"I think it's crazy to have apples or beer delivered within a few minutes"

Benedikt Stolze wants to establish fair logistics with Urbify. In this interview, he talks about the conditions at some delivery services, how his start-up additionally rewards drivers and why he believes he has a responsibility.

Benedikt Stolze never really wanted to do anything to do with logistics. He originally studied business administration and focused on the field of finance, first ending up at Volkswagen, then at Porsche Consulting and then in the development of start-ups. He then realized that he wanted to start something of his own after all and began to build up Urbify, a logistics service provider that could break into the double-digit millions this year. His company is now worth tens of millions, he says, without envying the billion-euro valuations of Gorillas or Flink. You do things a little differently at Urbify.

Mr. Stolze, you deliver on the same day or the next. What distinguishes you from what many people think of as quick commerce?

Benedikt Stolze: We are clearly positioned. We don't offer instant delivery like the players in the quick commerce sector do and, in my opinion, it doesn't contribute to good working conditions in the logistics sector. Obviously there seems to be a market for having apples or beer delivered within a few minutes, but I think that's crazy. I find the concept of quick commerce in this form extremely questionable. We stand for fast but efficient delivery, which means that several parcels are always bundled into one delivery vehicle. This puts us somewhere between quick commerce and traditional parcel delivery, so to speak.

But delivering on the same day isn't exactly snail mail either. Why deliver so quickly at all?

Sure, it would be best if everyone went into their city centers and shopped there. That would be best for the environment and for logistics anyway, because there is already an existing infrastructure there. But people are demanding fast delivery these days and it's important to me that we offer this. But we also want to play an active role in shaping the future and ensure that ecological and social sustainability is taken into account. We can't reverse the trend, but we can shape it positively.

Gorillas is worth several billion euros. How is Urbify doing?

Our last financing round showed that we are worth tens of millions, but I don't care about that. Unlike Gorillas or Flink, we are profitable, and that's not just a nice calculation, but after deducting all costs and investments. We are therefore growing sustainably and are not dependent on financial backers, which is why our turnover is not inflated. We charge normal prices and don't dump. I prefer it that way.

What does normal business look like?

We only deliver in bundles, i.e. never individual shipments, and either the next day between 4 and 9 p.m. or the same day in the evening. This means that our logistics staff have time to collect and sort the parcels and then deliver them as efficiently as possible with the help of our software. We pay attention to good working conditions, fair pay and as few emissions as possible. This already sets us apart from many of our competitors.

Do you employ drivers yourself?

No, we are more or less the spider in the web. We accept orders from large companies such as Rewe, Dunkin Donuts and Asos, who commission us to deliver to their customers. In turn, we have built up a network of partners who are connected to us and who then deliver the goods.

How do you intend to monitor working conditions?

We have taken a number of measures to ensure reasonable working conditions. For example, we work almost exclusively with PQ-certified transport partners. This means that these companies are independently audited and certified by the DAkkS (German Accreditation Body). We carry out regular audits of our partners and if there are any anomalies, we sometimes have to say: unfortunately, that doesn't work for us. During these audits, we see that they all pay the minimum wage, most of them even a lot more. If the minimum wage is now increased to 12.50 euros, this will of course mean new costs for logistics companies. But then we say: We'll bear these additional costs and prefer to pass the prices on to our customers. We have no desire to keep pushing prices down. The same applies to diesel/electricity prices, which we are compensating for now that they are so high. We don't want the last link in the chain to suffer and we even want to give something back to the drivers, even if they are not employed by us.

That sounds nice, but what does it mean in practice?

We call it "Blue Collar Miles & More" and it's a points system for drivers. Drivers who do their routes well and efficiently can earn these bonus points. This is possible, for example, if they manage to deliver all parcels or, even better, deliver them particularly punctually. Each point corresponds to a small amount of money, and with a little saving you can get a weekend trip or expensive technology as a gift. The points can then be redeemed with us.

Doesn't that lead to self-exploitation?

On the contrary. The system prevents people from working too many hours just to earn bonus points. It also reduces the need to give up shifts, which is common in the industry, because the other driver might ruin your score.

Thank you very much for the interview.

Personal details: Ben Stolze holds a doctorate in business administration and began his career in the automotive industry before working as a management consultant, building up corporate start-ups for large corporations. He founded Urbify in 2020.