I’m sure we all have had instances where we ordered a product from an online platform and the delivery took ages. This long waiting time involved is one of the key reasons why some customers still prefer to shop from physical stores, rather than online platforms.
Keeping this in mind, in recent times, a lot of online retailers have started “same-day” delivery services to offer products to consumers delivered in less than 24 hours. Thus, it integrates the convenience of online retail shopping with the immediacy of physical retail stores.
This ease of ordering through online platforms, with reduced shipping time, is creating growth opportunities for the market. Reportedly, the global same-day delivery market size in 2019 was valued at $4.6B (approx €3.94B) and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% from 2020 to 2027.
Raises additional €2.2M
In a recent development, an Amsterdam-based startup that offers same-day delivery, Trunkrs, has raised €2.2M in a fresh round of funding to make parcel delivery sustainable. The round was led by SET Ventures, with participation from Ponooc.
The investment comes in addition to the €3.5M funding the company had raised with Amsterdams Klimaat & Energiefonds (AKEF) and Ponooc in late 2019.
The raised funds will help the company to make the delivery process more sustainable as well as expand its services globally.
“Jan and his team bring together the worlds of e-commerce, logistics, and IT, and they anticipate the growing market trend towards electrification of transport. For these reasons, I foresee tremendous further growth for Trunkrs, and the company can take an interesting position in linking mobility to the energy system of the future,” says Julia Padberg, Principal at SET Venture
About Trunkrs
Founded in 2015 by Jan Wijn and Dimitri Balai, Trunkrs offers same-day delivery to webshops. The delivery agents are people who commute using a specific route during a week. Its service offerings include same-day delivery, next-day delivery, and scheduled delivery.
The company has partnered with the Eindhoven University of Technology and is a part of the Dutch Institute of advanced logistics incubator and UtrechtInc.
Jan Wijn, CEO of Trunks, says, “With the growth of the e-commerce market comes an increase in the number of logistic activities, with all its consequences for the environment. We are convinced that parcel delivery can be more customer-friendly, more sustainable, and smarter.”
Since its inception, Trunks has seen growth totalling 500% in 2019 and continued steep growth in 2020.
100% zero-emission delivery
According to the company, with 99% of on-time deliveries and with the highest Trustpilot score of all Dutch delivery service providers, Trunkrs stands out on speed, customer experience, reliability, and sustainability objectives. The company aims to deliver parcels 100% emission-free by 2022.
This is enabled by its software platform that provides detailed insights into the full delivery chain to all involved players and enables optimal dynamic planning of parcel deliveries.
Trunkrs also benefits from a smart ‘asset-light’ business model that is responsive to demand fluctuations by quickly scaling up or down a flexible pool of delivery partners. Besides, existing vehicles drive 30% more kilometers, making electric models financially attractive to replace existing models.
Set Ventures
Since 2007, Amsterdam-based SET Ventures has invested in European technology companies that impact the future of the energy system. It broadly focuses on innovative energy generation, energy distribution and storage, and energy efficiency. SET Fund III provides early growth-stage capital to ventures that shape the energy system transition through smart software and services-based business models.
SET Ventures is an active member of Invest Europe, the pan-European private equity and venture capital association, and NVP, the Dutch private equity and venture capital association.
Image credit: Trunkrs
