A complete package, a customised service

Poland-based Partnerspol Group is a leader in high-quality logistics services, customised to the needs of its customers. The company is able to offer a complete service, as Barbara Rossi finds out from Mr Giulio Baioni, its deputy general director.

Partnerspol offers a range of services, ranging from national distribution and international transport to storage, comanufacturing and labelling, as well as repacking, co-packing, completion and custom duty services. Alongside these services, the company can offer, thanks to partnerships with other firms, sea and air transport.

Italian-owned Partnerspol Group has been operating in Poland since 1997 and, since then, it has been experiencing a growth trend, holding its ground even in the last two or three years of the world economic crisis, during which Poland has not stopped experiencing its boom phase. The company employs 300 people in Poland on a permanent basis and another 1000 people seasonally. Its head office is in Warsaw and it also has three 20,000m2 operational sites in Lowicz, Rawa Mazowiecka and Tarczyn, plus another two smaller transit points for loading and unloading goods, another office and small warehouse in the north of Poland and a representative office in Belarus. Overall the company has a storage space of about 75,000m2 and a fleet of 500 refrigerated and curtainside lorries.

Partnerspol has hundreds of clients, belonging to different sectors and, among those, three particularly large clients are Ferrero (food sector), Indesit-Merloni (domestic appliances) and Sofidel (paper and tissue products), to which it offers domestic and international transport services, as well as stocking, co-packing and pre-assembly with just-in-time deliveries.

In terms of transport services the company is active in both domestic distribution (within Poland) and international transport. During 2011 Partnerspol Group has been carring out about 10,000 international transport services, and this business area has been experiencing a growth trend of 15 – 20 per cent a year. In this activity the company is engaged in full trucking shipments between Poland and other European countries (and beyond), including the former USSR states. In terms of international transport, in the last two years, Partnerspol Group has added the offer of groupage services mainly for Italy and other countries, such as Germany, UK, France, Spain and the Baltic states. With regard to domestic transport, it carries out partial and full loadings with around 90,000 deliveries a year, from parcel to full truck orders.

Another area that Partnerspol Group is developing is co-packing, in which most of the company’s seasonal staff are engaged, working over two or three shifts, and which employs both manual and automatic packing systems and also includes, as well as co-packing as such, re-packing, product segregation, labelling and promotional sets packaging (for instance Christmas products and Kinder surprise confectionery).

Partnerspol Group’s storage services can be provided in temperature and humidity controlled areas, therefore making them suitable to both packaging and raw materials.

Expanding services

As well as investing in new machinery to further improve its co-packing and pre-assembly services, Partnerspol Group is investing in advertising its new international groupage services. As well as expanding co-packing

and the recently launched groupage international services, Partnerspol is interested in entering the niche logistic sector and, although the service is yet to be launched, is nurturing the idea of supplying a niche logistical service for the distribution of stationery and other products to banks and other financial institutes. The company is also in the process of acquiring its own office premises in Warsaw, as it is currently renting its facilities. In addition to this, there are also plans for building or buying its own storage and co-packing premises in Lowicz, in the centre of Poland. Should the need arise for a further expansion of the current operational facilities in other areas of Poland, this could easily be achieved by renting premises, as Poland has an excess of available warehouse buildings.

Partnerspol’s focus on quality is further proven by the certifications that it holds, namely IFS – International Food Standard, ISO 9001:2008, HACCP and ISO 14001:2004. Furthermore, the company is working towards obtaining AEO (authorised economic operator) status, linked to customs duty procedures, which should have been achieved by the end of 2011.

The company is involved in socially minded initiatives, such as supporting an organisation involved with nurseries, schools and children’s homes, as well as sponsoring ‘No Stress Motorsport’. It has been nominated ‘European Company 2007’ by the Media Partner Group, and is a member of the elite Business Gazelle club, host of the most dynamically developing firms in 2010, and has a high position in the top 500 annual Euro Logistic ranking as one of the most effective logistics firms in Poland.

An individually tailored quality service

Mr Baioni sees the company’s future in terms of organic growth, achieved through its existing clients and the acquisition of new customers. Because of the background, culture and links of the Partnerspol Group’s management, Italy is undoubtedly an important market, offering scope for growth, but the company also intends to develop the business carried out with other countries. In terms of future development Mr Baioni says: “Poland is a country which has been undergoing a strong growth phase. Because of this, inevitably, the growth margin will diminish. Quality has been, is and will carry on being our focus. Unlike some competitors, which offer a general service, we offer a quality and customised service, tailored to the client’s needs. For us each client is important and unique. Also we are able to offer a complete service and are able to cater for various volumes, including smaller quantities.” n