Forskip: private forwarding - how to cater to business environment needs
At TransRussia’2009 Latvian forwarding company Forskip has presented its new service - private forwarding. Christina Baltach, the CEO and developer of a new concept, is sure that it is not just an innovation, but a product in high demand.
The most vivid association with your service is private banking, that actually has emerged in the rising market for individual work with certain clients. You have presented private forwarding when the market is sliding. Why is it so?
I am sure: we are dealing not just with market fluctuation but with global business model change. The former forwarding system was oriented towards big volumes, and focused on growth, operating as a production line. When the volumes dropped, big freight forwarders, that were the main players in the market, have demonstrated a lack of maneuver capacity, inability to cater to the clients’ individual needs in regards of both efficient delivery and payment for the services. Still, services, that they were famous for – various services from one supplier - are still in demand. This service model is being offered by Forskip, providing an excellent mix of a global forwarder’s wide ”assortment” and flexibility of a small private company in the framework of private forwarding.
How is it possible?
Thanks to our partners’ network. We have searched for partners, have selected and tested them, creating a network of offices all around the world together with Chinese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, American and European partners. We have spent several years before we selected every partner, studying the clients’ feedback with the aim to understand what problems the relevant partner is able to solve best of all. Be it LCL lines from Asia or full container load - these would be different partners. Global forwarding brands strive for flexibility of choice by establishing their own offices on all continents. We are able to achieve the same result by the means of 60 partners’ offices, preserving the main competitive advantage of a small company – flexibility and focus on the client’s needs. The client does not have to climb bureaucratic staircases to solve his/her problem or try to shift inert mechanism. Forskip is able to make concessions!
Why do you perceive that we witness not a crisis of economics but a mere change of business model?
Clients are less willing to pay for a fashionable brand; they need efficient performance, focused on development of their business. We are not following some guideline or reporting to some regional boss and we can provide our client with the service in the form that is convenient for him/her. The invoice , that is printed in Russian, or possibility to credit payment for services in Belarus roubles to the account of our Belarus branch – these are just trivia , but still peculiar ambiance based on individual touch is being created. No financial expenses are involved – just trained personnel and a new philosophy of business. This philosophy is the main asset that we have created. We developed it several years ago, but now many companies change their approach to logistics and are ready to understand our point.
It is assumed that the main factor of a business transaction is price, but the individual tailor-made service cannot be cheap.
Well, it does not mean that it has to be very expensive! We negotiate price with our client without participating in tenders based on dumping. We will not always be the cheapest, it is not our objective. Still, if Forskip is transshipping incomplete container, we might offer vacant container space to our client at a very attractive price.
Clients are attracted not only by the price; they are interested in risk mitigation and risk stringent assessment. Flexibility, wide range of various services, anticipation of client’s demands are crucially important. Efficient delivery allows the client to focus on his/her main business and provides an opportunity to free resources that were previously deployed for cargo”escort”.
Why other forwarding companies choose to become your clients?
They need a share of service that is provided through our trusted partners, which are difficult to find. We do not have to check quality of pre-carriage and export formalities on FOB terms at dispatch – the sender pays our agent for that – but it is important for our client that this job is performed up-to-the-mark.
Our motto – Forskip never sleeps! Being in direct contact with the contractor, we launch a series of operations from Riga and set into motion all our partners on all continents in 60 representative offices to keep the cargo moving. We are authorized and entitled to issue instructions to our partners, to coordinate their activities and control cargo directly, that is impossible for an ordinary intermediary.
Is there any difference between Russian and Baltic clients?
Previously it was possible to find differences. At present Russian people omit stereotypes and start to seek new opportunities. Our booth at TransRussia exhibition was approached by many people due to the fact hat we are able to offer individual service for LCL /small cargoes and European service style. We have created LCL line and we were able to catch the trend. The big companies would have spent years for that purpose.
