Told by Founder Rob van Gent

After more than ten years in the e-commerce industry, I’ve seen the market undergo radical changes," says Rob van Gent, founder of nlockd. "Where it used to be enough to set up a webshop and drive traffic via Google, platforms like Amazon, Bol.com, and Kaufland are now the dominant forces. The customer journey has completely changed, and brands need to adapt intelligently."

Rob’s journey began in the early days of e-commerce, with a focus on building webshops and manually managing campaigns. But as platforms grew more important, he saw brands struggling with scalability and complexity. "Everyone used their own systems, product data was often inconsistent, and advertising budgets were inefficiently allocated. That had to change."

The Game-Changer: Artificial Intelligence

The breakthrough came with AI. "When I discovered the possibilities of artificial intelligence, my entire vision changed. AI doesn’t just automate processes—it makes them smarter. It learns from data, optimizes campaigns, and predicts customer behavior. With AI, I could envision a world where brands no longer had to struggle with technology but could focus entirely on growth."

Harnessing the power of AI, Rob developed nlockd: a platform enabling brands to seamlessly connect to hundreds of marketplaces, reach millions of consumers, and automate advertising. "Brands only need to upload their products—nlockd takes care of the rest. No settings, no manual campaign management. That’s the efficiency I always envisioned."

The New Customer Journey

Rob also saw how AI transformed the customer journey. "Consumers are no longer solely influenced by search engines or traditional ads. They’re inspired by personalized content and seamless recommendations. With AI, brands can perfectly tailor their products to the desires of customers, across any channel, in any region."

For nlockd, this means that even small brands can compete on a global scale. "It’s no longer about size but about intelligence. By leveraging AI for everything—from pricing and advertising to content optimization—companies can lower costs and increase revenue."

Efficiency as the Key

"What fascinates me most," Rob explains, "is the enormous efficiency AI makes possible. Where companies used to spend hours on product management, pricing, and advertising, it can now be done in minutes. By centralizing and automating everything, nlockd ensures that brands grow without added workload or complex systems."

The Future According to nlockd

For Rob, this is just the beginning. "The future of e-commerce lies in hyper-personalization, dynamic pricing, and niche platforms. Nlockd goes beyond just large marketplaces; we’re developing tools to even transform webshops into powerful sales channels. And with AI, brands will soon be able to fine-tune prices, content, and ads even more precisely to meet customer demands."

"My mission," Rob concludes, "is to provide brands with the tools to sell smarter, grow faster, and reach the world—without losing themselves in technology. Nlockd is that mission in action."