Trunkrs X DLL | Charging up for an electric future

“What are we doing? The parcels in our van are all going the same way. And yet we're all in the same traffic jam, in separate vehicles. Something needs to be done.” Jan Wijn, co-founder of Trunkrs, was working for PostNL when he noticed this. All separate deliveries, going the same way. There had to be a smarter, more sustainable solution. Jan got in touch with former colleague Dimitri Balai, and with his friend Hidde Stokvis, who felt that something could be done. In 2015, the three of them started Trunkrs in an effort to create a more sustainable logistics system.

What does Trunkrs do?
‘“From the outside, we might seem like just another logistics company like PostNL or DHL. But we are so much more,” is how Hidde introduces Trunkrs. Trunkrs is an IT platform that brings together the webshop and the transport company in a national network. Everything in this entire chain, like sorting software, online portals for the senders and track and trace software, is developed by Trunkrs. This makes the delivery process for the delivery companies in their network easy and worry-free for end customers.

Your route is calculated...
Trunkrs focuses on the mid segment of online webshops. Big companies make promises like 'ordered today, delivered tomorrow' and can guarantee that. For smaller webshops, this is not feasible. And often medium-sized webshops do not have a favorable negotiating position in partnerships with bigger delivery companies, which means they often don't find a suitable solution. Trunkrs offers the solution: a quality player with a sustainable total solution for the mid-segment.

Electric deliveries in emission-free zones
‘“Legislation for sustainability is on its way, that's a fact. Just how it will be implemented is not yet clear. There's a milestone for 2025: emission-free city centers. Taking that as a starting point, a diesel van can still drive for another four years. We don't feel like that's good enough. We need to become electric and sustainable faster,”- Hidde explains. Legislation shouldn't be the driver; it needs to be the mission.

Trunkrs believes logistics can be smarter and more sustainable and feels that there are already enough vehicles in the world. Trunkrs now works with around 30 logistics partners which have their own vehicles. “We help them switch to electric transport,” says Hidde. Trunkrs sat around the table with suppliers of loading optimization software, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and vehicle financing for a total deal. Delivery companies associated with Trunkrs now get all the tools they need to deliver your orders sustainably and fast.

Carpooling with DLL
Trunkrs asked DLL to lease electric vehicles to their delivery companies. DLL and Trunkrs are now on the road together, electrically. For Trunkrs, looking for a lease company was the most important element, so that all their delivery companies could benefit from a lease solution. For Hidde, the partnership with DLL immediately felt different. ‘“

“DLL was much more proactive than other suppliers. They really directed us to solutions. That was a turning point for us. Because there aren't very many lease companies that get so involved. I can see thousands of possibilities for Trunkrs and DLL to work more closely together and make this even bigger, but so far everything has gone very smoothly.”

Energy for the future
Getting on the road fast sometimes means ending up in a traffic jam, and even Trunkrs encounters challenges. Fluctuations are an obstacle every year. In January, for example, Trunkrs made significantly less turnover than in December. Optimal use of the vehicles continues to be hard. Furthermore, sustainability is challenging. Convincing partners who have been driving diesel vans for years to get a new vehicle is not easy. Many locations cannot accommodate charging stations, and sometimes the power grid doesn't have sufficient capacity. That certainly doesn't mean Trunkrs won't look for solutions to these problems, because it has no lack of growth ambitions.

Trunkrs operates in the Netherlands and Flanders. Currently, this means Dutch partners also deliver in Flanders. At the beginning of 2023, Trunkrs also wants to find Flemish partners. “We're not looking beyond Belgium yet. Some companies are growing very fast, so we can easily apply our concept outside neighboring countries. If e-commerce gets going in Rwanda and there's a lot to be gained in terms of logistics, that's an opportunity, but we aren't there yet,” says Hidde.

Have you reached your destination?
Together with Trunkrs, DLL is calculating our route towards a greener, more sustainable world. We are proud of our partnership and are charging for an electric future. Are you looking for a partner to help you with lease solutions on the road to sustainability? If so, contact New Business Development Manager Steve Hope.