Trunkrs: faster, greener, friendlier

Trunkrs is a logistics company based in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands, that is out to improve delivery services for ecommerce businesses. From his long experience working in logistics Jan Wijn, CEO of Trunkrs, argues that logistics companies are typically not sensitive enough to the needs of their clients and which in turn creates a lot of customer frustration with inflexible deliveries.

Putting the customer at the center

In order to change that, Trunkrs offers a service that is more customer-friendly and flexible: “We designed our IT system ourselves with the end-consumer in mind, making it as convenient as possible. We built it all in such a way that the consumer is in control. For example, you can change delivery address up to one minute before delivery. People really appreciate that feature. And of course we’re super-fast: pick-up in the morning, delivery in the evening.”

At Trunkrs we believe efficiency and sustainability should go hand in hand. ”

- Jan Wijn, CEO

Making it green

At the same time, Trunkrs pursues a very sustainable business model: “We had two main ideas, we wanted to be consumer-centric and we wanted to be sustainable,” Jan explains.

Everything starts with the innovative software platform that provides detailed insights of the full delivery chain to all actors and unlocks optimal dynamic planning of parcel deliveries. “It’s the management layer that runs the orchestra (cars, depots, drivers) really, and we wanted to do it sustainably. First of all, we’re asset-light: we don’t own assets - no vans, no buildings. We work with courier services and delivery services. They use our IT system and our app. It makes everything much more efficient. But we’re not there yet. We aim for 100% zero emissions. We’re currently running pilots and tests, working on the range of electric vans, figuring out the challenges with infrastructure and by end-2022 we want to be working with 100% electric vans. We’re already helping our partners get more out of electrical cars, with reduced cost per mile compared to fossil-fuel driven vehicles.”

Investing in growth

An equity investment from SET Ventures, a venture-capital firm backed by the EIF under the EU’s Investment Plan for Europe, allowed the company to develop the product further and grow. “We met quite a few investors that focus not only on finance, but also sustainability. That really helped us find a good match. Doing things more sustainably is no longer an optional extra. We think it’s important for ourselves and our children. It’s a no-brainer for each business to do things that make the world a better place.“