By Alex Hassel, Storage.com
After pioneering the on-demand storage market back in 2012, Boxbee is now influencing the self storage industry in a different way.
Kristoph Matthews, Founder and CEO of Boxbee, sold the company’s on-demand service to records management company Iron Mountain earlier in 2016 to help others develop their own on-demand businesses. Now, Boxbee is unveiling a new proprietary software platform that allows entrepreneurs or storage operators to create and manage their own storage services with on-demand pick-up and delivery.
The platform’s design allows someone to set up their own service in just a couple of minutes. Matthews wanted to make on-demand service a possibility to storage operators who otherwise wouldn’t know how to build the software or manage such a business as it grows.
“Just as customers have come to expect ‘on-demand’ levels of service in all areas of their lives, the self storage industry, too, is rapidly evolving with on-demand pickups and deliveries,” says Matthews. “For most storage entrepreneurs, managing on-demand pickups and deliveries requires expensive and complicated software. We make that part easy and affordable.”
Matthews brought in some heavy hitters to make it happen. There’s a solid team of software engineers, product managers, and sales staff along with new leadership from Dev Tandon, former Etsy executive, who will take on the role of COO. Before joining Boxbee, Tandon led the creation of Etsy Wholesale, a business-to-business marketplace that connects Etsy sellers with large retailers like Nordstrom, Whole Foods, and West Elm.
“I build tools that help entrepreneurs compete with the big guys in established industries, and that’s exactly what we’re doing at Boxbee,” says Tandon. “Anyone who wants to be their own boss but doesn’t want to be an Uber driver or own a fast-food franchise now has another choice. Now, all you need is some space, some wheels, and Boxbee to get into the storage business and offer customers in your community a robust storage service with on-demand pickup and delivery.”
Key platform features include:
- Easy, free setup of a storage service in just a few minutes.
- A sleek, branded website for customers to sign up, make pick-up and delivery appointments, view stored items, and manage their accounts.
- An admin website to easily manage customer service, billing, and every aspect of ground operations for warehouse staff and drivers.
- The ability to set driver routes based on appointments and manage stored inventory in a safe way.
- A mobile app for drivers to see their routes, appointments, and customer information while en route.
- A mobile app for warehouse staff to barcode, track, and securely manage customers’ items within the warehouse.
At this time, Boxbee’s site says the new software is still in its beta testing stage. Costs for the product have not yet been released.
Photo courtesy of Boxbee.
Alex Hassel is News Reporter for Storage.com. If you’d like to pitch Alex a self storage industry news story, email alex.hassel@storage.com or call 402-779-7328.
