Ourmission
Zedify is here to make our cities better places to live, work, and play. Our hard-working teams are united behind this mission and it guides everything we do. We know this goes beyond parcel deliveries – without action, by 2030, a 36% uptick in delivery vehicles across the UK is on the cards.
Whydoesthismatter?
For starters, the UK economy is predicted to take a £7.9 billion hit each year due to traffic congestion and, most worryingly, a staggering 64,000 premature deaths yearly from polluted air.
Changing urban landscapes and implementing city centre restrictions will combat these issues, but will also make urban deliveries increasingly complex. At Zedify, we have pioneered the idea that cargo bike deliveries hold the key to truly sustainable change, in every sense of the word, and that’s why we’re on a mission to roll out our cargo-bike first delivery model in cities across the UK.
Asseenin…
We’ve been featured in some incredible publications, focussing on our funding rounds, our city launches, our research and commentary on retail logistics and liveable cities.
Ourstory
It all began with Zedify CEO and co-founder, Rob King, and a chance encounter on a walk in the lake district way back in the mists of 2004. Inspired by what he saw a cargo bike could do, and without perhaps knowing quite what was in store, Rob started a cargo bike logistics business in Cambridge later that year.This early version of a sustainable urban logistics business inspired many others and the Cambridge hub welcomed local government, logistics brands and entrepreneurs to share their learning.
Fast forward to 2018 and Rob joined forces with fellow cargo bike proponent, Sam Keam. Together, they launched UK-wide with the Zedify brand and a network of city hubs. Today you’ll find us on the precipice of a real step-change in UK retail logistics working with big name brands and delivering thousands of parcels each day in multiple cities. And it’s not just us- major brands across the UK are adopting cargo bike logistics at scale, everyone from Amazon, to DPD and Ikea.
- 2004
RobKinghastheideatolaunchtheUK’sfirstcargobikedeliveryserviceinCambridge.
2018Zedify’sUKwidenetworklaunches
2019Firstseedfundingcloses
2021NetworkexpandswithnewhubsinBristolandPlymouth
2022Firstimpactreportlauncheswith278tonnesCO2saved
2023£5minvestmentfromgroupincludingBarclays
Adeliverymodelthat’sfitforthe21stcentury
Outdated models of urban delivery are not only inefficient and costly, they’re also failing to meet the rapidly evolving demands of today’s consumer. This is a person who mainly shops online, and wants their items delivered quickly and sustainably. Last mile logistics is rife with inefficiencies and accounts for up to half of the total cost of delivery. Zedify has built a model that materially improves the efficiency and sustainability of urban freight by consolidating first mile, local same day deliveries, reverse logistics and last mile deliveries in each urban neighbourhood.
It’s often noted- for the simple reason that it’s true- delivery experience is customer experience when it comes to ecommerce. In the UK, nearly half of consumers are willing to pay a premium for convenience, including the ability to choose delivery windows. Outdated delivery models with hubs located far from consumers are ill-equipped to meet these changing demands. The icing on the cake, is that cargo bike deliveries often work out more cost-effective than the alternatives. This is due to many factors, including
- a microconsolidation cargo bike model allows for carefully consolidated repeated rounds
- more drops per hour, because cargo bikes can make use of cycle infrastructure
- very low energy requirements to power the bikes
- an absence of parking fines (something the average delivery driver will be accustomed to)
Diesel vans and EVs do a good job transporting goods along motorways but when it comes to city centres, it just makes sense to choose lighter vehicles designed specifically for the urban environment.
Ethicsareking:always
Consumers are now more conscious of their environmental impact than ever before. A study from ReBound revealed that 75% of consumers preferred brands working towards more sustainable deliveries. In the face of the ongoing climate crisis, consumers are demanding proactive responses from both brands and city authorities, recognizing the impact of their home deliveries on air quality.
Last but not least – it’s all about how workers are treated. The current gig economy model, used by 95% of Zedify’s peers, is becoming less attractive to investors, customers and employees alike. Stakeholders across the board are making it clear that they prefer to engage with brands that treat their delivery staff ethically. We are proud to pay our staff the real Living Wage and employ all of our riders, giving them access to a suite of benefits and protections that, we think, should be the bare minimum for all couriers.
Our founders
Rob says:
“Demand for deliveries to door and desk is booming, but our cities just can’t cope with ever-increasing numbers of diesel vans contributing to the toxic mix of poor air-quality and increased congestion. Businesses, especially retailers, need to step up and decouple the last mile of their deliveries to more sustainable services – this is where Zedify steps in and makes that change possible.”
Sam says:
“A whopping 90 per cent of millennial shoppers say they prefer to buy from companies with a social or environmental purpose. If their online order arrives by bike, then that’s a big, and very visual, statement. For the first time, progressive brands can deliver the environmentally friendly services their customers demand, while maintaining their expectations around cost and speed.”
Ourfunders
We’re backed by some incredible funders
In 2023, we secured an additional £5m investment. This was led by Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, with participation from our existing investor Green Angel Syndicate [who invested £1.2m over 2021 and 2022].
Ourbikes
We use a wide range of 2-wheeled, 3-wheeled and 4-wheeled cargo bikes as well as a small number of electric vans. The vans allow us to deliver some larger freight as well us supporting our middle mile network and inter-hub trunking. With everything we’ve learnt about what it takes to provide an efficient, reliable cargo bike operation, we’ve gone one step further and built our very own bikes: The GTrike. Intrigued? Take a look.
- Lower production costs translate into the pricing of our services
- Unique chainless drive for reduced servicing: keeping more bikes on the road for our clients
- Batteries re-engineered from decommissioned cars - saved from landfill
123Ourpeople
AmyJolley
Senior Administrator
MikeMilner
National Training Manager
LiamCarter
National Logistics Manager
TomScruby
National Operations Manager
NickStokes
National Project Manager
StephenBee
Head of London Operations
CharlieSpicer
Software Developer
DanBatson
Principal Engineer
KatHannan
Head of Product
SamDawson
Software Developer
WillTuffin
Software Developer
CarlaCrosby
Head of People
BexYoung
Content Marketing Executive
SamKeam
Chief Sustainability Officer
PipMarshall
Groups Partnerships Manager
JonWilliams
Chief Commercial Officer
TomosJones
National Customer Success Manager
RobByrne
Customer Success Associate
SebTheron
Chief Finance Officer
AmichayOren
Chief Technical Officer
VanessaWallace
Customer Services Agent
EllaYarrow
Sustainability Manager
HarrietHird
Head of Marketing
MaryMcAlister
Sales Development Executive
JessMoore
Financial Controller
RobKing
Chief Executive Officer
MineshAgnihotri
Public Sector Partnerships Specialist
Ourawardsandaccreditations
It’s all very well us telling you we’re great. But aside from Trust Pilot scores and feedback from our customers, our awards and accreditations help demonstrate the value and quality of our approach to sustainable deliveries. We’re not afraid to say it, we’re quite proud of our growing award shelf!
Awards
Accreditations
Thanks for your interest in using Zedify. At the moment, we‘re just for businesses and can’t deliver one-off parcels for individuals. Sorry about that.
Want to keep in the loop with all things Zedify? Follow us on Instagram or pop us a message to hello@zedify.co.uk to ask us anything.
Want to take action to receive more of your online orders by cargo bike? You can help fight the good fight by letting your favourite stores and brands know what you think!