Start-up Sparqle rolls out zero-emission delivery platform

A data-driven platform that links retailers and e-commerce companies to local delivery companies and streamlines the whole process. That is what Amsterdam-based Sparqle has been fully committed to for two years. How is this going? What are the lessons learned? ‘Start in a niche and make sure you can scale up quickly,’ says co-founder Tim van Alphen.

The Amsterdam start-up has the wind in its sails. Next year, a zero-emission zone will be introduced in many Dutch cities and companies are busy reducing CO2 and complying with CSRD legislation. ‘The idea to start developing a sustainable delivery platform arose during corona when home delivery was experiencing a huge spike,’ says Van Alphen (pictured left, next to co-founders Maurice Stam and Ruurd Tjeerdema). ‘On the one hand, we saw that there were a lot of delivery companies that delivered orders in a sustainable way, for example for the florist or the baker around the corner. On the other hand, we noticed that there were retailers, with large volumes, who wanted to make their transport operations more sustainable. Our idea was to bring those two worlds together and build a platform that would benefit both parties.’

Online delivery experience

At the heart of Sparqle’s solution is a data-driven platform that covers the entire process: from check-out in the webshop, to scheduling apps for the delivery drivers and track-and-trace information for the recipient. ‘And we offer the retailer insight into the performance of the delivery drivers. Our promise is to make logistics more sustainable and offer consumers a better online delivery experience, so we need to show this. We make it clear exactly how sustainably a particular shipment was delivered. We can show this information already during check-out, so consumers can choose whether they want to be delivered this way. This demonstrably leads to higher sales conversion.’

European expansion

Technology company Sparqle has been around for two years, employs 10 people and operates in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Earlier this year, the start-up received a financial injection of EUR 1.2 million that was used to further develop its IT platform and for European expansion. ‘We have been focused on scalability from the beginning, so we want to grow rapidly in volumes and build an infrastructure in more and more countries. Our next steps are aimed at expanding into France and Scandinavia.’ The platform has no complaints about interest from carriers, Van Alphen observes. ‘They call us because they see that we help them build their business. With our tools, they can work more efficiently, optimise their routes and offer a higher service level to recipients.’

Rituals and Ricoh

The young entrepreneur is not unhappy with how things are going so far. The company is growing steadily and has nice reference companies such as Rituals, Bloomon and De Koffiejongens. Recently, Sparqle also entered the B2B market and is going to deliver spare parts for Ricoh, among others. The most important lesson Van Alphen has learned in the past two years and which he would like to pass on to fellow entrepreneurs: stick to your core mission, start in a niche and make sure you can scale up quickly. ‘Sometimes it is tempting to deviate from your core mission for quick success, but sustainable growth comes from consistency and staying true to your values. That is what we adhere to unabatedly.’