Lalamove Business Model: Dive Deep Into How It Works & Makes Money

Key Takeaways (or TL;DR)

• Lalamove started with an aim of providing fast, simple, and affordable courier deliveries and has grown into a leading last-mile logistics platform. The company also entered the EV manufacturing line to expand its operations.
• The Lalamove business model follows a hyperlocal approach, connecting customers and SMEs with nearby drivers via a mobile app.
• The company operates on a straightforward flow: customers can enter their locations and recipient details, confirm their order, and complete the shipments with minimal effort.
• The Lalamove revenue model primarily includes commissions, membership fees, add-on services, and B2B enterprise solutions.
• As the logistics and delivery market continues to grow, the company is actively focusing on global expansion and sustainable delivery initiatives.

In today’s traffic-congested urban environment, ensuring timely courier deliveries is a major operational challenge for businesses! And this is what the Lalamove business model addresses effectively. By offering an on-demand logistics and last-mile delivery platform that connects customers and businesses with nearby drivers, making deliveries faster, easier, and more affordable.

Unlike other logistics companies that focus on a single core service, the company leverages advanced technology and a hyperlocal fleet network to offer a wide range of courier services, from walk-in to van deliveries with varying weight capacities. This diversified approach significantly enhances its market appeal.

For entrepreneurs exploring scalable logistics opportunities, this article is perfect. Through this, we will walk you through how Lalamove works, how it makes money, and the future initiatives it has adopted to achieve long-term market positioning.

What is Lalamove?

Lalamove is an on-demand last-mile delivery and logistics platform that connects individuals and businesses with a wide network of professional drivers to deliver their packages, documents, and other items quickly.

Also, it allows customers to select from multiple vehicle types, depending on the size and requirements of their package.

About Lalamove – A Journey to Becoming a Leading On-Demand Delivery Platform

Lalamove, also known as Huolala in Mainland China, is an on-demand logistics and delivery company, born with a mission to empower communities by making delivery fast, simple, and affordable.

Lalamove Company Overview

Founded In: December 2013

Founder: Chow Shing-Yuk

Headquarters: Hong Kong

Industry: Transportation, Logistics, Mobility as a Service

Currently, operating under its parent company, Lalatech Holding Limited, a Hong Kong-based, tech-enabled logistics company, Lalamove was founded as EasyVan. It aimed to digitize the fragmented van-hailing market by matching customers with available drivers for moving and logistics services.

During the early stage of the company, Chow, the founder, faced significant budget constraints. Therefore, he adopted a unique marketing approach in which his employees went out onto the streets with portable billboards to promote his app.

In 2014, the company rebranded as Lalamove to expand its services into international markets. Also, to give the brand a unique identity in China, they named it Huolala, which means ‘Goods La La.’

Over time, Lalamove expanded its services beyond van-hailing to provide a wide-range of logistics and delivery services, which include:

Beyond this, Lalamove also introduced its sub-brand – DuoLa Auto

About DuoLa Auto

Lalamove, enters the electric vehicle manufacturing industry with its sub-brand, DuoLa Auto.

Officially introduced in June 2025, the company debuted its first EV Cargo van in partnership with Changan Kaicene, a Chinese state-owned automaker, and named it DuoLa Bafang, which means carrying more in all directions.

This strategic move shows that Lalamove thought beyond mobility-as-a-service. It focused on the pain point every customer is looking to solve: ‘Delivery & Logistics.’ For businesses entering the logistics market, the company’s journey illustrates how a platform can evolve from a niche service into a full logistics infrastructure provider.

Here we have insightful data to help businesses understand the success story of how a business started on a small scale and is now leading the market under its parent company, Lalatech Holdings.

Lalamove Success Timeline

• 2013: Launched as EasyVan in Hong Kong by Chow Shing-Yuk to connect customers with van drivers through a mobile app.

• 2014: Rebranded to Lalamove and entered the Singapore market.

• 2015: The company entered the Mainland China market under the Huolala name, and also expanded its market in Southeast Asia by introducing it in Bangkok and Taipei.

• 2016: The company also started optimizing the app to connect individual drivers with SMEs for their last-mile delivery approach.

• 2017: Successfully expanded its market into Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) and the Philippines (Manila). Also, started developing API integration for e-commerce platforms to automate logistics.

• 2018: Surpasses 2 million registered drivers milestone, as well as extends its service range to include ‘Lalamove for Business.’

• 2019: Making a staging stage, when the company achieved Unicorn status. Also, that same year, they expanded into the Latin American markets of Brazil and Mexico for intra-city logistics.

• 2020: During the pandemic, when the on-demand platforms were facing downsides, the company launched Deliver Care to support NGOs.

• 2021: The company made an investment in Inteluck, a Southeast Asian logistics technology platform, to strengthen its B2B supply chain capabilities.

• 2022: The firm expanded its operations to South Asia by launching in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• 2023: Another milestone year, where a company, Huolala (Lalamove’s China entity), filed an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Also, it reached 13.4 million monthly active merchants globally.

• 2024: Made a partnership with Shell, to leverage the fuel discount program for its drivers. And, entered the EMEA region by launching its operations in Istanbul. Turkey and Dubai, UAE.

• 2025-: Lalamove introduced its new sub-brand, DuoLa Auto, for New Energy Vehicle and partnered with Changan Kaicene to manufacture customized electric cargo vans specifically optimized for the driver app.

To take these steps to the success ladder, the company also took the financial support from key investors, which is also essential to point out:

Funding History of Lalamove

To date, the company has raised funds of $2.28 Billion across 10 funding rounds. Out of these, some of the recent funding rounds are:

Lalamove Business Model Canvas Explained

The Lalamove business model follows an asset-light marketplace approach, connecting customers and businesses with on-demand delivery drivers via an app to deliver goods, documents, and other heavy equipment.

Now, here we are delving deep into how the company manages its operations by effectively leveraging its key elements.

Key Partners

• A wide network of drivers, the key backbone of the company, who fulfill the courier deliveries.
• Tech-stack providers who incorporate features like Google Maps for navigation. API integration and other functionalities.
• The company also made a strategic partnership with Changan Kaicene, a vehicle manufacturer, to develop a DuoLa Auto electric fleet.
• Collaborate with the investors who help the company grow smoothly.
• Also, joined hands with an insurance company to ensure the safety of their drivers.

Key Activities

• Continuous optimization and maintenance of the platform to strengthen the operations.
• Onboarding the driver & providing training, ensuring quality standards.
• Building a strategy to execute growth campaigns, to attract more customers and SMEs.
• Adopting a smart matching approach for demand and supply by implementing AI in logistics industry.
• Offering 24/7 customer support, solving their issues promptly to deliver a satisfying experience.

Value Propositions

For Customers

• The customer can access fast, affordable courier delivery services from anywhere, anytime.
• An in-built real-time order status tracking system that creates transparency throughout the service.
• Flexibility and convenience in making payment, choosing their preferred method.
• Availability of multiple vehicle options, from which they can choose the one fitted with their parcel size.
• Access to same-day delivery of any documents, thereby fulfilling the emergency needs.
• Also, the customer gets 24/7 support services to resolve their issues.

For Drivers

• Drivers have the flexibility to work at their convenience
• Also, it helps them generate an additional revenue source.
• The company also provides them with insurance coverage, ensuring their safety.
• Gains extra perks and benefits based on their ratings and reviews.

Key Resources

• An advanced technology platform that easily processes day-to-day data without any glitches.
• Collaborations with a wide network of drivers for expanding services effectively.
• Gathering the data assets over time to analyze business strategic growth.
• Building a robust brand identity that helps them attract a strong user base across regions.

Cost Structure

• Paying the sales and marketing teams for initiating campaigns and growing their business.
• Payments to technical service providers for keeping the platform updated over time.
• Other infrastructure maintenance costs, including salaries, updating equipment, customer support teams, etc.
• Offer additional bonuses and incentives to drivers to encourage better service.
• Spending on the development and management of the DuoLa Auto electric fleet.

How Lalamove Works?

The company designed a user-friendly workflow to deliver a fast, simple, and affordable courier experience to its end users. From furniture and wholesale goods to hardware, electrical supplies, and medical equipment, here’s a step-by-step process for customers to get their preferred goods delivered on time.

• Customers must onboard themselves on the platform first to experience faster courier delivery.
• Once onboarded successfully! They are required to enter their pick-up and drop-off locations.

(Interestingly, the app allows access to adding up to 19 locations.)

• Also, they need to provide complete sender and recipient details.
• Next, they are required to choose a suitable vehicle type from options such as motorcycles, vans, different-ton trucks, and walkers, depending on the size of their cargo.
• The customer can also add services, such as round-trip or door-to-door delivery, or a waiting period, for an extra fee.
• Then they proceed with the payment process, which allows them to pay using their preferred method. (Also, if they go with cashless payment, then they can gain benefits up to IDR 100,000.)
• Once the order is confirmed and assigned to a driver, they can access their location details in real-time to check the parcel status.
• At last, the app also asks them to rate & tip the driver based on their service, encouraging them to improve service quality.

Lalamove Revenue Model: How it Makes Money?

The core part of any business is to understand the criteria that drive them with more monetization benefits, and here’s how Lalamove makes money. Besides commission, the firm has built its own money-making strategies that are quite different from others’.

Commissions

The company has set a dynamic commission model to optimize its logistics network. They charge a standard commission of 20% from local deliveries. But they also introduced a ‘growth incentive’ for their long-haul (interstate) service, which directly reduces the 10% commission they used to compensate drivers for rising fuel and time costs.

Moreover, from March 1st, 2024, all their commission charges are revised 8% SST as per the Malaysian Tax Regulations.

Membership Fees

Lalamove’s membership fee structure differs from others’. In mature markets like Mainland China (Hualala), they apply their Tiered Subscription model. Whereas in international markets like Malaysia and Hong Kong, it works on a Deposit and Platform Fee system.

Tiered Subscription Model

• The Basic Tier – Lower monthly fees, while drivers pay a higher commission per order.
• Mid Tier – Moderate monthly fees, but commission per order is also reduced
• Premier Tier – High monthly fees, but drivers can keep almost 100$ of the commission.

Deposit & Tech Fee Model

• Drivers have to pay a basic registration fee.
• Also, the company charges a platform fee that is automatically deducted each month.
• Sticker fees are optional; drivers can apply the Lalamove sticker to their vehicles.

Add-On Services

Apart from the fixed revenue that the company generates from the basic services, they also impose and add-on charges for those services that customers add additionally, which include:

• Extra Stops

In exchange for delivering bulk orders to multiple locations, the company also charged based on the location, the time required, and the number of stops from its end-customers.

• Wraps for Furniture & Fragile Items

If a customer wants additional wrap items for their furniture packing, they must inform the drivers in advance before confirming the order, which is subject to additional charges.

• Additional Helpers

If any customers require additional helpers, they must also mention it in advance.

Also, for Vans, driver help is already included; for additional helpers, they need to pay an additional $40.

For lorries, the customer needs to pay for both the driver’s help (+$30) and an additional helper (+$40).

• Surge Charges

During peak times or special occasions, the company charges additional fees for package deliveries to earn extra income.

B2B & Corporate Solutions

This is one of Lalamove’s fastest-growing revenue channels. Businesses that need regular, large-scale logistics services pay more for enterprise-level solutions.

• API Integration

Lalamove charges businesses a fee to connect their e-commerce store, warehouse management system, or ERP solution directly to Lalamove’s platform.

• SME Subscription Plans

Small & medium-sized businesses that ship orders regularly can subscribe to monthly logistics plans on the platform. These plans offer fixed rates and guaranteed driver availability, removing the uncertainty of on-demand bookings.

What Future Does Lalamove Hold?

Global Market Expansion (EMEA & America)

The company has strategically expanded its footprint beyond Southeast Asia. They are also actively strengthening their presence in Latin America and the EMEA region to establish themselves as a global logistics provider.

Integration of Advanced AI & Technologies

With technological evolution, most industries are adopting AI, and the last-mile was no exception. By implementing AI in last-mile delivery and leveraging machine learning, the company has a strategy to solve complex problems in real time, automatically adjusting routes in response to traffic, bad weather, and other factors.

This approach helps them improve delivery efficiency and enhance the overall customer experience.

SMEs Empowerment

The company already empowers SMEs, the backbone of modern economies, by offering modular services such as API integration, business account management, etc., which helps businesses to scale their operations without owning physical infrastructure.

Super App Diversification

Unlike other Super apps, where businesses manage multiple services, like ride-hailing, delivery, and other services, in one place. Lalamove is evolving into a super app for logistics.

By providing courier delivery in various ways, such as through motorcycle and van, stepping into the EVs manufacturing company, corporate loyalty programs, and vehicle leasing, the company is diversifying its logistics business to lead the market across the globe.

Transition to Green Logistics

Nowadays, sustainability is no longer an option; it is a core operational strategy that most businesses are adopting. The company has already entered the manufacturing of EV fleets under a partnership with a Chinese manufacturer.

This initiative clearly reflects its long-term commitment to green logistics and environmentally sustainable transportation.

How Can Elluminati Help You Build a Lalamove Like App?

The Lalamove business model perfectly demonstrates how an on-demand delivery platform can scale across regions and industries by combining technology, a versatile fleet network, API services for businesses, and entering the manufacturing market with EVs, becoming a leading part of their growth.

Many entrepreneurs inspired by this model are exploring ways to enter the on-demand logistics market. However, initiatives aren’t enough; you need a strategic business guide. This is where the Elluminati comes in.

With our expertise in developing a solution for diverse industries, we map your business pain points, target audience, and more to deliver a customized Lalamove clone. Its built-in features enable you to track activities in real time, manage courier requests effectively, and deliver to your customers faster.

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