How transport companies sell in Egypt
The customer list is built one industrial zone at a time
Haulage business in Egypt comes from a recognisable set of places. Factories in Sixth of October, Tenth of Ramadan, Borg El Arab and the Delta industrial areas need regular movements. Importers and exporters need container haulage from Alexandria, Damietta and Ain Sokhna. Customs brokers and forwarders subcontract legs. Retail and distribution customers need repeat delivery runs. Each of those is won by a salesman turning up, following up and being available on WhatsApp when the dispatch coordinator needs a truck.
Because the relationship is so personal, the commercial memory of the business tends to sit in personal handsets. When a salesman moves to a competitor, the customer contacts, the agreed rates and the negotiation history walk out with him. That is the single most expensive habit in this industry, and it is entirely avoidable.
A quoted rate has a shelf life
Fuel costs and market rates in Egypt are adjusted periodically, and the currency has its own effect on anything involving imported parts or tyres. A rate that made sense last quarter can be unprofitable this one. Quotations therefore need to be records with a route, a truck type, terms and a validity date, so that an old message screenshot is not treated as a standing offer in the middle of a negotiation.
Collections and sales are the same conversation
Most factory and distribution freight moves on credit, with invoices settled well after delivery. That makes the collection discussion part of the customer relationship rather than a purely financial matter. Where the sales team asks for more volume without knowing that three invoices are overdue, the customer is managing you rather than the other way around.