Big growth is predicted for the out-of-home (OOH) delivery market over the next decade and eye-catching start-up Bloq.it intends to be at the heart of that expansion. Paul Hamblin meets co-founder and COO, Joao Lopes.
As ecommerce delivery models evolve, the out-of-home (OOH) delivery method is an increasingly attractive one for cost-conscious retailers and their logistics providers. Obvious result? More and more companies want to build, deploy and manage slick, efficient, and reliable locker networks throughout their territories.
And that is easier said than done.
Building a locker network across a country or group of countries is complex and fraught with challenges. Think of the project scope: you must find a locker manufacturer. Then someone to build you reliable software to link with your systems so that you can communicate successfully with customers about their orders. After that, another third-party is required to select sites and then deploy effectively at the chosen sites, probably having to make significant structural changes to that site before doing so. It is slow, it is complicated, it distracts from your core business. After all, if you’re a retailer or a logistics provider, your business is selling and distributing goods – it is not about building and maintaining a locker network.
Enter Bloq.it. The Portuguese-founded start-up says it is now the fastest-growing ‘Smart Locker’ company in the world and the numbers are impressive: 800% revenue growth year-on-year, 120% head count growth in the same 2022-2023 period. It has just completed a Series-B funding round of €28 million to enable even faster growth.
Co-founder and COO Joao Lopes (pictured, below) explains: “Our model is straightforward. Companies that want to launch locker networks need someone to provide the complete solution for them. We consider ourselves to be network builders for these businesses, and that means we provide the hardware components, the software components, management, third party integration, any customisation that is required, as well as the functionality, security, scaling.”
It doesn’t stop there. “We will also take care of field operations. If you’re building a network, naturally you want to deploy fast, and it’s not generally a quick matter to deploy a 600kg machine that is safe, secure and compliant. You need a proper process, and tools to carry out that process reliably. The same goes for support and maintenance. You need to be able to react quickly and effectively, because users are going to notice if you don’t.”
Commitment to Neutrality
Alongside Bloq-it’s network-building capability is its commitment to neutrality. “We need to be trusted to build networks for multiple partners, some of whom are likely to be in competition with each other, so it’s absolutely vital that our neutrality is visible and proven,” he asserts, citing fast-growing European online clothing retailer Vinted in evidence.
“Look at our results with Vinted, who have now built an extremely successful network. It’s happened because we invest continually. We have strong engineering teams consistently improving our lockers and our software, we are close to the customer and we understand their networks.”
A good example of Bloq-it’s understanding of customer challenges is NEXT, it’s next-gen autonomous locker. “One of the biggest costs of deploying network is site adaptation,” explains Joao Lopes. “You need a power connection, you might need to undertake expensive and time-consuming ground works. NEXT overcomes those issues at a stroke because it is battery-powered and is supplied with a concrete base. It can be dropped into position and start work straightaway.”
He is confident about the opportunities ahead for Bloq.it: “The more pressure there is on delivery costs, the more companies are likely to push people to OOH,” he argues. “There is a lot of growth ahead. Hundreds of thousands of lockers will need to be deployed in Europe in the next five to 10 years, and that’s where we are focused.”
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