SURFLOGH as matchmaker

01 June 2021 - Published by Deirdre Buist

Not all project results are clear cut – but they can be significant none the less. SURFLOGH activities in Mechelen are at the core of a new cooperation in the city. Distributors CityDepot, bike couriers ECOKoeriers, employment agency WerKans and logistics service CityHub ODTH have recently formed a strategic partnership, thanks to some matchmaking and facilitation from SURFLOGH.

Their joint forces create a formidable front when increasing logistics efficiency and sustainability in terms of urban cargo transport and traffic safety in the inner city of Mechelen.

Connecting with CityDepot

ECOkoeriers and ODTH are based in Mechelen while the CityDepot concept has already been successfully implemented in seven cities. The latter are now settling in Mechelen, sharing premises with ODTH. Raf Lambix, CEO of CityDepot explains the move: “We’re linking our national business proposition with the locally embedded ECOkoeriers. Through our open ‘eco-system’ we’re also working closely with the local employment agency WerKans, so we offer our clients a total solution in terms of sustainable urban distribution services.”

WerKans

Freight is bundled at the hub at the edge of the city and then distributed in the ‘greenest’ possible way in the inner city. Deliveries are carried out by cargo-bike couriers (ECOkoeriers) or with CityDepot’s modular green fleet. WerKans offers job seekers the opportunity to gain work experience in the logistics sector and to re-enter the employment market.

undefined

While ultimately aiming to achieve a zero-emissions city centre by 2030, this expanded collaboration - matchmade by SURFLOGH - offers a flexible service to suit the client, together with a socially oriented approach to re-introducing the local unemployed to the logistics sector.