Jet Freight targets year-end franchise cargo booking launch

Jet Freight is building a unified cargo and courier platform that management hopes will be ready by year-end, enabling franchisees to obtain rates and book shipments instantly. The proposed system would leave pickup, delivery and other execution with Jet Freight’s backend team, while adding digital onboarding, tracking and access to shipment data for users.

What will Jet Freight’s cargo-booking platform do?

Jet Freight’s platform is intended to let a user enter cargo details, receive a rate immediately and book the shipment in the same system. Management compared the planned experience with MakeMyTrip for cargo and courier, but said the platform is still being built and that the remaining work should hopefully be ready within a few months, by the end of the year.

The operating model would keep execution with Jet Freight after a booking is made. Management said its backend team would handle the relevant operations, including pickup, drop and delivery, across cargo and courier verticals. The call did not disclose a development budget, a confirmed launch date, expected booking volumes or the number of franchisees that would receive access.

Who will use Jet Freight’s planned booking system?

Jet Freight plans to provide the system to franchisees, customers and its own team. Franchisees would be able to access available rates, including what management described as its best available rates, and book a shipment instantly; Jet Freight would then manage the shipment’s operational stages through its backend.

The platform is also intended to support the company’s retail courier initiative. Jet Freight said it had started retail courier activity during the month of the call, targeting small businesses, small e-commerce shops and end consumers sending parcels abroad. This extends its existing wholesale courier activity, in which it consolidates volumes from large and mid-sized courier companies for international movement.

Which digital functions will Jet Freight add?

Jet Freight plans live shipment tracking, regular milestone updates and digital know-your-customer, or KYC, onboarding. Management said customers would be able to log in, review their shipment history and access business data, replacing parts of a process that currently involves manual data entry and separate operational handoffs.

The system would centralise freight rates in an enterprise resource planning, or ERP, system. Management said customers should eventually see real-time rates for larger shipments and view their contractual rates. It cautioned that live pricing is more difficult in air freight than in sea freight, making the stated capability a planned feature rather than a reported operating function.

How could the platform affect Jet Freight’s operations?

Jet Freight expects the unified system to reduce manual data entry, improve reporting accuracy and speed the handoff from sales to logistics. Management said the company already uses outsourced software and has an internal technology team that builds complementary tools to improve staff efficiency, with the platform intended to complete more of that workflow.

The plan fits Jet Freight’s asset-light model. Management said it outsources surface transportation for pickups and drops in India and overseas, while its warehouses are leased rather than owned. The platform would therefore digitise rate access and booking while the company continues to use its backend operations and external transport providers for physical movement.

How does the platform fit Jet Freight’s freight strategy?

Jet Freight said 98% of its business is international, and its wholesale courier business consolidates cargo for overseas destinations. Management is seeking to broaden this activity from business-to-business wholesale work toward business-to-business and business-to-consumer retail courier, using existing rate access and its locations across India.

The proposed booking system could also support a broader service mix over time. Management said courier and e-commerce sit within general cargo, which it estimated accounts for 25% to 30% of volumes, while perishables account for about 45% of the business. It also plans to build ocean freight gradually because customers using air freight may also use sea freight and because management cited ocean freight as 70% to 80% of global trade volumes.

Jet Freight presented growth in its existing shipment activity, although it did not attribute any of it to the platform. The company said shipment count increased from 430 to 674, which management described as 56% growth, while tonnage rose from 545 tonnes to 744 tonnes, or 32.84% year on year. The platform remains under construction, so these figures reflect the pre-launch operating business rather than digital-platform bookings.

What financial targets has Jet Freight disclosed?

For the half-year ended September 30, 2026, Jet Freight reported top-line revenue of about Rs 297 crore and an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, margin of 4.58%. Management cited a profit after tax, or PAT, margin of 1.55% and also referred to a PAT margin of around 1.52%, leaving a small difference between the two figures stated during the call.

Management said it planned to close the financial year with top-line revenue of about Rs 580 crore to Rs 600 crore, aimed to double the PAT margin, and cited EBITDA of Rs 12.5 crore for the half-year result. These are management plans and targets, not forecasts for the platform itself. Jet Freight did not provide separate expected revenue, cost savings, franchise fees or margin contribution for the system.

Conclusion

Jet Freight’s planned platform combines instant rate access and booking with centrally managed execution, rather than transferring operational responsibility to franchisees or customers. The strategy links its international wholesale courier activity, new retail-courier initiative, outsourced transport model and internal software work, while management expects digital tracking, KYC onboarding and consolidated data to improve operating processes.

The next disclosed milestone is management’s hope that the remaining platform development will be completed by year-end. Jet Freight will also need to show how widely the system is deployed among franchisees and customers, whether contractual and live-rate functions work across air and sea freight, and whether the plan contributes to its stated Rs 580 crore to Rs 600 crore full-year top-line target and PAT-margin objective.