Of the total trade between the UK and Serbia, Ferry Agent’s share in transport services is over 40%
Professional approach to clients and superior transport services have made Ferry Agent a leader in the UK market for 15 years. Some of the renowned companies such as Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Air Serbia, ITN Group, Alumil and many others have been using the company’s services for more than a decade. Furthermore, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia has included Ferry Agent, which specializes in providing logistics services and organizing transport to and from Great Britain, in a club of successful small and medium-sized enterprises. We talked to Ferry Agent’s director, Stevan Gadol, about the company’s successes, challenges and new plans.
Ferry Agent has been in business for 16 years. What were your biggest challenges along the way and what results are you most proud of?
We overcame the first challenge in 2014 when we cooperated with a partner from Great Britain who had a logistics centre and from whom we rented a warehouse in the northern part of London. This has helped us to gather smaller shipments in one place. As a result, we launched our own service and provided better quality transport, thus enabling us to occupy the leading position in the British market. The challenge was to find as many clients in Serbia as possible who import goods from Great Britain. Given that we had previously been briefly involved in the sale of tickets for the Ferry ship, that transports trucks and passengers between France and England, we already knew 90% of the carriers travelling to the UK to whom we could offer our transport service.
“Our team of 12 people generates a total turnover of 10 million euro per year, which is impressive”
Now, after 16 years of business, Ferry Agent comprises a successful team of 12 people, and it generates an annual turnover of 10 million euro. Through diligent and dedicated work, we have been gradually increasing the number of our clients while the company’s turnover grew rapidly. We are especially proud of the fact that we have been cooperating with almost 80% of our current clients for more than 10 years which testifies to our approach to clients, the quality of our services and successful business. I would also like to underline that of the total trade between the UK and Serbia, our logistics company’s share in transport services is over 40%.
Why do clients put their trust in you?
Working for a logistics company in England had a big influence on how I run my business today. I applied their business principle that the client is always right in my business as well. Your approach to clients is of crucial importance, as is understanding their needs and offering them what they want. Sometimes we even shipped the goods by plane at our expense to respect the client and the promised deadline. Everything is based on professional relationship and respect for the client.
In addition to having a good approach to your clients, top-notch services also set you apart from the competition. Tell us more about that.
We specialize in groupage transport from Great Britain to Serbia and vice versa. We have regular daily departures in both directions and that is what sets us apart from the competition. We provide transport of all types of goods – from flammable and frozen to ordinary commercial products. All goods loaded during the week will be delivered by the end of the following week at the latest. I would also like to point out that when the client entrusts us with transporting their goods, we completely take over further communication with their supplier so that the importer does not have to think about the shipment at all. I would especially like to underline that Ferry Agent is the only logistics company in Serbia that has additional ALL RISK insurance, so the goods are additionally insured beyond the mandatory CMR insurance, which has very limited coverage, and which is also another advantage of working with us.
We are also working on implementing online tracking of goods soon so that our customers know the whereabouts of their shipment at all times.
How has Ferry Agent been affected by the coronavirus pandemic?
Transport was difficult and the movement of goods slowed down a bit during the pandemic. We recorded a 30% decline in April last year, but the state aid arrived at the right time, thanks to which we managed to bridge that month. Although we had a difficult year, we accomplished positive results in 2020, as well as recorded growth compared to 2019.