If anyone can say something about how ConnectBike is put together, it's our very own CEO Jeroen van Douveren. Anton Mollerus' childhood friend joined ConnectBike in mid 2019, where he started with a "sniffing internship" to see if the industry suited him. And this proved to be a good match, as in 2020 he was asked to lead ConnectBike as CEO. Something he hopes to do for years to come.
"Anton asked me to write a business plan to attract investors," begins Jeroen, who previously worked in the fashion & food industry. He immediately saw that ConnectBike had a good proposition in the pedelec market, because the pedelecs were matched with leasing and above all good service.
And with that service concept ConnectBike entered the market with several test rounds. Our current electric delivery bike didn't exist at the time, so they worked with Giant's regular (consumer) e-bikes to get to know the market. "We had several projects with authorities and municipalities at home and abroad, unfortunately those kinds of authorities prefer big companies that are economically healthier." After several hours at the drawing board and three different prototypes, the the Deliver-E+ was created. "With this electric delivery bike we can supply Western Europe with our bikes, this way ConnectBike is more stable and we can eventually focus again on larger sharing systems and projects."
"At some point you see that something is happening on the market. And there is demand for your product! You just get going."
According to Jeroen, there are still plenty of opportunities in Western Europe. Of course, meal delivery is nothing new in 2022. Flash shopping services, on the other hand, are and they do, indeed, often ride electric delivery bikes! This concept is growing like cabbage all over Western Europe, so the demand for the bicycles will automatically increase. "You see, at some point, that something is happening in the market. And there is demand for your product! You just get going." Fortunately, ConnectBike is growing just as fast, as the organisation already has 22 technicians in the Benelux.
And this growth within ConnectBike is just as well. Because according to Jeroen, in the next few years many other large companies in the Randstad will also be interested in electric delivery bikes. Think of shops like Zalando and Bol.com, with a good distribution channel where they can deliver to their customers. same day delivery is increasingly possible in the larger cities.
"We are scaling up our capacities considerably to make that feasible!"
"Take Amsterdam as an example. Sometimes you can't even get to the location by car. In addition, parking is expensive and the delivery vans are often only half full. Just calculate how much it will cost you per trip and how much traffic congestion and emissions that will cause." ConnectBike is really trying to solve that problem. "We are scaling up our capacities considerably to make that feasible!"
A good example of scaling up capacities is the system that ConnectBike uses to measure exactly when parts of the delivery bikes break down. By anticipating this, service can be provided. before the bike is really broken. "Meanwhile, after 1.5 years, we have got enough data about our e-bikes that we know exactly how the service should be done in different countries." Something Jeroen and ConnectBike are very proud of, because without service - no working bike!
This is how ConnectBike distinguishes itself by offering a service concept in addition to a lease. A lot of time has been invested in this. For this, ConnectBike needs good people with enthusiasm at home and abroad. Jeroen hopes that in the coming years he will be able to welcome many more inquisitive and enthusiastic people into the organisation. "I just hope that in the end there is a large group of nice people who enjoy working together. That way we can make ConnectBike run as smoothly as our electric delivery bike!"
Our service with a smile - ConnectBike
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