MIA Spotlight : KOIKI, Delivering More Than Packages - Creating a Culture of Inclusion

Everyone hates having to stay in all day to wait for a parcel delivery. Well, imagine if you could choose the exact time of your delivery and at the same time provide employment opportunities for vulnerable populations (for example disabled people or refugees) in your local neighbourhood whilst reducing CO2 emissions. Sounds good, right?   Meet Koiki, the social startup, part of the cohort of the MAN Impact Accelerator that is revolutionising the last mile by offering an inclusive and carbon free way of delivering parcels to your home. Koiki not only provide an efficient and environmentally sustainable service they also employ a workforce of marginalised workers.

Did you know that 470 disabled individuals are of working age - although employment rates are drastically low, as they face significant barriers in trying to find work. Research suggests people with disabilities are half as likely to find a job than the non disabled.  Between 2014 and 2017, around 1.6 million refugees gained asylum in Europe. More than a million are of working age and could potentially enter the labour market in the receiving country. However, of all asylum seekers in Europe, only 58% are employed.

These numbers illustrate how difficult it is for marginalised groups to integrate professionally. This excludes individuals from society and restricts their financial independence. Hence why integrating them into the workforce should become a priority so that they can fully contribute to society.

One sector that could facilitate this integration is eCommerce : estimates predict 15,000 job creations in Spain by 2020. However, this does pose an additional challenge. Transportation is a huge contributor to the world’s carbon emissions, with freight movements accounting for up to 40% of this carbon footprint. Policies are changing rapidly with increasing restrictions on carbon-emitting vehicles, in order to reduce pollution in city centers. There is a pressing need for sustainable delivery services, especially in Europe’s crowded cities.

COULD THIS BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INEFFICIENT URBAN DELIVERY SERVICES TO BRING THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF JOBS TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES?

Koiki, one of the cohort of the MAN Impact Accelerator answers with a resolute yes as they strive to hit the triple bottom line. Their inclusive and sustainable last mile delivery network has three important goals:

i) provide jobs for marginalised individuals in the last mile delivery of goods, helping them to acquire skills and build careers

ii) cut CO2 emissions in cities, by delivering the goods mainly on foot or bicycle

iii) follow a sustainable economic model so they can scale their impact and create more empowering opportunities for the marginalised

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Companies like this can positively contribute to both climate change and the social inclusion of people with disabilities. Let’s explore Koiki’s cutting edge solutions and highlight the various insights everybody could gain from their model.

Koiki stands out from the crowd, by differentiating the way they solve the social and environmental issues mentioned above.

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MARGINALISED INDIVIDUALS ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF KOIKI’S BUSINESS

Hiring people suffering from social exclusion - the so called ‘koikis’, that live in the client’s neighbourhood, make deliveries by foot or bike, instead of polluting cars done by employees that are not local to the client.

CUSTOMERS DECIDE THE DELIVERY TIME

This personalised service brings many benefits. Customers, rather than transport/courier companies, choose a precise delivery time window that fits their schedule. This ensures they are at home and the delivery is successful. The majority of online buyers today still cannot, even in an approximate way, choose the exact time they want to receive their parcel. This current distribution model has a delivery ratio of 70% because the customer is often not at home. With the remaining 30% requiring repeated delivery attempts, an inefficient service affects all parties involved.

NEIGHBOURHOOD RELATIONSHIPS ARE STRENGTHENED.

Deliveries are repeatedly done by the same ‘koiki’ from the customer’s neighborhood. Unlike normal e-Commerce purchases, where potentially numerous different couriers deliver your online orders, the Koiki business model builds and strengthens relationships in the neighbourhood.

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A VERY SIMPLE LAST MILE DELIVERY NETWORK USING URBAN MICRO HUB CENTERS

BUT, WHAT IS A KOIKI CENTER?

The Koiki Center is a ‘microcenter’ using the physical spaces of different associations or NGOs for the storage of the parcels - and this is where the ‘koikis’ are often sourced from. Vehicles only enter the neighbourhood once, delivering a large group of packages at the ‘Koiki Center’ - saving time, costs and fuel. From these centers, the ‘koikis’ are responsible for communicating with the customer and to guarantee scheduled deliveries, which take no more than 10 minutes, either by foot, bike or with an electric vehicle. They safely store the package until the time the customer wants it delivered at home.

This way, it is an extremely efficient service that improves customer experience and therefore benefits both online stores and customers.

3 WAYS KOIKI CAN BE INTEGRATED

1. Online stores and retailers such as Zalando integrate Koiki in their front end. Once the consumer buys online and chooses the Koiki service, they select the delivery option and time, on the retailer’s web page. This company sends the parcel to the Koiki Center and the ‘Koiki’ does the last leg.
2. Koiki can also be integrated in the back end, so the customer buys online, choosing the Koiki service and the customer interacts with the Koiki micro hub center directly. The ‘koiki’ lets the customer know the parcel has been received at the center and speaks to the customer via Whatsapp to discuss the time of delivery.
3. Koiki can be integrated with the transport company directly (e.g,. DHL) that has the need for sustainable and personalized distribution in an area. Koiki takes care of the last mile delivery.

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KOIKI’S IMPACT TODAY

• In 2018 419 ‘koikis’ were trained, and 101 ‘koikis’ work daily for the company. Koiki’s network delivers around 12,000 parcels per month, from 40 Koiki Centers in 20 different cities across Spain.
• 70% of of Koiki deliveries are on foot, 20% by bike and 10% by electric car (only for the too far or heavy parcels).
• It is estimated that for every package received or sent through a Koiki, 0.42 kg CO2 emission is saved, reducing around 50% CO2 impact on last mile delivery of parcels - favoring less noise, traffic and pollution in cities.
• Koiki’s last mile service has already saved 40 tons of CO2 emission, in comparison to other delivery models.

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TURNING VULNERABILITY INTO POSSIBILITY

Koiki provides support to these marginalised groups by:

1. EMPLOYMENT
2. Koiki makes sure those that are often written off by the rest of society are not left out and are given the opportunity to contribute back to society, helping them to become breadwinners for their families.
3. EMPOWERMENT
4. Koiki implements practices, and uses accessible technology to help ‘koikis’ gain skills and maximise their integration to the workforce in the long term. The operation of the mobile app is extremely accessible and inclusive. The local entities provide a mentor or tutor to train the ‘koikis’ for several months to begin with to support their work in a stable and supportive environment. Over time, the ‘koikis’ learn how to work with responsibility, and believe that they can fully participate in the digital reality of today, that is becoming increasingly important in our lives.  
5. ENGAGEMENT
6. The model is particularly important in building a stronger social fabric in local neighbourhoods. The social interaction is a win-win from both sides. It helps ‘koikis’ integrate into their local community, and for customers, knowing exactly who will deliver their goods - receiving a first name exchange and smile from the ‘koiki’, is always a positive experience. Knowing your courier is also particularly useful for the customer, in case they need to return a purchase. Additionally, the company has created significant awareness around the benefits of making a workplace more inclusive and better for everyone, inspire other delivery companies to work with marginalised people to bridge the gap of social exclusion.
   
   As I’m sure you will agree, Koiki makes a solid case of how social and environmental problems can be tackled jointly while providing additional value to all parties involved. They offer an inspiring example of how harnessing the power of social business can deliver countless benefits.  
7. During the MAN Impact Accelerator journey, we look forward to working with Koiki to help them replicate their service all over Spain and other European cities to maximise their impact!

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If you would like to speak to Koiki directly, please contact Solene our Communications Manager for MAN Impact Accelerator.