Guaranteeing reliable service for shippers

tiramizoo GmbH was founded in 2010 in Munich as an online booking-portal for city couriers. This summer the company won the Innovation category at the World Post & Parcel Awards 2020 for integrating route optimisation software with a self-learning AI algorithm which can fully optimise logistics operations. Martin Sträb, CEO at tiramizoo talks about the award winning platform and how it is has developed over the years.

This article is an extract from the Winter Edition of MER Magazine published in November 2020. You can read this as well as other articles from MER for free by becoming a member of Post & Parcel today.

“tiramizoo operates a platform for urban logistics, be it goods-logistics (the Transport Management System) or people-logistics or commutes (the Smart City Solution). Both applications rely on the same technology and know-how: operating, optimising mass movement-data in an urban environment or with urban restrictions.

In 2013 tiramizoo introduced ‘Same-Day-Delivery’ in Germany (in a scalable, tech-based way): web-shops of brick-and-mortar-retailers are connected via an API with the tiramizoo-platform and tiramizoo delivers the parcels the same-day if the respective good is locally available in a store of the retailer; i.e. no longer execution out of central-warehouse but using the shops as “warehouse”. In order to do so, tiramizoo distributes these orders in the ‘free-floating’-courier-market via the tiramizoo-mobile-app and optimises the delivery-routes with its algorithm. Legally tiramizoo was the courier and was responsible for the execution. The customers only indirectly bought the tiramizoo-tech; the product of tiramizoo was the delivery.

In 2016, Shell, the oil-company, invested in tiramazoo and became the first SaaS-customer because Shell used the tiramizoo-tech for its shop-replenishment but organised the drivers on its own; i.e. the product of tiramizoo was the SaaS only.

In 2015 tiramizoo began working with Zalando – Germany´s leading fashion e-commerce marketplace as SaaS-customer. The relationship began with a pilot project in Berlin where tiramizoo helped Zalando expand to various cities by offering a scalable and stable system. Zalando has been able to grow quickly without jeopardising any customer-relations and guaranteeing a reliable service across Germany.

Apart from direct customers like Zalando, tiramizoo has several integrators as customers. ERP or TMS providers have been able to offer more comprehensive solutions to their customers (e.g. freight forwarders) by integrating tiramizoo-modules in their IT landscape.

In 2018 tiramazoo decided to focus on tech only and became a pure SaaS-company. In the wake of this decision tiramizoo expanded its tech-platform and invented the term ‘Transport Management System for Urban Logistics’.

The impact of Covid-19

To serve the needs of the 21st-century e-commerce customer, shippers were already offering its consignees delivery options such as:  leave package with neighbour or security guard or don’t ring the bell, leave package at door, among others. From March 2020, however, contactless delivery was no longer “an option” but rather a mandatory requirement for both shippers and customers.

With the rise of e-commerce but even more since Covid-19, shippers increasingly ship directly to consignees. Therefore, ‘classical’ line-haul-forwarders have to offer last mile delivers.

This required logistics companies to handle big volumes of data, execute deliveries in multiple spots with multiple vehicles, and report on every event.  With e-commerce eliminating the middlemen structures or wholesalers, the logistics companies working for shippers required a TMS system that offered increasingly last mile or urban logistics services. Furthermore, logistics companies also needed the technology to implement and integrate existing IT systems focusing on urban logistics.

But the TMS software on the market was simply not cut out to enable them to manage, ship, track, and report on thousands of deliveries every single day. While traditional Transport Management Systems helped freight forwarders track deliveries from Hub A to Hub B, they could not serve the need of the hour, which is connecting the end customer directly with the shipper. These traditional TMS can integrate tiramizoo-modules to be able to handle last mile deliveries.  tiramizoo´s IT is modularized and thus, TMS or also shippers can expand their existing IT-infrastructures with tiramizoo-components.

Since the pandemic began we have been targeting new customer-segments with tailor-made solutions such as local pharmacies, ERP-companies or CEP-companies.

Local pharmacies, retailers increasingly have to deliver; therefore, they or their couriers need tech dedicated for urban logistics.  We can help them because not only do we have 10 years of experience but we are also a flexible, dynamic company with state-of-the-art solutions.

Winning the award

It was an honour for a rather small company to get such an award which also large postal giants apply for.

My Head of Marketing, Julian Kellermann, and myself we were sitting in front of my laptop in the office. We blocked the slot as it were an “official” meeting!

Do you know the Eurovision Song Contest? Every year I sit in front of the TV curious about how many points individual singers will receive for their performances.

It felt a bit like that; sitting in front of the TV/ laptop, the host does the introduction “beats about the bush” and finally…. “tiramizoo”.

Winning the award is a confirmation of our way of transformation and to see that external parties recognize our efforts makes us more confident. It´s also a really good boost for the team. Look, it is not only the investors and the board, there is a “neutral” organisation that has recognised us!

It felt great, gave us a sense of pride, encouragement and relief of some tension!”

About the author 

Martin Sträb has been heading tiramizoo as CEO and Managing Partner since 2018.

Most recently Martin was Chairman Board of Management and CEO of Güdel Group AG, a Swiss producer of High-precision machine components & intelligent automation solutions headquartered in Langenthal.

Before that Martin was CMO of both Kuka AG, Augsburg in Germany, and its associate, the Grenzebach Group, Donauwörth/ Germany . He was responsible for Sales and Marketing.

Martin studied Mechanical Engineering.