As the two Tri-City sea ports set their cargo handling records for the fifth year in a row, Pomerania becomes a hot location for the companies operating within TSL sector, says Anna Rajzer from Invest in Pomerania. Recent investment of Belgium-based Lancaster confirms the trend. Alessandro Amarossi, Branch and Business Development Manager tells the story of investing in Gdynia.
Back story of the project in Pomerania
Lancaster has been active on the Polish market since many years, following the business expansion of its client base in Central and Eastern Europe, which went hand by hand with the development of the local society, economy and international contacts. The whole Belgium office has been actively engaged in the establishment and reinforcement of Lancaster’s position in the region since the very beginning. From the higher management to our specialists of the sales and operation department, everybody has been going the extra mile from the very beginning to increase Lancaster’s market share, by means of targeted business trips to local Polish companies, presence at local fairs and exhibition, as well as intense sales and operations activity. It became clear soon enough that in a such a ‘hot’ place for the TSL industry like Poland nowadays, you can make a real difference only if you are physically present on the territory as an organization with your own structure, office, personnel. And in that very moment the idea to open a branch in Gdynia was born.
What kind of operations will you perform in Gdynia?
We are a professional freight forwarding company, so we will act as the ‘middle man’ between the shipping lines and the final clients with regards to everything concerning the transport and logistics life cycle: sale of transport and logistics services, post-sale customer service (documentation, invoices, etc), operations (so physical organization of the sold tsl services) etc.
Why have you chosen Gdynia? What were the crucial factors for your decision?
We have chosen to eventually open our office in Gdynia to guarantee to our clients and business partners the highest level of service and contact possible. The vicinity to the port of Gdynia and Gdansk, as well as to the offices of all major shipping lines, grant a speed of reaction in all matters that would not be matched being located elsewhere. Having all the major business partners within either walking distance or a short distance by car gives the possibility to be always up-to-date with the latest market trends, as well as to discuss all pressing matters face to face.
Do you have plans for further development in our region?
The first step of our project was to get the Polish branch started, and start to unleash our sales power locally. The second step, on which we are working at the moment, is to kick start to a fully functional operations department locally, as we are fully aware that, as much as sales price might be important, it is with a top-notch service quality that you can leave your competitors wondering what did they do wrong. As soon as the first operator will start working, it will be the time to start looking for solutions to diversify our sales action – we will be reviewing sales profiles specialized in the dry containers freight market, as well as air and road specialists. Last but not least, to optimize the level of post-sale customer service we have always been proud of, as well as to take utmost care of all
processes concerning our relations with our business partners (shipping lines, warehouses, truckers, customs agencies etc), it will then be the time to have a person taking care of Lancaster Poland’s administration department.
Lancaster Forwarding and Logistics was founded in 1996 and has grown to be a key player in the international transport of foodstuffs and general cargo. While company’s core business has always been the West-African market, over the years we have evolved to being a freight forwarder specialized in handling both dry as temperature controlled foodstuff cargo, as well as general cargo, all over the globe.
