In today’s Spotlight On, Jonas Højlund - Business Development Director at UBsend - shares his approach to innovation, agility, and building strong client partnerships at UBsend.
"You could say that initially I didn't really plan on a career within logistics or tech," Jonas shares. Starting in political science, he soon found himself drawn to digital transformation and tech development. This curiosity led him into corporate innovation within the fashion industry, where he spent almost a decade at Bestseller.
"Eventually, I wanted more speed and ownership," Jonas explains. A former colleague and UBsend founder invited him to join the startup, which was then in its early stages. "Now, seven years later, I lead strategic direction, project management, digital product development, and data services."
Reflecting on the transition, Jonas adds, "I didn’t really have a lot of insight into logistics when I worked in fashion. I was familiar with freight forwarding—sea freight, air freight, and so on—but the parcel industry was completely new to me. So starting at UBsend came with a steep learning curve. But it was also super exciting."
"We hire people with deep market experience, from both client and logistics sides," Jonas says. Combined with market research and leveraging industry networks, UBsend builds a strong understanding of potential clients even before the first contact. "We prepare by learning their challenges from the inside out."
UBsend’s platform is carrier-agnostic, offering tailor-made, country-specific logistics solutions. "Instead of one global carrier, we work with local heroes," Jonas explains. This flexibility ensures. UBsend wants to present clients with options that are more specific for the different countries they operate in, ensuring local relevance and improved delivery performance.
This flexibility ensures:
"Our best tool? Relationships," says Jonas. While UBsend uses traditional marketing platforms, face-to-face conversations remain the most effective. "We believe in talking directly to our customers. Face-to-face, if possible. Each client is unique, with their own distinct challenges, so mass communication doesn't suffice. We prefer to understand them deeply and tailor the conversation accordingly."
"We work in small, experienced teams using agile methods," Jonas explains. By breaking onboarding into manageable chunks and using a project model rooted in tech frameworks like Scrum, UBsend delivers value early and often. "Clients benefit from a fast, personalized setup, usually handled by just four core team members."
This cross-functional expertise means that project managers can speak tech, ops leads can understand commercial requirements, and everyone shares responsibility. "It's a very collaborative, dynamic environment," Jonas adds. "With fewer handovers and clearer communication, we can execute more efficiently and be truly agile in our response to client needs."
Rather than focusing on countries, UBsend targets client segments. "We see opportunities everywhere," Jonas shares. By tailoring services to segments' specific needs, UBsend avoids the rigidity of traditional global networks and thrives on adaptability.
When COVID hit, German fashion e-tailer About You wanted to go live in multiple countries fast. "We built a SWAT team and launched in 13 countries in under a year," Jonas says proudly. Jonas recalls how the partnership flourished: "The mutual trust meant we didn’t have to micro-manage every step. We could move fast, solve problems as they arose, and rely on shared commitment to get things done."
It also reshaped the way UBsend operates today. "This project pushed us to innovate not just in speed, but in how we collaborate remotely, break down complexity, and deliver at scale. It was more than a successful onboarding—it was a transformation in how we approach growth opportunities."
UBsend builds in continuous client feedback with weekly check-ins and quarterly reviews. Jonas explains: "Our product and procurement teams are closely aligned with our commercial teams. When clients want something, we move fast to find or develop it."
One example? Label-free returns. "Clients asked. We pushed carriers. And now, it’s a standard part of our service."
One client, operating both online and offline, needed full omnichannel logistics. "It was complicated," Jonas admits. The challenge lay in aligning everyone—client, carriers, and UBsend—around a single approach. "Once alignment was in place, we could move quickly and deliver exactly what the client needed. But without that, even the best system won’t work."
This experience proved that success in complex logistics depends on strong collaboration. "When everyone’s on the same page, we can go live in weeks, not months."
"Our strength is in our relationships," Jonas says. "With clients. With carriers. With partners. If they grow, we grow. And that’s what keeps us moving."
“It’s not just about doing background checks or reading company reports. We want to really understand the client’s challenges from the inside out.”
Jonas Glintborg Højlund - Business Development Director at Ubsend
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