduled freight services. Dan said that the linehaul transport element from warehouse to warehouse for 1500 pounds of household goods from Connecticut to Los Angeles would be about $500. This gives the moving company plenty of room to add on a healthy margin of profit, after adding in origin and destination services, and still remain competitive.
Each SmartCube acts as a smart shipping container that includes an embedded GURU™ monitoring device, powered by advanced Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The data show the container’s location in ‘real time’: whether it has been opened, its internal temperature and whether it has suffered any shock in transit. Built-in wheels allow it to be easily and safely rolled onto a truck fitted with a tail lift.
Each SmartCube is connected to the CubeMonk Marketplace, which matches space in a truck or container to the load that needs to be moved. The artificial intelligence within the system allows each SmartCube to analyse the level of activity required in any part of the country and automatically ‘hitch a ride’ to reposition itself to where it is most likely to be needed next.
CubeMonk reduces human error by optimising the process of consolidation using the automation within the system,” explained Dan. “I believe this will assist in changing the moving industry overall and making these small moves viable again.”
Ray daSilva, who is working with Dan as a strategic consultant, said that there are currently around 12 million moves a year in the US with only a small proportion of them performed by professional movers. “CubeMonk is trying to help movers take some of their market share back,” he said.
Dan said that CubeMonk currently has access to around 1100 carriers and has a rapidly growing supply of SmartCubes in circulation. Professional movers that want to join the system can sign up on the CubeMonk website where they complete a short questionnaire that will match the service they need to their business objectives. The system can also be integrated with the movers’ own enquiry systems to quickly identify moves that are appropriate for CubeMonk and handle them accordingly.
Dan explained that the system is intended to drive new business to the moving companies. “As we move into vertical markets, such as medical equipment or pharmaceuticals, that may well bring work to the moving company for storage and delivery,” he said.
There is no charge for movers to join CubeMonk: the company makes its day-to-day revenue by charging small fees called micro-transactions.
Photos:
Dan Cunningham
CubeMonk steel container