Ottawa-based on-demand delivery service GoFor Industries announced on January 11 that it has partnered with a California-based electrical vehicle fleet provider to electrify its fleet.

The partnership is part of GoFor’s commitment to reduce its environmental and energy footprint.

“The green logistics marketplace aligns with our core values, which are rooted in driver and vehicle safety coupled with environmental protection,” said Brad Rollo, GoFor CEO. “We are aiming to convert half of our fleet to electric by 2025, beginning with GoFor’s California-based fleet, followed by rapid expansion across North America. With these electric vehicles, we hope to help reduce air pollution, cut sound and help reduce carbon emissions in the inner cities.”

GoFor, which received $20 million in Serie A growth funding in December, was founded in 2016 as an on-demand delivery service for contractors.

Co-founder Brad Rollo worked for 10 years in the industry, and saw a gap in the market where it came to the last-minute delivery of small material orders. In 2020, the firm partnered with Home Depot across Canada, and has since branched out to become logistics providers for Home Hardware, Emco Corporation, Fastenal, Modern Niagara, Wolseley, Ikea and many others.

The company delivers hundreds of thousands of packages annually across Canada and in such major urban centres in the United States as Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington DC, San Francisco, Memphis, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Phoenix, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Charlotte.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a significant jump in demand for GoFor’s services. Between March and December 2020, the company made more than 200,000 deliveries, and saw revenue growth of more than 500 percent.

The increase in demand for its services caused GoFor to consider not only the environmental impact of its operations, but also potential cost savings associated with going electric. Its partnership with electrical vehicle fleet as a service provider Royale EV will enable the firm to lunch electric vehicle delivery early this year.

“Market demand far outstrips supply right now, and the biggest challenge fleet operators face is how to manage the complexity and cost of switching to an unfamiliar transportation platform and infrastructure,” said Ian Gardner, Royale EV CEO. “We make switching transportation platforms easy by managing all of the different elements for the operator and by giving a superior delivery experience at a steady, predictable cost.”

“Online buying and consumers that want their products delivered today are here to stay,” said Rollo. “Our focus is on helping businesses big or small get their products into the hands of customers faster — with an 11 out of 10 delivery experience every time.”