Richard Mole @ SDCN: Freight Exchange Tech, Why Copycats Fail

Richard Mole is the founder of Same Day Courier Network (SDCN) — a well-respected B2B freight exchange marketplace in the UK, built over the last decade without outside investment. Richard has spent his career in transport, growing SDCN into a platform trusted by thousands of couriers, owner-drivers, and large transport companies.

In this episode, Richard breaks down how copycats keep failing in this market and why he believes human-first customer service still beats AI in the transport industry.

Topics covered:

• Why one of SDCN's competitors stopped taking new customers
• How Richard built SDCN over 10 years with no investors
• Why human-first customer service still beats AI in transport
• How competitors literally try to copy SDCN — screenshots, devs, the works
• How SDCN helps couriers kill "dead miles" and why TMS integrations are the next unlock

If you're a B2B software founder or you plan on building a transport tech solution — this episode is for you.

👉 Follow George:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgehelgesen/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgehelgesen

👉 Follow Richard:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-mole-2431172b/
• SDCN: https://samedaycouriernetwork.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You're listening to Backstage Tech, a podcast for software founders, investors, and product leaders. Today we have an incredible guest from England, founder of Same Day Career Network, a well-respected name in the UK's transport industry, and the real legend, Mr. Richard Moll. Well, what an introduction. Thank you very much. Welcome, sir. How are you? Pleasure for having me. Thank you. So today we're going to talk a lot about tech in the transport industry. I was doing my prep the other day and I found out that one of your competitors no longer takes new customers on board.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Have you heard that? I have, uh, which is quite interesting because obviously the higher the member base, the more volume of funds coming through. I think maybe the problem is the way that platforms have been sold. Um, well, probably over the last five, maybe ten years, um, has probably oversaturated the market a little bit. So I understand why that's happening. Um, I don't think it's necessarily just about stopping the volume of people joining. I think it's probably more to do with choosing the people that are active. Um it's a great industry, lots of great people, um, probably some people that are not the best in there at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

But what is what is going on currently on let's say in on the biggest platforms? Are those um people who want just to start their business or are those experienced couriers?

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Um so both. A platform, uh a transport trading exchange platform. Uh I would I would suggest that STCM is more of a traditional transport trading exchange platform. We are literally there to help load posters and load takers interact with each other, reduce the empty mileage um on the road. So rather than having empty vans traveling around the UK, around Europe, it's better to have them loaded for profit margins, especially for the drivers. Um but I think sometimes there are other platforms that are just more focused on pushing the platform from a subscription perspective, which is oversaturating and selling it on a basis that you can build a business just on a platform. My opinion on platforms and what STCN really is all about is supporting the current industry, not encouraging new people to come in and build a business just on the back of a platform. You know, we always advise really that people will have their own relationships, their their own direct customers. And then platforms are are really there to reduce that empty mileage to you know to help people earn extra money as as and when they're on the road. So I think a lot of people look at the platforms and maybe it's the way that they've been sold in the past, as a product, as a platform solely to build your business on, and it's the only source of income uh that they rely on. Um, we don't sell STCN like that. I don't believe that's what platforms are about. I think platforms are about assisting current people in the industry uh by reducing the empty mileage, not just building a business on the back of them.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

I know you've been around for longer than 10 years now in the market, and you've had thousands of registrations from both sides, both uh drivers, couriers, and also transportation companies that post the loads on the platform. If we look 10 years back, could you tell me a bit about the first version of the product that you build?

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Yeah, so 10 years, a decade. Gone, just like that. Um, it was always going to be a big sort of uphill push. Um, but um, I think we we've we've done really well actually from a from a small team, not taking investments, not having to make big profits to satisfy investors and so on and so forth. But I think from when we first launched to what the platform is now today and where it's come to, is actually been built based upon all the feedback from the members. So it's all well and good having an all-sing and all-dancing platform out there that can do everything you want it to do, but ultimately has got to do what the industry needs it to do. So we've always maintained our promise that all development, and it does take time, as you know, in development, these things take time and cost money, has always been based upon the feedback from the members, what they like, what they don't like, and also how uh technology changes uh and expectations change. So, you know, things have come on a great deal in 10 years, but yeah, really proud of where we've got it to at this moment in time. So uh we're uh, as you mentioned at the beginning, very well known in the industry. We're not yet the biggest transport training exchange platform, but we are climbing that ladder quite rapidly, and we are experiencing a great deal of interest in the platform at the moment, which is fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

We know that there are different platforms with different pricing models where some of them would charge you for the annual subscription up front, uh, some of them would have a zero cost subscription and take a commission. What's your subscription model at SDCN?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

So interesting question. Um, as you say, there are many different platforms charging different structures. I understand the basis on some of them charge more for more activity. Personally, I don't think that we should be punishing our members for having the activity levels because ultimately the success of any platform is based upon the members. And I think really a lot of transport professionals are starting to understand this now. So it's all about their activity levels, how much they use the platform really does have a massive impact on how successful that platform is. So we have to charge. Um, again, as you know, with development, with costs, with hosting, with staffing, everything else. I mean, these platforms they are not cheap to run. Uh they are quite expensive, actually. But we launch the platform and we guaranteed at that point that we'll always keep the price as low as we possibly can. So, yes, we have to be profitable as a business and we have to cover costs, but we believe the volume of members that we have, well, we we know with the volume of members that we have that we can keep that pricing structure as low as we can. I don't think we're rivaled on the price for the quality of the tech that's available and actually the levels of activity uh that are also happening and increasing. So we just charge a monthly rolling subscription. They can take a bi-annual, they can take an annual, they've got options. But the most popular one really is the monthly rolling subscription. It's not contracted to a minimum period, so people can come and go. We have lots of drivers that will, for example, maybe for the last couple of months of the year take up multi-drop arounds and they don't need same-day career network, they can cancel it, rejoin in January, which we often see happening. We don't mind that because again, we're here to support the industry, not just take as much money from them as we possibly can. So we are happy for people to come and go as they as they need, and it's a very simple process.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

If a platform member, for instance, uh cancels the subscription at some point of time, would they be able to keep their account and then to to renew it, to keep all the reviews?

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Absolutely, 100%. So the account will deactivate um once cancelled, but they can go back in at any time, they can reactivate it and whatever subscription they like. And all of that previous trade and history is always there, including feedback, previous invoicing, etc. So uh yeah, absolutely. Uh but again, I think the biggest point is we don't penalize usage. We want to encourage more usage, so we don't want to charge people more for the more that they use it. We want to encourage them to use it more.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

I was also checking public reviews, not only is DCN, but also competitors. And I've seen a lot of members, a lot of drivers complaining about the customer service. So I'm curious how do you handle how do you handle that part?

SPEAKER_00 7:42

So that's a great question, actually, because that's one of the big feedback. Um that uh one of the one of the biggest feedbacks that we get really when we're we're talking to members from other platforms uh that are showing interest in STCN. I think really what sets us apart, apart from having a low cost for a similar product to uh to other platforms, it is the fact that you will get a response. We do have a team that uh respond. It might take uh a little bit of time on email because we have thousands of members that we're responding to. Uh so it might take a day or two at times, but generally we will always get back to people on the same day, either via phone or email. We're always here to have those conversations and try and mediate if there's any issues. We are still and always will have that personal that that human touch. As much as AI and other things are coming in to replace some of these roles, um, I don't think you can you can beat the human touch. Um speak to somebody who cares, is passionate about the business and uh wants to do the best thing that they can by the members. Not always an easy task, but one that's always essential.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Have you thought about integrating AI for uh customer service?

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Not so much for customer service. Um we are making quite a lot of changes and putting a lot of thought process into the onboarding structure because it's not just a case that we we want people to sign up and and uh pay a subscription. We need to make sure that they can use the platform properly. We want to make sure that they're engaged with the platform and they're active on the platform. That's that's the most important thing is the activity levels, not just the fact that they've they've registered and paid to be there. We want them physically using it. So I think AI can can you know potentially help us a great deal on the onboarding. That's quite a time-consuming role, but from a customer service perspective, they need to speak to us. Um, I think I think the human touch is much more important.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

I do agree. I do agree, Richard. A quick story about how I once uh subscribed to a platform which promoted projects for outsourcing companies like Pro Coders. So I subscribed, I created an account, then I figured I paid a subscription because it was the only way to start and just to access the system and see what's going on. So I paid a subscription, it was around a hundred dollars. Okay, so I paid this, I locked in, I saw the jobs, many of them were fake. So I figured I'd rather get a refund and not use that platform because it it was not a real product. What happened afterwards? I tried to contact the customer support, nobody responded by email. Then what I had to do is I went to the CEO and I messaged him, and he didn't respond. And then I found the phone number of one of the developers. So I just used a tool called Contact Out to generate his phone number. I called him on the phone and I said, Dude, I need to speak to your CTO or CEO or whoever it is and cancel my subscription. The guy was scared. He said, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I will I will let them know. Yes. They send me an email, the CEO sent me the email, and then they send me the refund.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Shouldn't be like that, should it? Right. It should be much simpler, which it is with with SECN, they simply just need to send us an email and we can cancel it for them. Um, so it's not a problem. All we need is literally a couple of days' notice before the next payment is due. We can cancel it. And if they're going away for a month on holiday, or a lot of drivers may uh originate from different countries, Eastern European countries, especially, for example. Um, they may go home over Christmas New Year period for a month, six weeks. Um, there's no point in them paying a subscription, even though it's only a low cost, um, it's still money they don't need to be spending. So they can simply just send us an email, we can cancel it, and then when they get back, they can just log in and reinstate it. That easy. So, and again, any problems, we've got phone number, we've got email, always contactable.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Exactly. And I think it's worth mentioning that transportation is still an old school industry. A lot of people love calling on the phone, and by the way, I'm one of them. I'd rather call someone on the phone instead of sending dozens of emails and just getting a diff default response like, oh, we created a ticket, we'll get back to you within 48 hours or something.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yeah. That service, sometimes having that conversation on the phone, for me, I love to go and meet members, I love to go and meet clients as as often as I can. I like to see the whites of the eyes and really get to know people. And you can do that so much more than what you can on email, on phone calls, even team calls. You know, it's uh yeah, love getting out to see people where possible.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Richard, I don't know if it's okay to ask this, but I'm really curious. Has anyone tried to copy our product?

SPEAKER_00 12:19

100%. Absolutely. We're not the only platform in the marketplace. There are several platforms, uh, B2B and B2C. So there are different variations of the platform, but uh we have absolutely had people literally try and copy exactly what we do by by taking a subscription, logging in, taking screenshots, sending it to developers and saying, hey, build me this. That's the easy part. Um, the actual building of the platform, as you know, is is is incredibly complex. There are so many moving parts. It's never going to be easy for anybody to physically copy it direct. But actually, that's you know, even building the platform, that's that's not necessarily the hardest part. It's everything else that goes behind it, it's where it's hosted, it's the security levels of it, it's the continuous development of it, it's the sales of it, it's getting the engagement from the members and the industry. There are so many factors to consider. So, yes, we see quite a few people trying to release platforms like this, but uh we see more of them disappear than what make it, unfortunately. Personally, I think competition is a fantastic thing. Um, I don't want to be the only marketplace in the industry at all. Uh, I think good competition creates a much better service. You've got to look after your members more, keeps costs fair. I don't think it's good for the industry just to have one platform. They they want several, they need to have several platforms and keep us all on our toes, make sure that we're always given the best service we can. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

I think the competition is something that helps you uh keep being creative, something that pushes you forward. And I speak with many founders and I I work with founders every day. I have these conversations. It's so easy to vibe code in something these days, just to to have AI build a thing for you. But up then, when we're talking security, when we're talking uh customer onboarding or customer service, this is the real molds. This is something that helps uh these products distinguish from just a copy-pasted tool.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Absolutely. You mentioned security several times there, and um uh as you know, especially you know, with the legislation in in place, etc. I mean, the the the security is paramount next to nothing, you know. That that has to be absolutely top draw. And it's continually needing to be changed, updated, developed, you know, the things are constantly changing. But ultimately, going back to the to the original question now, I think I think it's really about understanding as a business owner, as a as a member of a business, I think everybody understanding is we're only ever as good as the people that we have engaged. So it doesn't matter how good the product is, it's only ever going to be as good as the people who use it. So going back to that that that copying aspect, unless you're giving that service as well as you're keeping on top of that security, it doesn't matter what you build.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

I think it's a hundred percent a good indicator because we uh it might sound a little selfish, but we had this we had this at Pro Coders. We had other companies taking our case studies and posting them on their sites. I had to contact them directly. And eventually they removed those uh case studies, but it took us weeks just to get a hold of them. Richard, you mentioned that people that use the platform and people that run the platform make a real difference. I think a lot of founders think that marketplace is just a money printing machine. Do you think it's right or is it wrong?

SPEAKER_00 15:49

So, as I said before, every business has to A cover its costs, and B, if you don't make a profit, then you're not gonna be in business for long. So we we have to obviously be profitable. But I I don't think you should ever be greedy, if if that's the question that you're you're answering. We don't need to charge tens of thousands of pounds a year for people to be a member on the platform. We know the costs, we we know the amount of work and effort that goes into it, and the continual development, hosting, security, everything that goes with it. But we will always maintain that original promise of when we launch that we will always keep the price as low as we possibly can. Um so yes, we need to charge, but no, we don't need to be greedy. And I think that's that's proven in the pricing structure of you know for what we have. The answer to your question no, I don't think it should be a money printing license, so to speak. It should be fairness. And again, to be honest with you, if you're not fair with the pricing and you are just trying to pull in as much money as you can, people assume pick up on that and they'll start looking at other products. So we'll always be fair.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

And the members of the platform will notice this. 100%. You actually have these two kinds of personas used where there's a transport company on the one hand that is looking for a subcontractor to transport the load, and on the other hand, there is an executor for this work looking to make some money.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Yeah, so we're a B2B platform, so um we'll we'll have two prominent sort of types of members. So we'll have load posters and we'll have load takers. So your load posters are generally sort of your your medium to large uh courier companies, forwarders, who will post the work on to the platforms uh and they'll be looking for other transport operators to cover those loads for them. And that's essentially what the platform uh is is all about. So we'll have the load takers, which again will will also be companies, not just owner drivers. Predominantly at the moment, I would say there's more owner drivers, one man in a van, running his own single van courier business that will use the apps and will quote on loads as they're being posted across the country. As I said at the beginning, really what the basis of the platform is all about is trying to kill off those those dead miles. So if you've got a courier that's based down in Bournemouth uh and is delivering up in Glasgow, he doesn't want to travel from Glasgow all the way back to Bournemouth empty. So the whole idea is he'll be able to pick up more work on the on the way back down. You will have some companies that will do some of both. They will post loads and take loads. You'll have companies that will only post loads. They don't some don't run vehicles themselves, they they just they are freight brokers, so to speak. And then you will have some that will only take loads and will never have loads to post. We do have some pretty strict rules in place. We don't allow companies to take loads off one platform and post onto other platforms that will get your membership revoked for for doing so. It's really important that the people who have got the company's goods on board keep those goods on board and are not putting them out to other drivers. And that does happen a lot, they call it syndicats, that does happen a lot on other platforms, um, probably down to the basis of cost. Uh so if you're having to pay thousands of pounds up front to be a member, then you can understand that somebody's paying that money up front, taking money from, say, 10 other people to cover the cost of that, and then they will share the jobs out between them. It's wrong. It should never happen. Uh, I'd like to think with our model and our low, fair pricing model, that that never needs to happen. But should people be found doing that, then they will be they will be disciplined, they will potentially be revoked from the platform. It is it's against our code of conduct. We have a very simple code of conduct in a very simple terms. Adhere to them, we'll never have any problems. Don't adhere to them, unfortunately. It's not the platform for you. So if they're quoting for work and they're picking up goods, they need to remain on that company's or that owner-driver's vehicle until they've been delivered. And the app will have the entire process on there as well regarding ETA to pick up. It's a very simple procedure on the app just to let the clients know when they're going to pick up, when they've picked up, picture of goods on board, ETA to delivery, picture and signature on the screen on the app uh to say that they've been delivered, and then raise an invoice and leave feedback for each other. It's a very simple process, effective and simple.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Many of those transport companies, or I would say every transport company would have their own transport management system. And it's it's it's many different products out there. Do you integrate with any of these these days?

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Absolutely. Yeah, we're um we've we've got two-way API integrations with many, we call them TMS providers, transport management systems. We're integrated with uh with quite a few and currently integrating with a few more as well, which is good. But that actually just removes the posting companies' need to even be logged in to STCM. They can control everything through their own TMS provider, uh TMS system, sorry, and um just simply push those jobs to STCN, other platforms, whatever platforms they they use, and it just keeps a nice simple process and it's two-way. So everything that's happening in the form of uh PODs, proof of deliveries being uploaded, invoices being sent, etc., will all go straight back into the TMS. So in theory, a lot of posting companies, once they're registered, verified, and uh ready to go, they don't need to log into STCN again. They can literally do it all through their own TMS.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

So, what's the process for them? Do you create the account for them, give them uh documentation for the API, or how how does it normally work?

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Very much like that. So generally, what will happen is those companies, posting companies, um, will register, they will upload, and we will verify ID, especially if they're not limited companies, it's we we take personal ID. And uh once they're ready to go, we just give them, like you say, the documentation for the API, and in it goes. They just send that across to whoever their TMS provider is and done, just like that. Nice and simple. So it's quite a new API tool that we've we've built to put into place. And uh, as you as you know, as you well know, it's uh it's a good bit of kit and it's been built properly. And uh the general feedback from people integrating the devs for the TMS integrate. In is it's nice and quick and easy and simple.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

From my experience in software development and also in API development and API integration, I know that quite often you just get this documentation, you get it via email, or you get the excess somehow, uh, you get these instructions for the endpoints, and that's it. But what if a TMS, this transport management software, has a different data structure? What if they need to have a different format of the data? And they just cannot use your API, let me call it, SE's. Sometimes you're just giving a documentation to the API. Sometimes you just don't have enough information about it. It's not well enough documented. And on the other hand, you may not have enough communication from the software provider. Um and it sounds and looks like go figure it out yourself.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Yeah. No, I totally understand where you're coming from. Um, you'll be pleased to know that that doesn't happen. So we have a QA um developer that we will put directly in contact with the TMS providers, um, so they'll always have that support. So, yes, they get all the documentation, uh, all the instructions on everything that that needs to be done, but like you say, that won't always make sense. Um, but to us, a TMS provider is like a partner. They're important to us, we're important to them. And the reason being is we have the same client base and we want to look after the same client base. It's in everybody's interest, but more importantly, in the end client being the member, the posting company. It's in the main interest for them that we get this resolved very quickly. So um, yeah, we tend to put the TMS providers, the transport company devs, if they're doing it directly, directly in contact with QA developer. Direct line, cut us out, go straight to the developers, get it done nice and quickly. We're always there to support, but equally we're always going to put them in direct contact with the developers. Dev to dev is a lot better than dev to me.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

That's perfect. And you also mentioned that your QAs also participate in the process. I've seen quite often when developer speaks to developer, and sometimes they don't understand each other because the same name in both APIs can mean different things in the business logic. And when we have a person who understands a business logic, that's way easier to marry those two things. You mentioned that you have two audiences that benefit from your API. On the one hand, it's a transport company, the end client who uses the TMS, and on the other side, it's uh the transport management software provider. So I'm curious who usually would reach out to you and ask for an integration?

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Sometimes, uh quite often we will have companies, posting companies that will join or want to join STCN, but will only do so once the integration has been complete. So quite often they will contact us and um tell us who the TMS is, ask us to reach out, uh, of which we do, and obviously try and proceed then with the API integration. But we've also had TMS providers contact us on the back of queries from their clients who want to join SDCN as well, and have asked them to reach out to us to integrate. So uh so yeah, very very much both ways. But again, with the with the with the TMS providers, you know, for us it's important to look at them as as partners, as a as a vital part of the puzzle.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

I know that you recently released plenty of new features. Richard, could you tell me about some of them that excite you the most?

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Yeah, sure. So as you know, um only last year we launched a brand new version of the platform, and with that, there were so many new features. We're trying to make it as easy for members to communicate with each other directly, and they can do that through the app, which is fantastic. So once a job's been accepted, they can actually communicate directly through the website and the app, not just on the phone, albeit we're still encourage phone conversations. But the the beauty is everything's there in a very busy industry that they can just send a message, communicate effectively, and crack on with getting their jobs done. But on the back of that, we are soon going to be releasing a new bilingual language area in there where it's going to convert naturally from native speaking languages such as Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Spanish, whatever language might be being used into English and vice versa, just to help that communication. Because in the transport industry, there are many different nationalities that are working across the UK and obviously across Europe as well. Uh, you know, this STCN can work anywhere, but the UK and Europe are the predominant areas that we're working on. So to make that communication straight, quick, simple, I think will be fantastic. But actually, I think the most in uh the most important feature at the moment is completing these TMS um integrations. And the reason why that's so exciting is at the moment we've got good activity levels, uh, we've got jobs going on, getting quotes every single day, selling every single day. But uh once these API integrations are complete, the volume of jobs is going to just continually increase and significantly as well. So that's gonna help our members massively with both from a posting and a taking uh perspective, where they're gonna be able to get more quotes and more jobs sold. More importantly, for the drivers, they're gonna have access to more loads and they're gonna be able to kill off more of those dead miles. So I think I think the API integration we've done a lot of work over the last couple of years on the API, and it's fantastic. But with some of the improvements that are coming, it's gonna be really fantastic and it's gonna really benefit the members massively. So really excited about that. But uh going back to the the launch of the new site, the feedback so far is generally really quite impressive. It's uh it's a great bit of kits, easy, simple to use, it's intuitive, really good feedback. People like it, members like it. And the more it gets used, the better.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

Richard, we spoke yesterday briefly about it, and you mentioned the increasing number of HGV. HGV loads. Yeah, I have a hard time saying it.

SPEAKER_00 27:51

The HGV, the heavy heavy goods vehicles. Yeah, which is um really quite exciting, actually. We are seeing uh a significant increase in HGV loads being posted on the platform as well. But that's the beauty of SDCN. We support the entire transport industry. We're not just for couriers, we're not just for Hauliers, we we support both. Lots of companies will have both light goods vehicles and heavy goods vehicles. Some will only have vans, some will only have HDV. But it's important that we continue building the member base with both HGV um operators as well as light goods operators. But yeah, we are seeing a a massive increase in HDV work available, which is quite exciting.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

Is there any price difference in the subscription for someone who's got an HGV?

SPEAKER_00 28:31

No, no, no. As uh as as we promised, the price will always be nice and low for everybody. Um and again, just because you've got a bigger vehicle doesn't mean you're gonna pay more. Just because you use it more or less doesn't mean you're gonna pay more or less. You know, it is just a small fixed subscription which allows us to keep building, keep generating, and keep supporting the industry. So no matter the vehicle size, you pay the same price. It's such a low subscription in reality for what people can get back on the on the back of it. If you're gonna subscribe to something because it's gonna be a benefit to your business, you shouldn't have to be fighting just to cover that subscription cost. That subscription cost should be low and fair, but enough to obviously support the ongoing costs and development and maintenance, etc. etc. But you you shouldn't be penalized for using something. As I said earlier, uh platform is only as good as the users, it's only as good as the activity levels. So we're not going to penalize and uh try and take more money for from from people when we don't need to.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Richard, we've covered so many topics today. And the transport industry, to be honest, is so huge to be covered just in one podcast. But I wonder where do you see SDCN in in the next year or two?

SPEAKER_00 29:44

Yeah, great question. Great, great place to finish. Um there's as you mentioned, there's there's so much to talk about with with the platforms. There are so many moving parts that we'd never cover it in uh in one half an hour chat here. But we're really excited and we're really enthused by the current growth of the platform and the phone calls that we're receiving rather than making on a daily basis, the emails, uh, the the constant registrations every single day. There's lots of registrations coming through. I I think the industry is really ready to support more platforms. And I really think that SDCN is ready to really support the transport industry. So uh yeah, so no, we're really, really excited and enthused by the by the growth of the platform. So over the next year or two, I really do think SDCN is going to be one of the platforms of choice. It already is, but I think it's only going to keep increasing. And I think that's really going to be based on always having low fair subscription costs, no bolt-on prices, which lots of platforms do. So you think you sign up and it's going to cost you this much a month or a year, but then you actually got to pay for this and you've got to pay for that, and you've got to pay for this, and you've got to pay for that. So none of that. It's literally just there's your subscription, unlimited use, use it as much as your business requires, because that's what this platform is all about. It's about you using it as your business requires. If you need it every single day, use it every single day. If you need it once a week, use it once a week. You're not going to get penalized for your usage one way or the other. So, yeah, in the next year or two, I think SDCN will be the transport, trade, and exchange platform of choice.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Well, Richard, I wish you the best of success in this gross journey with SDCN. And thank you so much for being my guest today on Backstage Tech. Thank you for having me, George. Been a pleasure.