BACE

What BACE does

BACE GmbH is a German urban-logistics infrastructure company founded in 2023 in Dortmund. It builds and operates "bace Hubs" — automated, multi-service physical stations installed in public or semi-public spaces that consolidate package pickup (across all major parcel carriers), Click & Collect order collection, One Delivery premium consolidated logistics, local-product sales (Instant Buy, Shop & Collect), returns, and community services (Rent, Raffle) into a single access point. End users interact with hubs via QR-code scan and a frictionless browser-based web app, with no app download or registration required. The company currently operates one hub, the bace Hub Buexe in Dortmund Phoenix West, and lists Dortmund, Hamburg, Südwestfalen, München, Köln, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Hannover, and Berlin as target expansion cities.

The core technology is a self-developed hardware-and-software platform ("bace Hub Platform") deployed in two form factors: a Stationary Hub with higher compartment capacity, expandable modules (LED advertising screens, EV charging, future cooling for fresh goods and medicine) for high-traffic fixed locations, and a Mobile Hub — battery-powered and transportable — for events, pop-ups, new-neighborhood pilots, and construction-phase real estate projects. The platform is provider-agnostic (accepts all major parcel carriers) and supports white-labeling and ad-inventory integration for partners such as real estate operators, municipalities, and brands.

Commercially, BACE pursues a hybrid go-to-market: direct enterprise sales — delivered through Calendly consultation bookings and a "Standort anfragen" inquiry flow — target cities, municipalities, real estate developers, retail chains, and coworking operators. End consumers access hubs via a self-serve web app. Revenue is generated across multiple streams: hardware sales and platform licensing, transaction and per-parcel fees, marketplace commissions on local retail sales, white-label licensing and LED advertising inventory, and managed-services fees for mobile-hub rentals. The company was co-founded by BEHIND VENTURES (Dahmen brothers), the Dortmund-based DERWALD Family Office, and J.D. Geck, a leading manufacturer from Lüdenscheid that produces the physical hubs, with additional strategic backing from Dr. Henning Kreke (Douglas Group co-owner) and Sparkasse Dortmund–affiliated SeedCapital Dortmund. As of November 2023, BACE had closed a seed round of approximately $1.43M.

Name

BACE

Legal name

BACE GmbH

Website

https://bacehub.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BACE GmbH, founded 2023 in Dortmund, builds self-service "bace Hubs" consolidating package pickup, local commerce, returns, and community services in Germany. The company serves cities, real estate developers, retailers, and consumers via proprietary hardware and a frictionless QR-code web app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Logistics Infrastructure

NAICS

Local Messengers and Local Delivery (4922), Lessors of Miniwarehouses and Self-Storage Units (531130)

SIC

Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)

akta.pro primary industry

SMB/Commercial B2C Standard Parcel Delivery (TLAAACAB)

Keywords

• Urban logistics infrastructure
• Parcel pickup hubs
• Click and collect
• Last-mile delivery
• Smart city infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Dortmund

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hub Hardware & Platform Licensing: BACE provides modular hardware hubs and software platform to partners (real estate, cities, retailers). Revenue is generated through hub deployment and platform licensing fees.
2. Click & Collect & Shop Services: Retailers and local shops integrate with the bace hub for order collection and local product sales. Revenue may derive from transaction fees or commission on sales fulfilled through the hub's shop functionality.
3. One Delivery Premium Logistics: Premium consolidated delivery service where all packages from shops and parcel services are consolidated and handed over at the hub or delivered to the home. Revenue from logistics service fees.
4. Parcel Consolidation & Pick-Up Services: Hub accepts packages from multiple parcel services, holding them securely until pickup. Revenue may come from fees charged to logistics partners or retailers for consolidated handling.
5. White Labeling & Advertising Integration: Partners (real estate owners, municipalities, brands) can white-label the hub and integrate advertising on LED screens. Revenue from white-label licensing and ad inventory.
6. Mobile Hub Rental for Events & Pop-ups: Mobile hubs are battery-powered, transportable units deployed temporarily at events, markets, new neighborhoods, or construction sites. Revenue from rental or service fees for mobile deployments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BACE sells and licenses a self-developed urban logistics hardware and software platform — the "bace Hub" — which is a digital service station installed in public space that consolidates parcel pickup (Click & Collect, One Delivery), local product sales (Instant Buy, Shop & Collect), and return/drop-off services into a single automated point. The hub is offered in stationary and mobile variants, accessed via QR code and a registration-free web app, and is sold or licensed to B2B partners including cities, real estate developers, retailers, and local shops, while end consumers use it free of charge.

Product overview

BACE operates a unified urban logistics and retail infrastructure platform centered on the bace Hub — a digital service station available in both stationary and mobile forms. The platform integrates three core service layers: Pick-Up (package collection, Click & Collect, and One Delivery consolidated logistics), Shop (Instant Buy, Shop & Collect, Rent, and Raffle), and Drop (return and hand-off services). The entire ecosystem is powered by the proprietary bace Hub Platform — a self-developed hardware and software system — and accessed via the bace WebApp, which requires no app download or user registration. Different hub formats (Stationary Hub and Mobile Hub) serve distinct use cases from high-volume fixed locations to temporary pop-up and event deployments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• One Delivery: Premium logistics service where all packages from shops and delivery services are consolidated for handover at the hub or delivered to the home.
• Click & Collect
• bace Plattform

Products and services

• bace Hub Digital service station installed in public space that consolidates package pickup, local product sales, and service hand-offs into a single automated infrastructure point, controlled via QR code and web app. Sold or licensed to B2B partners such as cities, real estate developers, and retailers.
• bace WebApp Mobile-first web application that lets users locate nearby bace Hubs, manage orders and pickups, browse and purchase local products via Instant Buy, participate in raffles, and access Shop & Collect and One Delivery services without downloading an app or registering.
• bace Hub Platform Self-developed hardware and software platform that manages hub operations, user interactions, service integrations, and data flows across both stationary and mobile hub units for B2B partners.
• Stationary Hub Fixed-installation bace Hub with higher compartment capacity and modular expandability, designed for high-volume permanent deployments; integrates LED screens for advertising and civic communication, EV charging infrastructure for bikes and cars, and planned cooling for fresh goods and medicine.
• Mobile Hub Battery-powered, transportable bace Hub that can be placed at a location for a limited time and repositioned, used for pilots in new neighborhoods or cities, events, markets, campaigns, and real estate projects under construction.
• One Delivery Premium consolidated logistics service that aggregates all packages from shops and parcel carriers for coordinated handover at the user's preferred time, either at the bace Hub or delivered to the home.
• Click & Collect Service enabling customers to order online from integrated retailers or pick up locally stored goods at the bace Hub independent of store opening hours, linking online shops and local stores with a 24/7 physical pickup point.

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• SEG LüdenscheidminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStadtentwicklungsgesellschaft (urban development company) of Lüdenscheid. BACE is deploying hub solutions in collaboration with SEG to improve delivery efficiency, strengthen local businesses, and ease citizens' daily lives.
• Unterhaltung LieblingsstückeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal shop partner at the bace Hub Buexe in Dortmund Phoenix West. Provides curated surprise bundles and specialty items sold through the bace hub.
• BLÆK CoffeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal coffee brand partner at the bace Hub Buexe in Dortmund Phoenix West. Products sold through the hub as curated bundles.
• KotleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal product brand partner at the bace Hub Buexe in Dortmund Phoenix West. Products sold through the hub as curated bundles.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Parcel Pending by Quadient: US-based parcel locker provider (acquired by Quadient) serving multifamily residential, retail, and university customers. Comparable business model with provider-agnostic smart locker hardware and software targeting property managers and retailers.
• Swipbox: Danish smart locker provider serving residential, retail, and office locations across Northern Europe. Directly comparable as a multi-vertical automated locker platform with hardware and software offerings targeting real estate and municipal customers.
• Luxer One: US smart locker and package management platform serving multifamily residential, retail, and commercial real estate. Comparable as a B2B-focused parcel locker SaaS and hardware provider with similar property-manager and retailer customer base.
• myflexbox: Austrian-DACH parcel locker startup offering open, multi-carrier automated lockers for residential and retail locations. Closest direct competitor to BACE's provider-agnostic model, sharing target customers (real estate developers, municipalities, retailers) and similar hardware-software platform approach.

Broad incumbents

• InPost: Leading European parcel locker operator (Paczkomaty brand in Poland, expanding across Europe including Germany). Operates automated lockers for multiple carriers; comparable business model and category, but at much larger scale and with stronger locker-only focus.
• DHL Packstation (Deutsche Post DHL): Deutsche Post DHL operates Germany's largest automated parcel locker network with thousands of Packstations nationwide. Directly comparable as a parcel pickup infrastructure provider, but carrier-controlled (DHL only) and far larger scale; represents the dominant incumbent BACE must differentiate against.
• Amazon Hub / Amazon Locker: Amazon operates parcel lockers and counter pickup points across Germany and Europe. Comparable as automated parcel pickup infrastructure, but closed-ecosystem (Amazon orders only) and operated by a much larger platform owner.

Regional players

• HubBox: UK-based click-and-collect parcel pickup network enabling retailers to offer convenient customer collection points. Comparable as an alternative pickup infrastructure provider, but focused on UK retail click-and-collect rather than DACH parcel lockers.
• Zedify: UK sustainable last-mile delivery operator using cargo bikes and micro-hubs for consolidated urban deliveries. Comparable in addressing urban last-mile inefficiency through consolidation and micro-hub infrastructure, though focused on UK and on sustainable delivery rather than pickup lockers.

Emerging players

• Bringmeister / Picnic delivery hubs: Online grocery delivery services (Picnic operates in Germany with neighborhood micro-hubs and bundled last-mile delivery models). Comparable as urban last-mile micro-fulfilment infrastructure operators targeting neighborhood-level consolidation, though focused on grocery rather than multi-category parcels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/bacehub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bacehub

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BACE