ABOUT US

That is how it all started… speedcube.nl was born! This webshop was set up purely out of relaxation, as a hobby, and an interest in new things. Dave had absolutely no experience building a webshop, but he was curious and just went for it. This started with a webshop of only 20 different speedcubes. Well, you have to start somewhere! A small display cabinet measuring 40x28x180 cm was purchased and placed in the bedroom to neatly store the products. During this period, we sent out 1 or 2 packages per month and took them to a PostNL point ourselves. When an order was sold and needed to be shipped, we simply grabbed an old box from previously received products and put it in there.

Started as a hobby in an attic room and grown into a fully-fledged webshop!

Expanding the product range happened at lightning speed. By then, we had more than 100 different types of speedcubes! Naturally, orders were now coming in much higher, and multiple orders were being shipped per week. Everything was still done manually. For instance, we created the shipping labels ourselves and took the packages to a PostNL point every day after 5:00 PM. The time had now also come to ship the products in nice new boxes.

Meanwhile, the ambition to create a comprehensive webshop grew steadily, so we decided to expand. Not only with speedcubes, but also with other specialized toys. For instance, yo-yos and brain teasers were added to the assortment. At that point, all the cabinets and storage spaces were filled with all the items from the webshop. This couldn't go on any longer! Plans were then made to demolish the entire attic and install a dormer window 6 meters deep and 5 meters wide (30m²) to generate as much storage space as possible. As a result, orders were now coming in daily, and we then started automating the shipping process.

Het moment was daar.. de dakkapel werd geplaatst! In deze ruimte hebben wij allemaal stellingen geplaatst. Er werd een systeem bedacht om alle artikelen netjes neer te zetten, waardoor alles makkelijk te pakken was voor de bestellingen. De vervoerder van DHL kwam nu dagelijks langs om de bestellingen op te halen. Dit kon omdat de bestelvolumes inmiddels groot genoeg waren geworden. Hierdoor konden we ook weer een stap zetten in de goede richting.. Er werd namelijk een nieuwe webshop gebouwd door een bedrijf, die dus een stuk professioneler was.

The moment had arrived... the dormer was installed! We installed shelving units throughout this space. A system was devised to neatly arrange all items, making everything easy to access for orders. The DHL carrier now came by daily to pick up the orders. This was possible because the order volumes had become large enough by then. As a result, we were able to take another step in the right direction. A new webshop was being built by a company, which was therefore much more professional.

As everyone knows, the entire world was affected by COVID-19. No one knew exactly what was going on, and people ordered an enormous amount online! Webshops were literally flooded with orders. We, too, pulled out all the stops this year to process the orders and consequently processed more than 25,000. It became clear to us that the current method of storing and processing goods was not sustainable for the future.

We started by devising a structural solution for the storage and processing problem. After 6 months of consultation with PostNL, we found our partner in PostNL Fulfillment. The solution? As of July 22, 2021, the entire inventory was moved to an automated warehouse. This immediately solved our biggest concerns (storage & processing). We can now grow our webshop to its full potential! For us, this also meant that we wanted to create a new webshop. It needed to become even more user-friendly and fully updated to suit today's standards!

This resulted in us having time in 2022 to address other elements of our webshop. For instance, we meet all the requirements of the Thuiswinkel Waarborg certificate and are permitted to display it. We believe it is very important to project trust to our customers. That is why we chose to implement the Kiyoh review system on our webshop. Here, customers can write their own review after making a purchase. Of course, the most important thing for us remains finding the best products that fit our webshop. For instance, we have added the ‘puzzles’ category and sell unique wooden puzzles, among other things. You may also have come across us frequently on social media channels, as we have been actively engaged with them this year.

In 2023, we once again took significant steps to elevate the webshop to an even higher level. One of the highlights of the year was the expansion of the team. By hiring another enthusiastic employee, we can offer even better service to our customers. Optimizing the purchasing process was also high on the agenda. By investing in advanced systems and strong partnerships with suppliers, we can always offer the latest products and competitive prices. You may have noticed, but in 2023 we also launched a blog and an extensive FAQ page. Here, interesting articles and tips regarding our products are shared. Additionally, we extended our partnership with PostNL fulfillment for no less than 3 years. This means that orders are still shipped to customers quickly and reliably. We place great value on good logistics and fast delivery of orders. To emphasize the personal touch of speedcube.nl, we also decided to show the faces behind the company. Customers can now meet the team behind speedcube.nl and see who works daily with great passion to provide the best service and products.

In 2024, we once again took significant steps to improve our services. We further automated various processes and optimized our system. Furthermore, this year we launched a new logo and a fresh design, giving Speedcube.nl a recognizable look. These updates strengthen our identity and make our brand even more recognizable. Customers can now cancel or modify their order shortly after placing it. Previously, this was not possible due to our fully automated Autostore system. Thanks to the partnership with PostNL, we can now adjust or cancel orders some time after placement. This allows us to offer our customers more flexibility and control over their purchasing process. Additionally, we introduced a new concept on our website, which is explained in detail on this page: https://www.speedcube.nl/spelregels. With this concept, we aim to serve our customers even better by always offering the best prices, even for the newest products. Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to a valued colleague this year. Due to changing market demand, increasing competition, and the growing influence of AI on automation, this decision was unavoidable. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to a personal and customer-oriented approach. At Speedcube.nl, we consciously choose not to use AI for direct customer contact. Our customers can count on personal responses from one of our employees, because we believe that personal contact is an essential part of good service.