Ecommerce Ideas, a Digital Marketing and eCommerce management magazine, interviewed GEL Proximity for its readers! A long interview in which we had the opportunity to tell our story, our goals and our plans.
Below is the full text of the interview.
***
GEL Proximity: the 1st aggregator of eCommerce Pickup Points.
The innovative platform dedicated entirely to proximity logistics
What is Gel Proximity and how does it work?
GEL Proximity is a technological platform, a connector, that facilitates relationships and information exchange between the world of online sales and tens of thousands of pickup points, physical or automated, belonging to different national and international last-mile networks.
The innovation lies in particular in the omnichannel approach of integrating the many different players and networks into a single platform, combined with the gamble of proximity logistics as a mode to focus on for a more sustainable approach to delivery, thanks to the certainty of the delivery itself (proximity guarantees 100 percent delivery success, unlike home delivery) and the possibility of being able to travel fewer kilometers in deliveries, thanks to the delivery of multiple packages in a single stop.
What are the benefits for the consumer?
Online consumers, thanks to GEL Proximity, can choose their preferred pickup point within their daily proximity to conveniently, quickly, and safely pick up their order or make a return.
No time constraints then, as home delivery requires, while at the same time fostering the reduction of environmental impact in deliveries.
And what, on the other hand, are the benefits for online stores?
GEL Proximity’s approach also impacts sales-reducing cart drops, the end user experience, and logistics costs.
Indeed, the technology devised by GEL Proximity helps stores and operators streamline deliveries by optimizing relationships
Another benefit for stores, which is not secondary, is also the reduction of logistics costs. Sending a package to a pickup point costs less precisely because of the efficiency generated within the logistics process.
How did the idea come about?
The idea started to take shape, in 2019 following a meeting at a national conference on Logistics between two long-time friends-with important experiences in international Big Tech Company contexts and in the field of Logistics behind them , Lorenzo Maggioni and Damiano Frosi, starting from the study of the main reasons for abandoning online shopping carts and identifying in the logistics aspects one of the main reasons.
What led you to develop this service?
“When we started doing some research in 2019, we were particularly inspired by foreign markets where we were beginning to see the potential of “out of home” deliveries, that is, at automated lockers or in commercial establishments, which in Italy are still not very widespread, and we noticed the great difficulty of our country in technologically integrating the many distribution networks present and necessary to have a widespread proximity proposal. Starting from this awareness, we worked to develop a project capable of “fluidizing” the technological processes of online businesses, focusing on proximity logistics services. In fact, this is where the very name of the project comes from: GEL Proximity.”
Another important value at the heart of the project is that of environmental sustainability. The important help to the environment is given by GEL Proximity’s ability to zero out missed home deliveries thanks to the support of thousands of pickup points and lockers active throughout the country, in addition to the parcel collecting system that allows the efficiency of routes and vehicles used for last-mile deliveries. Sustainability, in fact, is now a key factor in the purchasing choices of digital consumers: 7 out of 10 Italians are increasingly aware of environmental issues, while 80 percent believe that companies should consider the issue of sustainability in their business choices.
Logistics can no longer make exceptions, and it becomes more crucial today than ever to rely on innovative technological solutions such as GEL Proximity.
The sustainable impact of the project, however, is not only limited to environmental aspects, but also of a social nature because it makes it possible to revitalize small activities and businesses within towns and cities, remunerating them for their activity and giving the possibility of selling products or services to consumers who enter the same to pick up their package or deliver a return.
How did you fund your idea?
After the preliminary analysis conducted in 2019, the idea turned into a project also thanks to winning Switch2Product, a renowned startup competition organized by Polihub and Deloitte. The acceleration path in Polihub was instrumental in becoming aware of the potential of the business idea.
“We strongly believed in the network and the tools that the Politecnico di Milano could make available to us.”
In July 2020, GEL Proximity was established as a private capital company and was recognized among the prestigious spin-offs of the Politecnico di Milano: this gave the opportunity to work side by side with researchers and in particular with the Digital Innovation Observatories.
The project immediately took off also thanks to the interest shown by many professionals and companies in the sector: the first capital raising was such a success that we had to open a second one a few months later in the face of the many requests received.
“We closed 2020 with half a million euros raised in Club Deal mode, and on March 9, 2021, the technological solution was officially presented to the Italian market.”
Finally, in May 2022, MBE Worldwide-a leading global platform offering solutions in eCommerce, shipping, logistics, and printing and marketing services to support SMEs and individuals-acquired a majority stake in GEL.
What were the biggest difficulties in starting the project?
“In our case, we decided early on to build a small operational team alongside external service providers and consultants. Definitely an anomalous and very onerous choice for a startup, but one that has led to sustainable and progressive growth of all company activities, mainly those of research and development.
Moreover, in terms of raising funds and financing, we created interest in our professional network by initially opening two rounds to more than 30 qualified partners. We encountered some difficulties in managing relationships with so many partners, but we thank all of them because it is thanks to them that we were able to finalize after less than 2 years the sale of the majority stake to the Mail Boxes Group.”
What progress, however, did you not expect?
“The pandemic has certainly brought an acceleration of the world of online sales, which in 2020 had a 40% growth over the previous year.
In this context our business idea has undergone a major acceleration, but we were certain that sooner or later the same context already seen in the main European digital countries would be created in Italy as well.”
Where we can find Gel Proximity points (digitally and physically)?
Online stores that want to integrate more than 45,000 pick-up points in Italy and 80,000 in Europe can register directly on our website, www.gelproximity.com, or contact us to request more information. We are also, of course, present on LinkedIn, a channel that we constantly enrich with content of interest such as insights, useful tips and market analysis for the eCommerce world.
What advice would you feel like giving to those who want to take the same path as you?
Determination is a key characteristic for bringing a project to fruition. The best advice is to not get down is to always start again with the certainty that every fall is an experience.
