United Parcel Services (UPS), the world’s largest express carrier and package delivery company, announced in May plans to expand its operations in Bulgaria in view of the country’s forthcoming European Union accession and the rising demand in logistics and shipping services.
In Time, which represents UPS in Bulgaria, is expected to soon launch new services for transport and delivery of small parcels and big cargo, In Time manager Zheni Belopitova said. They will also include cheaper services requiring longer delivery time.
The strengthening of the co-operation between In Time and UPS followed the good performance of the Bulgarian firm in 2005. In Time registered a 23-per cent year-on-year rise in parcels and a 20 per cent rise in revenue in 2005.
According to Belopitova, the express carriage business (popularly but wrongly known as courier services) is among the most dynamic sectors of the economy.
“The competition is very strong in both domestic and international deliveries. This urges us to use different strategies in order to maximise our potential. The possibilities for a strategy are mainly two: low prices - low quality and high prices - high quality. The choice In Time has made is to stimulate demand through good quality and fast and reliable delivery at a reasonable price,” Belopitova said.
In her view, Bulgaria’s accession to the EU will require an even higher quality in services. The customs formalities will be minimised, but this is only one of the key elements in securing speed and reliability in this business.
Belopitova expects Bulgaria to attract the interest of many large companies that have not yet stepped into the local market, while the existing ones will want to strengthen their positions. She sees this as an excellent opportunity for developing In Time’s operations and for applying the UPS Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) service. The UPS SCS has been present on the Bulgarian market since end-2005.
Another significant change after Bulgaria’s accession to the EU that Belopitova sees will come from the fact that the union is quite dedicated to harmonising the standards and procedures in all member countries, which will have a serious impact on the express carrier business in Bulgaria.
“For years we have been operating in line with the standards and procedures of UPS, which is a global and very well-positioned firm. Therefore, we are completely prepared to respond to the EU requirements,” Belopitova said.
She said that the competition in the sector on a global scale is influenced by many geographical and economic factors, as well as by the participation of each of the express carriers in the different aspects of the service.
On a global scale, companies are growing, which has its implications for the Bulgarian market, too. The offering of express carrier services in Bulgaria is more and more encouraged by the competition, leading to increasing volumes of deliveries and rising revenue.
The four worldwide leaders in the sector – UPS, DHL, TNT and FedEx – are already present on the Bulgarian market. The comparison between the express carriers operating on the domestic market and those offering international service shows that the latter are generating much larger volumes and revenue in Bulgaria. Belopitova believes that this is leading to healthy competition that firstly serves the customers.
“The market for delivery services is developing rather fast, not only in terms of quality but also as volumes. Strong competition already exists in large cities, which constantly redistributes the market shares of the main players. This urges us not only to secure high quality but also to search and introduce new types of services, new opportunities and new technologies,” Belopitova said.
Standing firmly on its results for 2005, In Time expects to finish 2006 even stronger.
“The growth of the Bulgarian economy is not only increasing the existing markets but is also securing new ones, which gives us reason to be quite optimistic,” Belopitova said.
In 2007, she expects to see even more competition in a sector that is, in her words, extremely attractive, as it is expected to play a vital role in the development of the country’s economy.
Asked her view of Bulgaria’s significance as a geographical location and as a hub for transportation services in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole, Belopitova pointed out that not only would the options for Bulgaria rise, but also its responsibilities.
“In today’s globalising world, the role of the smaller countries in many cases will be extremely important because of the geographical and political specifics of the region. However, for Bulgaria, it is of crucial importance to work to improve its infrastructure and road safety,” Belopitova said.
At the same time, she said, countries like Bulgaria strongly depend on the trends and events on the international scene, and especially in the life of the regions where they are situated.
“So far, a number of political problems has been hindering the business development, but I hope that Bulgaria’s joining of the EU will change the situation for the better,” Belopitova remarked.
She believes that for In Time, the time will come very soon, maybe in early next year, to quickly integrate into the transport structures created by its partner UPS. This will provide the In Time customers with timely and reliable access to every point of the world.
