ROM InWest, the regional development agency in North Holland, The Netherlands, led an investment round of € 2.7 million in the digital freight network Quicargo (QC United B.V.). It is the first investment in a company in North Holland for the agency founded in October 2021.
The regional development agency invested € 1.15 million. The rest of the funds have been secured by current shareholders. ROM InWest operates from Haarlem, The Netherlands, and aims to stimulate an innovative and strong entrepreneurial environment within North Holland.
An important contribution to a more efficient and sustainable transport industry
ROM InWest was founded last year to help entrepreneurs in North Holland with their business plans and investments. Stimulating energy transition and the transition to a more circular economy are focal points for the agency. The investment from the ROM InWest in Quicargo contributes to transforming the transport industry by making it more efficient and sustainable.
Janet Nieboer, CEO ROM InWest: “We, the ROM InWest, are happy that we can assist Quicargo with this investment. Besides the investment, we also help Quicargo by including them in our broad network of business experts. The company is innovative, embodies entrepreneurial ability, and its sustainable goals fit the ambitions of the ROM InWest to accelerate innovation and energy transition in North Holland.”
Polluting Industry
The logistics industry is one of the most polluting industries. Trucks usually drive at full capacity to their destination but return empty or partially empty, resulting in inefficiencies and unnecessary CO2 emissions. To resolve this issue, and bridge the gap between supply and demand, Quicargo has created a digital platform that efficiently connects shippers and carriers, providing affordable shipping solutions and making transportation sustainable with quantifiable CO2 reductions.
Avishai Trabelsi, CEO at Quicargo: “Our platform retrieves thousands of different data points and finds the best match between shipper and carrier. This greatly helps to improve optimizing the loading capacity of trucks across Europe, saving CO2 emissions and costs, and reducing the pressure on the workforce. We also support the complete operational flows between shippers and carriers, so as to provide both parties with peace of mind”.
Findings IPCC Reports: Act Now!
A trigger for Quicargo was the last-year released reports and findings from the IPCC. Warnings about the continuously rising global temperatures and their consequences need to be addressed. Quicargo is clear in its messaging: we need to act now to stop these disastrous developments.
Trucks in Europe are responsible for 22% of road traffic emissions. The European Commission expects that transport by trucks will increase by 50% between 2010 and 2050. Trabelsi: “By filling empty trucks, we already save tons of emissions. Yet, we believe that we can even do better by acting quickly. That is why we are now working on launching the first zero-emissions freight network in the world.”
Green Ride
With the new initiative, companies can choose emission-free transport with one click in a fully automated and transparent way. First, the company will see its emission footprint, then it will be able to opt for 'green ride'. The system will plan and attribute the most sustainable route to the shipment, and if available, will match it with an electric truck. While many electric vans are already in use in city logistics today, there are not yet many electric trucks active in Quicargo’s domain, 'the middle mile'. Quicargo will lay the foundation for future developments in electric transport. According to the RVO (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland), the ambition is for at least a thousand trucks to drive emission-free in the Netherlands by 2025. Until then, the remaining emissions will be offset with certified local projects.
At any given moment, the company can track its footprint and performance in the green dashboard (picture attached).
For every emission-free shipment, a ‘green certificate’ is issued which can be shared with involved parties and stakeholders.
More than 400 Partner Carriers
To get the project started, Quicargo can already count on its large network of more than 400 partner carriers. Previously, the company executed a pilot version of the project to analyze how much value active customers would attribute to making their supply chains more sustainable. In partnership with CityHub (mainly active in electric city logistics), the experiment revealed widespread interest, but not at any price. In many cases, businesses are however prepared to make concessions in terms of delivery times and the division of goods between multiple trucks.
The goal is to make 30% of all national shipments via Quicargo emission-free in 2025. This is a real step towards achieving European climate goals.
Developments in the Logistics Industry
Another initiative Quicargo is working on is the ‘QC Hub’. It consists of software created to enable SMEs to control and monitor their logistics activities in a simple, sustainable, and transparent way.
“Due to recent developments such as the pandemic, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, rising fuel prices, increasing shipping costs, and inflation, businesses are becoming more aware of the importance of their supply chain, and in particular their transport. Large corporations allocate a lot of resources to solve supply chain issues, whilst most SMEs have neither the resources nor the knowledge to do so.
I believe that QC Hub can be a game-changer for these organizations, as we make use of the experience gained and as we are implementing all the technology we have developed during recent years. QC Hub enables businesses to manage all their logistics providers in one place, and thus not only their Quicargo shipping services.”, says Trabelsi.
Further Growth is Possible
The increasing demand for sustainable shipping solutions, and where possible emission-free, is expected to lead Quicargo to further growth. Not only in The Netherlands, but also in the rest of Europe. To enable this growth, more employees will be hired and new collaborations with local and regional partners will be set up. Green ambitions that seamlessly blend in with the long-term vision of the ROM InWest.
