Gerald van Weel is one of the two MDs of Urban Arrow. He says: “In my role as a father I took my young children to sports clubs and music lessons on my cargo bike. That was tiresome peddling. It made me sweat. With my business partner and co-owner Jorrit Kreek we designed a model of an all- electric cargo bike. Transporting my children should be a piece of cake in the future.”
Boyhood dream
“From this first design in 2010 Urban Arrow took off to become a company with 35 employees,” relates Gerald. “It seems like a story from a book. We currently deliver to 15 countries. We are working on the urban vehicle for the future and offer help for the clogged roads in world cities.”
“Whenever cars can no longer get through , our electric cargo bikes provide a solution. Not only children are transported. Parcel delivery services, food delivery services and mechanics use our electric carbo bikes too.”
Problems with data exchange
Gerald van Weel tells us about the further development of his company: “Urban Arrow started to cooperate with a bicycle manufacturer. In addition, a logistics company was found that could take care of storage and transport of bikes and bicycle parts. The problem is that every company uses its own IT- package. It is hard to exchange data. That is essential though to keep control and overview.”
“Fortunately ,we found a solution in the App Center van Exact. T-Box is the only party to offer the ability to connect Exact Online data with cooperating companies in a easy way.
T-Box as an interface and for control
“At Urban Arrow we need to check if our data tally with the cooperating partners on a daily basis”, continues Gerald, “The differences show up easily in that way or we can see that everything is running smoothly.”
“T-Box allows the different systems to communicate with each other and can compare them as well. But it even offers more. For every bike I can identify the frame number, the battery, the motor and the key. I can have them printed on the invoice. All the specific information can be retrieved after the sale if , for instance , there is a defect somewhere. With T-Box I can compile order lists and check or stock.”
“Increasingly companies start working together in business. In those situations, T-Box provides a unique solution from Acconet, which gives you a myriad of possibilities.”
