It has been a year since CARGOBOSS, and Van Daalen transport merged. The company, now called BosDaalen, has been able to develop further in hectic times. "Our larger company has more appeal," says Gerard van den Bos, who, along with Aris van Daalen are BosDaalen's managing directors. "That's certainly why we've managed to take steps in the business process in the past year. Still, we'd like to remain that family business where you bump into directors on the shop floor. We think you can combine that extremely well."
The pandemic has had a fairly limited effect on this Dutch transport company. "Plant exports did decline slightly at the beginning of 2020. But, in 2021, the total volume increased considerably with a shift in sales towards retail," says Aris. For Bosdaalen, that drives to Germany, Switzerland, and northern France, the biggest problem during the pandemic was personnel.
"However, that's where a company must respond. Of course, we had issues like everyone else with illness due to COVID-19. That's why we formed a special corona team, which ensures that everything's on track on the shop floor. Think of compliance and switching in case of illness. We also like brainstorming with our staff."
Gerard adds, "And, during this time, 25 to 30% of employees did some thinking about work/life/monetary balance. These are people who want to work less or prefer not to be away from home for days at a time. Then you have to find a suitable solution together. A company can steer the creation of optimal working conditions. That's why we have a driver coach who guides new arrivals. And, we offer sleeping accommodations for our foreign drivers."
Aris van Daalen (left) and Gerard van den Bos (right)
The business is also making progress, digitization-wise. "Nowadays, online food delivery services are booming. They use apps that tell you as soon as the order is on its way. We want to offer this service too, but for product and delivery time changes. Our process, of course, has many statuses you can use to keep customers informed. But we choose not to overload clients with unnecessary information," says Aris.
"For example, we have an app where drivers can immediately indicate if something is wrong. He takes a picture of the issue, and we can send that to buyers right away. If, say, certain goods are faulty, or delivery is an hour late, you want to be able to let your customer know immediately. We're working hard to fully integrate this into our services. It's almost there, partly thanks to our mentor drivers."
This transport company is looking to expand mainly in those countries where it is well-represented. "We expect to continue growing in Germany, Switzerland, and northern France. Scania has been on our premises for a long time. They'll be leaving soon, so we can use that part for our expansion. We can then move on, but so can they," continues Aris.
BosDaalen rents out another part of its premises to Karsten Europe. "They've been renting seven docks with office space and cold storage from us for years but are leaving at the end of the year. We'd like to get a new tenant because the five cold stores are ideal for fruit and vegetable storage. That would surely suit some company well," Gerard concludes.
For more information:
Gerard van den Bos
A
ris van Daalen
BosDaalen
25 Transportweg
2676 LM, Maasdijk, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 174 525 025
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.bosdaalen.com
