Sustainable Brocarga finds new carriers on TIMOCOM

Carbon-neutral transports and long-term partnerships: What sounds like an ideal vision of logistics is happening right now, thanks to Rotterdam start-up Brocarga. Founder Klaas Boekestijn and his colleague Bart Sardeman tell their story and how TIMOCOM helps them.

Their office situated at Boompjes 40, which literally means 'trees 40', offers an impressive view of the iconic Erasmus and Willems bridges stretching across the bustling Maas river. On this sunny day the stunning city skyline and even the football stadium De Kuip can be seen in the distance. The trees lining the riverbank start to bloom with new leaves, adding a natural touch to the vibrant city view. This beautiful blend of urban and natural scenery perfectly complements Brocarga's commitment to sustainability, with all their transports being carbon-neutral.

”You need to be unique to be successful. For us, it means to compensate the CO2 emissions,” says Klaas, the founder of sustainable freight-forwarder Brocarga. Even though the company is still quite new, both Klaas and Bart have many years of experience in the industry.

Customer: road freight is part of our DNA

Having grown up in a family-owned transportation company, Klaas understood how logistics works from an early age. Later, he went to the US to get his degree and later moved to Rotterdam for a traineeship, during which he saw all different dimensions of complex supply-chains. Bart, a former customer of Klaas, has a wealth of experience as a freight broker. It made perfect sense for them to join forces and work together towards a common goal of sustainable and carbon-neutral transportation through Brocarga's unique business plan.

When starting a business from scratch, it is important to offer something unique. Brocarga's concept can be split into three different aspects:

• Carbon-neutral transportation - for every transport, even when not requested.
• Automation of tasks that can be automated, which ensures full-focused freight brokers, with time to provide service and find opportunities.
• One-Day-Payment term for carriers, which improves their cash flow.

Brocarga's unique way of working is fully automated. Their sales system automatically files the CO2 compensation certificates and also holds the complete CO2 administration.

In a time where end-consumers expect fair transports, TIMOCOM is a wonderful tool to help Brocarga achieving its goals. Klaas has known TIMOCOM's system for many years and states it the most relevant freight exchange in Europe.

”I have known the system for many years, and it has always helped me finding trucks or loads. The system is user friendly, and it is contributing to find the right transport partners, especially with the wide variety of carriers exhibiting their services. We aim to use local transport partners, and TIMOCOM helps us a lot to approach them”, says Klaas.

"If one market trend is certain, it is that uncertainty is a market trend," states Klaas. Market trends may come and go, but sustainability is a constant. Brocarga's carbon-neutral approach to logistics ensures that they will always have something unique to offer.

"Our approach is the most sustainable solution on the market. If I can give one advice: use the Brocarga concept. We reserve a large portion of our margin for carbon compensation, but if we can find emission-free transport options that are a bit more expensive, we can use the reserved cost to support the carrier. It's all about using that money to support sustainable transport options," explains Klaas.

As we wrap up our interview, Klaas and I walk down to the pier next to the river for a quick photo session. We stop to admire the view, and Klaas points out his office building with its steep diagonal wall, stretching from the street up to the roof. Suddenly, Klaas shares a funny story with me. He explains that quite some years ago, a movie called "Who Am I?" was filmed, and Jackie Chan jumped down and slide down right in front of the Brocarga office window.

We both laugh and as our conversation comes to an end, I am left with the impression that Brocarga's approach to logistics is truly unique. With their sustainable and carbon-neutral approach, and their focus on automation and one-day payments, Brocarga is setting a new standards for the industry.