Munich Startup: What measurable difference does your solution make today?
Anton Eder, Co-Founder & COO: Thanks to our solutions for a successful Post-purchase communication Our customers reduce their WISMO (Where is my order) inquiries by an average of around 30 percent. At the same time, we see higher repurchase rates and improved customer satisfaction. The specific figures vary depending on the retailer, but the effect is clearly visible.
All our solutions are designed to make the post-purchase experience just as good as the purchase itself. We support shoppers from checkout to delivery and beyond, for example, with exchanges or returns. This is often where the difference between a one-time order and a loyal customer is made.
Munich Startup: Why are you faster, better, or bolder than established providers?
Anton Eder: When we launched in 2015, there was hardly any strategically planned and implemented post-purchase communication from retailers after online purchases. Post-shipment communication was almost exclusively handled by parcel delivery services, often very cryptic and without leveraging the potential for retailers on the last mile. We were convinced that brands should shape this phase themselves: more personally, more informatively, and with genuine added value for both sides.
Many told us back then that logistics companies would soon take over this themselves anyway, and that no independent company could emerge from it. We saw things differently and persevered. Today, there are a number of companies in this market, and we are proud to have played a key role in shaping this category.
"Leadership cannot simply be imposed from the outside."
Munich Startup: Which decision has been the most important so far?
Anton Eder: One of the most important decisions was for us, as founders, to take on more responsibility again. We had hired an external CEO who, in turn, brought in some managers from his previous team. After about a year, we realized that this wasn't the right path for Parcellab, and together we pulled the plug.
My personal takeaway is that leadership can't simply be imposed from the outside. Of course, there are many positive counterexamples, but I now believe more strongly in letting people grow into leadership roles from within the company. They already know the culture, the customers, and the product, and they understand the day-to-day operations. For us, this approach has proven more sustainable.
Munich Startup: Which phase caused you the most growing pains?
Anton Eder: Clearly the time after our big Financing roundWe wanted to grow as quickly as possible, hired a large number of people in a short period of time, and tried to do everything at once. In retrospect, we simply weren't organizationally prepared for that.
Another lesson learned was our self-created category, "Operations Experience Management." We deliberately wanted to position ourselves more broadly than as a purely post-purchase solution and invested a lot of time and energy in establishing a distinct category through our terminology. At some point, however, we had to accept that nobody was searching for this term and hardly anyone understood it. Sometimes you have to have the courage to let go.
Sustainably profitable with healthy growth
Munich Startup: Where do you want to be in five years and what absolutely has to happen by then?
Anton Eder: We are already active internationally in Germany, Great Britain, France, and the USA. Over the next five years, our main goal is to be a sustainably profitable company with healthy growth.
At the same time, we want to further develop our platform in an even more consistent, AI-native way. AI will help our customers create better service experiences and make processes significantly more efficient. To achieve this, we must remain focused and consistently invest in our product.
For a long time, the software industry prioritized growth at any cost. Today, in my view, it's about combining innovation with a sound business model. I believe the best companies achieve both. This allows us to structure the company so that it can not only grow profitably on its own but also be highly attractive to strategic partners. This keeps all options open for the next stage of growth in the long term.
Munich Startup: What works particularly well in Munich's startup ecosystem, and where would you like to see more support?
Anton Eder: Munich has developed enormously in recent years. There are many strong founders, good investors, and an open exchange of ideas. We also benefit from this, for example through our investor network.
What I would like to see is even more networking between the startups themselves. There are many exciting companies in Munich. I believe we could learn from each other more often and support each other more.
Parcellab was founded in 2015 by Anton Eder, Tobias Buxhold and Julian Krenge The company was founded in [year missing]. The founding team met in an accelerator program – a collaboration that continues to this day. The company develops software for post-purchase communication and supports retailers in improving the customer experience after online purchases.
Co-Founder and COO Anton Eder He studied business informatics (M.Sc.) and gained seven years of professional experience before founding the company. Today, Parcellab operates internationally and serves clients in Germany, Great Britain, France, and the USA.
Munich Startup: Internationalize or first achieve market leadership in the DACH region?
Anton Eder: We decided to internationalize early on and would make that decision again. Many important retailers in our market are located outside of Germany, which is why this step was important for us.
In my view, market leadership is not something you achieve and then consider a done deal. It has to be earned anew every single day. Therefore, the crucial factor is not the order in which you achieve it, but rather creating genuine added value in every market and achieving sustainable growth.
