Roland Raith, managing director of Gebruder Weiss in Serbia - Our mission is to offer service excellence to our clients in Serbia

"In 2004, Gebrüder Weiss was established in Serbia and since then we have consistently grown here. In total, we have invested 16 million EUR in logistics, terminals, equipment, officebuildings, parking space and properties. In 2018, Gebrüder Weiss achieved a turnover of 28 million EUR. We currently employ 250 workers in Serbia and at the moment, have a logistics area of 20,000 m2", said for eKapijaRoland Raith, managing director of Gebrüder Weiss in Serbia.

eKapija: You have recently been promoted to managing director of Gebrüder Weiss in Serbia. How do you evaluate the situation in the transport and logistics market?

- I started my career in 1997 with Gebrüder Weiss in Graz and I have always had close contact with Western Balkans countries. Between 2007 and 2010, I held several positions with Gebrüder Weiss in Slovenia, including managing director. First time in 2010, I came to Serbiaand since then I've been working with my colleagues on upgrading the company's operations.Gebrüder Weiss is now the biggest international logistics company in Serbia, providing its clients with a wide range of logistics services in the entire supply chain.

eKapija: What do you see as Serbia's advantage in this area, and where do you see opportunities for further improvement?

- Regarding the transport and logistics market, one of the greatest advantages in Serbia are the well-trained andskilled workforce. Also, in the past few years, there has been a range of important investments, and the arrival of large European companies is always a good sign for international investors.

As for the challenges, the biggest one is that Serbia is not yet part of the EU, which largely limits logistics companies and their clients. One example is the waiting times up to 24 hours at the border to Croatia and Hungary.

There are also some local restrictions, which makes the domestic transport and deliveries more complicated - for example locators on trucks.

eKapija: How can all these problems be solved?

- We are in constant communication with the authorities to solve the issues mentioned before. As problems occur not just in Serbia, but on the Croatian and the Hungarian border as well, the competent institutions from all three countries are constantly communicating, trying to find the right solution for all three sides.

eKapija: Do you think the announced investments will have a positive impact on the transport and logistics sector, but also on attracting investment in general?

- Yes, definitely. It's always important to have good infrastructure for investors, with good highways and connections. This provides us with an essential basis for doing our job, but also for attracting new large investments.

eKapija: You have already mentioned some of the advantages of the Serbian market, and is there something that makes Serbia especially stand out when it comes to transport and logistics?

- Serbia has a good geostrategic position, and another advantage is that it is part of the new planned Silk Roadbetween Asia and Central Europe. This can be important for all companies which operate in the transport and logistics market.

eKapija: Gebrüder Weiss provides a wide range of services to its customers. What would you single out as the most important?

- I wouldn't single out a particular service. Over the years, Gebrüder Weiss has developed a range of solutions and services. We offer our customers land transport, air and sea freight, customs clearance, warehouse logistics and recently also home delivery. We set for ourselves the task of always paying attention to what the clients need, providing the best sustainable solutions in line with that. Each client has different needs and demands, so we constantly invest in new solutions.

eKapija: As previously mentioned, home delivery was launched. What are your experiences with the service?

- We started this home delivery service a few years ago and it is very important for us. In 2018, Gebrüder Weiss Serbia handled340,000 shipments, 80,000 of which belong to the home delivery service. The growth in this segment is the result of the accelerated development of online commerce, and the biggest demand is for special services of the transportation of devices such as washing machines, refrigerators and furniture. In addition to Serbia, ourhome delivery service is also developed in Austria and other east European countries.

eKapija: Your company is one of the pioneers in implementing dual education. What are your experiences in Serbia?

- Several weeks ago we had a big event with the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia and the Austrian Economic Chamber. It was truly great to hear about the various experiences and the results achieved in this sector. In Austria, dual education is very important and I also started my career in dual education in 1997. It is an important part of the success of Austrian companies because we have really well-educated employees. So, we started with dual education over 80 years ago and we have a high number of workers who began their careers this way, resulting instaying with the company.

In Serbia, we cooperate very well with the Traffic Engineering School in Zemun. Currently, we have 11 trainees, and next year we expect another six. We are currently very satisfied with the project and we are cooperating very well with teachers from the school. All trainees are carefully chosen and they are really motivated to learn about transport and logistics at Gebrüder Weiss. The big advantage is that they work in different departments, so they have learned about the whole company. That is a really big advantage, understanding the whole process in one company.

eKapija: The end of the year is approaching. How satisfied are you with the results achieved by Gebrüder Weiss in 2019?

- For Gebrüder Weiss, 2019 is likely to be a successful year. We are satisfied with the improvement here in Serbia and will continue to push forward.The focus will remain on the needs of our clients. We will carefully follow their demands and create solutions which will make their business operations more efficient. Also, we will continue to invest in our employees, as they are our biggest asset.

eKapija: What are Gebrüder Weiss's plans for the coming period?

- Gebrüder Weiss will continue upgrading its operations, looking to strengthen its position on the Serbian market. We will provide our clients with global solutions so that they will be able to develop their business in a successful way. The company's philosophy is to have a long term cooperation with its partners and subcontractors and we will keep establishing these connections. As I've already said, the employees are our biggest asset and our task is to provide them witha great place to work so that they canconstantly develop both personally and professionally. In fact, from the very beginning, our mission is to be the best-in-class logistics company in Serbia.

Gebruder Weiss Serbia

Gebruder Weiss

Traffic Engineering School in Zemun

transport

logistics

storage

infrastructure projects

dual education

rail

air freight

trucking

home delivery service

home delivery

Special edition newsletter

Special edition newsletter eKapija

Special edition newsletter Transport and Logistics Faster Farther and More Efficient by Land Water and Air

transport and logistic

logistic