Back in 2021 Ralph started as a Commercial Department intern at Bulkio. After his successful completion of the internship he started as a commercial support employee. During his time as commercial support employee he got the chance to develop his knowledge in the market of carriers and customers. He grew significantly in his role which resulted in the opportunity to make the step to commercial manager.
First impression of Bulkio
"My first impression of Bulkio was that it was a bright, innovative and dynamic company. Bulkio does things a little different than other companies in the world of transport, as cliché as that may sound. Bulkio uses the platform as an innovative tool but at the same time is very service- and relationship-oriented towards carriers and customers. Bulkio’s platform helps customers finding a solution for their orders and carriers with filling their trucks, and at the same time contributes to reducing empty miles and thus helps companies meet their CO2 targets.
The role of commercial manager
“As Commercial Manager I am mainly responsible for the account management of our customers across Europe. But it is also important for us that we keep developing our network of customers to provide our carriers with orders. Therefore I am also involved in business development for Bulkio. What I enjoy most in my job is the contact with both the carrier side and the customer side. Being able to connect them and convince them of how all three parties (carrier, customer, Bulkio) can benefit is what drives me.”
Challenges
“The biggest challenge is always to keep both customer and carrier happy. Last year there were more orders than there was available capacity among carriers, resulting in crazy prices for the carriers. This year the market has turned around completely and there is much more availability of trucks with much less orders. This means the customer has multiple options for their order, which then results in the customer dictating the price. These challenges are what makes the world of transport compelling and exciting.”
“What has made the biggest contribution in my development is being able to act in sales as well as purchasing. Learning how to be of best service to customers and how to be of best service to carriers. But also internally I find a lot of joy and satisfaction in supervising and guiding our interns and new commercial support employees. It’s great to see them developing and being critical of themselves to get the best results.”
“I’m looking forward to what the future brings for Bulkio, and my role in it. Growing together with Bulkio and convince people of all benefits that Bulkio has to offer. In my opinion this is just the beginning for Bulkio… the sky is not the limit.”