With the merging of Swiss- German group Militzer & Münch, which has existed for 140 years, and Serbian company Invictus, the market gained an exclusive provider of complete logistics services and a new leader of the transport and logistics sector.
At this company they say that they differ from the competition in terms of their top performance and the dedication of all team members, which is why their logistics services are in great demand. Apart from that, the company has the strong support of the extensive network of M&M affiliates and experts, with many years of experience.
When you founded this joint venture a year ago, your goal was to create the leading logistics company in Serbia within two years. How far are you from achieving that goal? How did the pandemic impact on that?
Considering that Militzer & Münch Serbia recently celebrated its first birthday, we are very proud of achievements in the first year of operations. Before the founding of this joint venture, Militzer & Münch was more or less unknown in our country, which is why we first had to present the M&M brand, which has existed on the international market since 1880. Today, after a year, Militzer & Münch Serbia is recognised as a serious market competitor, bearing in mind the experience of our team and our extensive network of branches in 30 countries around the world.
Our goal is to be among the leaders of the transport and logistics sector in Serbia within two years. Customer satisfaction is our primary focus. We analyse demand on the logistics market and adapt our services optimally to the requirements of our customers. Our top performances and the dedication of our team has already set us apart from the competition, which is why there is great demand for our logistics services. Since the joint venture was established last autumn, operations have developed well and we are convinced that we will succeed in achieving our goal. We are proud to see that our services are in such high demand after such a short time.
“In accordance with the needs of clients, branches have opened in Požega, Velika Plana and the CI Terminal, alongside offices in Leskovac and Dobanovci.”
In just one year of operations, our client portfolio has grown to include some very well-known companies that represent large greenfield investments in the country and can note with satisfaction that these are contracts in which we’re the exclusive provider of the entire logistics services. On the other hand, like the rest of the market, we felt the impact of COVID-19, because in most cases factories reduced their production capacities and thereby reduced the demand for transport and freight forwarding services, while increasing their demand for storage capacity. As a consequence of this, back in March, at the beginning of the pandemic, the management of Militzer & Münch Serbia adopted an extraordinary business plan with which we managed to maintain liquidity and preserve business at the same level as before the pandemic. Furthermore, our business actually developed the most during that period, because by reacting quickly and reorganising we succeeded in providing the market with services adapted to the new situation.
How important is this joint venture for the numerous German companies that have production facilities in Serbia?
We are currently facing a large number of greenfield investments from all over the world, and mostly greenfield investments from Germany. Each of these companies comes from countries where they are provided with the highest quality service and we see our potential and advantage over the competition in the fact that we are able to provide new companies with the kind of service that they’ve become accustomed to in their home countries and thus ensure that they feel at home. And we can provide and enable all that thanks to the full support of the extensive network of M&M branches and experts with many years of experience with international logistics companies on the territory of Serbia. We analyse demand on the logistics market and adapt our services optimally to the requirements of our customers.
Militzer & Münch has focused in Serbia on road transport, exports, imports and customs clearances. Do you plan to expand your portfolio and capacity, which is already considered enviable, both when it comes to personnel and space?
Cooperation was established in a very short period with leading German companies that operate on the Serbian market, for which we are the exclusive provider of logistics services. In accordance with the needs of clients, branches were opened in Požega, Velika Plana and the CI Terminal. In addition to these offices, offices have been opened in Leskovac and Dobanovci since the founding of M&M. Considering the unexpected growth of the company, the office in Dobanovci was relocated in mid-August to a new office and warehouse space of 10,500m2, and the plan is to solve the issue of our own space as early as the start of 2021, so we are considering building a new logistics centre with modern-equipped offices in Dobanovci.
Given that clients dictate the pace of development, M&M’s portfolio of services includes a entire array of services, starting with international road transport, logistics, freight forwarding, air and sea transport. A challenge for us is also the development of collective lines in the countries of the region, which is why we’re already working on the opening of offices in Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and North Macedonia, which will be under the control of the branch in Dobanovci, as the main centre in the Balkans. I can state with pride that the M&M operations team has established excellent collective lines in Germany, Italy and Austria, via its dense network of branches in these countries.
With regard to this, there is no doubt that the positioning of Serbia is of great geostrategic importance in terms of the new Silk Road and that we represent a kind of bridge to the EU, and above all a bridge to the most important European ports and road routes. That’s why our long-term plan is also to develop a network of branches and services in the countries of the region in order to ensure better connectivity.
