OUR GOALS
With everything we do at Coolblue, we have 2 goals: setting the bar for customer-centric entrepreneurship (NPS) and creating value (EBITDA). They are of equal importance and although optimizing NPS and EBITDA might seem like 2 contradictory goals, in practice, we see that they reinforce each other.
In order to realize our goals, we measure everything. We use the data to build value trees to map out the impact of every underlying driver of the NPS and EBITDA. This way, we clearly see what we can improve for each step of the customer journey. Not only does this lead to the most cost-effective approach on an operational level, but it also results in happy returning customers, who come back more often and recommend us to others.
The customer journey
We do not sell everything. We only offer roughly 1,000 product categories of which we know we can differentiate by offering leading product journeys from start to finish. To do so, we have built our own digital and physical infrastructure in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. It consists of our own central warehouse and depots, nationwide delivery networks, installation services, and physical stores. To support this, we have built an extensive technology and software stack. Our technology platform is continuously optimized by our 63 development teams. They improve the way our website, app, and other applications contribute to the customer journey.
Our infrastructure
Package Park
In Tilburg, we have our own 88,000m2 solar-powered warehouse, our so-called Package Park. Here, we store, pick, and pack all our products. Thanks to our highly automated and mechanized processes, we can make super fast, super efficient delivery propositions. From our Package Park, we ship to our 22 hubs, 25 stores, and 4 million customers in 3 countries.
Delivery and installation networks
For the last mile, we have our own delivery networks in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. We deliver white goods and other large products through our 1 and 2-man delivery networks, through which we also offer placement, installation, and mounting services. For smaller products, we have our bike delivery network in and around 22 large cities. We deliver up to 90% of the smaller parcels this way in these areas. Our delivery networks allow us to constantly deliver on our promise and achieve a high NPS.
Stores
In our 25 physical stores, we offer customers the opportunity to experience products, pick up their online order right away, and get advice from one of our experts about the best product choice for them. Our experts assist with the use of a product, carry out repairs, and help customers with returns. In this offline environment, we still allow our customers to benefit from all the digital advantages we offer. The Coolblue App’s in-store mode automatically registers customers in our queueing system as they come in. It also gives customers easy access to the online information about displayed products and logging them in at the stores.
The website
On our website, customers can find elaborate product information, expert advice, and customer reviews. We highlight the best and most energy-efficient products for their use case with the Coolblue’s Choice and Coolblue’s Green Choice labels. With constant optimizations, we ensure the best possible customer experience. Additionally, we enhance the Self Service capabilities on a frequent basis, giving customers more control over their order.
The Coolblue App
The Coolblue App offers our full range of products and services to more than 1 million users. The app allows us to go one step further in the customer product journey, whether it is virtually placing a tv in a customer’s living room or checking a phone’s compatibility with a phone case in the customer’s shopping cart. It helps us to offer a smoother customer experience by allowing easy track and trace, easy registration of a return, and quickly finding answers to frequently asked questions.
Customer service
We have our own multilingual customer service in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Customers can reach us until midnight every day of the week via phone, email, social media, and our website. Additionally, customers can easily find the right answer to their questions on our customer service page.
Coolblue customer service teams
Coolblue customer service teams are specialized in a specific product type, like washing machines, or a specific stage of the customer journey, such as payments. On top of expert advice, these specialist customer service teams offer an improved customer experience, prevent unnecessary returns, reduce customer effort, and lower operational costs overall. They do so from their own homes, which adds to the flexibility and scalability of our customer service.
Coolblue Energy
Coolblue is for everyone who wants to save energy. And energy saving starts with insights. All Coolblue Energy customers get insight into their energy consumption.
They also get a discount on products such as energy-efficient washing machines, smart plugs, smart lights, solar panels, and charging stations.
On top of that, we have built our own nationwide installation service for solar panels and charging stations. This way, we fully control the entire process and offer the best product journey.
Coolblue Business
Coolblue Business helps various business customer segments with their needs, be it big or small. Freelancers and smaller organizations can quickly and easily arrange matters online. We display prices excluding VAT on our site, provide the option to pay on account, and offer always available Self Service options. Medium-sized and larger businesses benefit from complete solutions from start to end. We provide advice and draft a quotation, after which the customer can simply place an order using their procurement system. Additionally, we install, manage, and secure mobile devices via Mobile Device Management, giving companies complete ease of mind.
CULTURE
These are our core values. They describe who we are, what we represent, what unites us, and how we interact. Our core values define our culture and help us make choices for the future. We use these values for every decision, no matter how small, to see if it would suit us or not.
Unconventional
We are proud of our real, unconventional Coolbluers. That is why they appear on our websites and in our commercials, just the way they are.
Being unconventional means that Coolbluers can and dare to be themselves, regardless of whether they are outgoing or a little more quiet. Although this may sound contradictory, it is precisely this unconventionality that unites us.
We are all doing this for the first time. We might not have all the answers right away, but we will surely try. Because only by doing what no one has done before can we be truly unconventional.
People who are true to themselves are hard to copy. That is why we always ask ourselves with everything we create whether it really suits us. If we were to cover our logo and the remainder cannot be recognized as Coolblue, it needs to be more unconventional.
Friends
There are few companies where so many colleagues are friends as well. Friendship is our strength because together, we know more, we can achieve more, and we have more fun.
People take notice. Such as our customers, who happily visit us again and our suppliers, who view us as long-term partners. We are always honest and direct, even if it is difficult at times. We keep our promises and we are open to feedback.
Friendship can only prosper between equals. That is why ties are the least-common item worn at Coolblue, why Coolbluers honestly speak their minds, and why we are always honest, direct, and open to our customers.
Go for it
Our no-nonsense, entrepreneurial attitude can be phrased in many ways. Less talk, more action. Actions speak louder than words. At Coolblue, we simply refer to this attitude as go for it.
An idea only becomes valuable when given a follow-up. We got to where we are now by preferring immediate action over endless discussions and by doing things a little bit better every day. We improve step by step and detail after detail. Not everything works the first time around, but we take the risk and go for it. We make mistakes and learn from them.
Flexible
We are constantly changing, either because we can or because we have to. Coolblue has had a flexible structure from the start to support our rapid growth. ‘This is how we have always done it’ is never a valid reason for us.
Our flexibility shows in our Coolbluers who do not mind working with a sudden change of plans or team. It also shows in Coolbluers who continue to learn outside of their own expertise. And lastly, our flexibility is reflected by the systems we build that can handle twice the expected load.
Flexibility is also key in our obsessive focus on customer satisfaction. We gladly go the extra mile for our customers and are convinced that exceptions exist to be made. ‘Just because’ is also a valid reason to us.
Simply Amaze
The words simply amaze appear to be contradictory, but describe exactly who we are as Coolblue: both unconventional and down-to-earth.
The term simply speaks volumes. We have simply built a straightforward website where customers can quickly and easily place an order. We then simply package that order in a bag or box and simply ship it to our customers. For free, of course.
Amaze means that we need to exceed expectations and that we need to go the extra mile to surprise our customers, to make them smile. A smile might be a common gesture, but it often requires something amazing.
