"To have apples or beer delivered within a few minutes, I think is crazy".

Benedikt Stolze wants to establish fair logistics with Urbify. In an interview, he talks about the conditions at some delivery services, how his startup additionally rewards drivers, and why he sees a responsibility on his part.

Benedikt Stolze never actually wanted to do anything with logistics. He originally studied business administration and focused on finance, landing first at Volkswagen, then at Porsche Consulting, and above that in the development of startups. Then he realized that he wanted to start something of his own 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 envy of the billion-dollar valuations of Gorillas or Flink. You do things a little differently at Urbify.

Mr. Stolze, you deliver the same day or the next. What makes you different from what many people think of as Quick Commerce?

Benedikt Stolze: We are clearly positioned. Instant delivery like the players in the Quick Commerce sector do does not exist with us and, in my opinion, does not contribute to good working conditions in the logistics industry. Obviously, there seems to be a market for having apples or beer delivered within a few minutes, but I think that's crazy. The concept of Quick Commerce is extremely questionable to me in this way. We do stand for fast but efficient shipping, which means that several packages are always bundled in one delivery vehicle. This puts us somewhere between Quick Commerce and classic parcel shipping, so to speak.

But same-day delivery isn't exactly snail mail either. Why deliver so quickly in the first place?

Sure, the best thing would be for everyone to go to their city centers and shop there. That would be best for the environment and for logistics anyway, because there's already existing infrastructure there. But people demand fast delivery today, and it's important to me that we offer that. But we also want to play an active role in ensuring that environmental 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. What about Urbify?

Our last round of financing showed that we are worth tens of millions, but I couldn't care less. Unlike Gorillas or Flink, we are profitable and not glossing over it, but after deducting all costs and investments. So we grow sustainably and don't rely on backers, which is why our sales aren't inflated. We take normal prices and don't dump. I prefer it that way.

What does normal business look like?

We only deliver bundled shipments, which means never individual shipments, and either the next day between 4 and 9 p.m. or the same day in the evening hours. 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. In doing so, we pay attention to good working conditions, fair payment and as few emissions as possible. This already sets us apart from many other competitors.

Do you employ drivers yourself?

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

How do you then plan to control 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 conduct regular audits of our partners, and if there are any anomalies, we have to say: unfortunately, that's not how we see it. During these audits, we see that all of them pay the minimum wage, and most of them even pay quite a bit more. If the minimum wage is now raised to 12.50 euros, this will of course mean new costs for the logistics companies. But then we say: We'll take on 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 and electricity prices, which we compensate 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" at our company, and it's a points system for drivers. Drivers who do their routes well and efficiently can earn these bonus points. They can do this, for example, if they manage to deliver all the parcels or, even better, if they deliver them particularly punctually. Each point corresponds to a small monetary amount, and with a little saving, a weekend trip or expensive technology as a gift can be included. The points can then be redeemed with us.

Doesn't that lead to self-exploitation?

On the contrary. The system blocks anyone from working too many hours just to get bonus points. It also reduces the number of shifts you have to give up, 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 corporate startups for large corporations. In 2020, he founded Urbify.