Although the pandemic has acted as a negative catalyst for the domestic business, there are many Startups that seized the opportunity and wanted to offer solutions to the new growing needs of consumers. A typical example is last-mile delivery, an industry that would not be an exaggeration to say that it “flourished” in the midst of the Covid-19 health crisis. One of the up-and-coming names in the Greek last mile delivery market is Overblue.
The idea for the Overblue project was launched in 2018 by the founder Christos Yakimtsoukis with the aim not only to gain a dominant position in the Greek field of last- mile delivery, but also to change the game in the domestic market through innovation by redefining the importance and practices of last mile delivery. At the heart of Overblue’s strategy is primarily the need of the parties (distributors and customers) for certainty, security and reliability.
The Greek Startup brings together retailers with distributors who have small trucks for home deliveries of products within the big cities. As the official data prove, during the pandemic the demand for home delivery services skyrocketed much more than Greek retailers estimated.The majority of retail businesses faced a big dilemma: either to further burden their existing staff or to proceed to a short-term cooperation with a transport company, given that investing in a new fleet of vehicles is neither quick nor easy.
Overblue, realizing this “deadend” for Greek retailers, responded rapidly, putting into practice its innovative idea and developing its smart electronic platform, which allows the outsourcing of business delivery services to its own network of partners. Thus, at a time when the demand for last-mile delivery services in Greece is increasing at an exponential rate, Overblue offers businesses a particularly advantageous “outlet” by reducing costs for them and – most importantly – without any discount on the quality of delivery and the consumer experience. More specifically, the companies cooperating with the Overblue platform reduce their operating costs by paying for the service offered by distributors at the time they need and for as long as they deem necessary. In fact, by having access to a large network of distributors, retailers can choose between distributors that fit both their profile and their customers’ profiles, then evaluating them for the quality of the cooperation.
At the same time, Overblue’s platform offers increased advantages for distributors who choose to work with the company. Distributors, as external partners, connect through the platform with businesses that need their services, while the assignment of delivery services is done in an easy, fast and seamless way. At the same time, Overblue organizes the routes of distributors by reducing their operating costs and increasing their profit.
Although the first attempt to implement the project in 2019 was threatened by the outbreak of the pandemic in Greece a year later, Overblue having as a “weapon” innovation, customer-centric perception and faith in the vision of its founder, managed not only to successfully take its first steps in a highly competitive industry, but also to accelerate its original idea. In other words, the Startup managed to turn the crisis into a first-class opportunity to bring a new era in the Greek last-mile delivery industry.
So far, the project of Christos Yakimtsoukis and the Overblue team has been successful, while the future is particularly auspicious. The Startup’s platform has received wide acceptance among both retailers and distributors, as both sides find in the “face” of Overblue original and advantageous solutions that offer them solution. Of course, apart from the specifications and features of the platform, a big role played the fact that the company was set up by people who have done many kilometers, both figuratively and literally, knowing exactly the needs, challenges and what all parties want. At the same time, trust, cooperation, transparency, innovation and consistency are the values that govern the whole range of Overblue’s activities, which, as its name suggests, it offers the feeling of certainty and tranquility that you find only above the clouds.