Fast forward
When Leszek Moritz started Servisco in 1978, the fledgling enterprise made everything from paint brushes to forklifts. But it was not until four years later that the company found its true calling - freight forwarding. With the country under the grip of martial law in 1982, Servisco seized an opportunity to deliver Western humanitarian aid to Polish citizens.
The move, however, didn't sit well with the communist government, which bristled at the idea of hiring a private firm to assist the national post office in distributing food and supplies to millions of Poles, but it had little choice.
"The national post itself welcomed assistance because it didn't want the world to see that it couldn't handle the flood of deliveries from the West," said Aleksander Morozowski, Servisco's chief executive officer.
That contract cemented the firm's transport operations and following the collapse of communism in 1989, Servisco landed Germany's Deutsche Post (DP) as its strategic investor in 1997. Today, Servisco is one of the biggest freight forwarders and courier companies in the country, employing more than 2,500 workers, including 1,200 couriers. Last year it generated zł. 233.7 million ($57 million) in revenue and posted a net profit of zł. 9.2 million ($2.24 million).
But while Servisco's turnover grew by more than 30% annually in the latter half of the 1990s, the company is projecting far smaller numbers this year because of the economic downturn, Morozowski said.
"Our revenue forecasts for 2001 have been revised downward," he said. "We will no longer grow by over 35%, but under 20% this year."
When Moritz sold 60% of Servisco's shares to DP four years ago, the investor ushered in a massive investment program. Since 1999, the company has invested more than DM100 million in three high-tech sorting facilities to handle the growing volume of business. The facilities went into service this year together with the opening of the freight forwarder's head office near Warsaw's Frederic Chopin airport.
"With DP's entry, we gained support in terms of financing and organization," Morozowski said. "We gained know-how and new technologies."
Transport analyst Henryk Klimkiewicz agrees that DP has been a boon for Servisco. "(DP's) an extremely active and aggressive integrator on this market," he said. "Firms that will be included in DP's structure will have great prospects for further development." DP holds majority or 100% stakes in 20 freight companies across Europe and is rapidly becoming a global leader in the sector, Morozowski said.
DP's 20 subsidiaries are now being integrated into a standardized pan-European delivery system called Euro Express. "Our presence in Euro Express in the long term will allow us to benefit from all its resources," he said. "We will be able to provide comprehensive services in logistics, including letter delivery by Deutsche Post; in finances, because Postbank (DP-owned German bank) is a member of the group; and in courier delivery, because the group now includes (the U.S.') DHL."
Morozowski said integration in the Euro Express system will prop up Servisco's position in the rapidly growing international forwarding market. He said Servisco's revenue from cross-border deliveries should rise by 5-10% during the next five years. "Our volume of international deliveries rose by 40% year-on-year in 2000 and we expect similar growth in 2001 and 2002," Morozowski said.
But according to Klimkiewicz, the slowdown on the domestic freight forwarding market may push many firms out of business, while companies such as Servisco, which have Western European partners, will consolidate their market positions. "Those firms can survive the current crisis due to capital injections and assistance from their investors," he said. "The foreign partners will help them purchase new fleets, build up infrastructure and slither safely through temporary problems."
Robert Wylot
