The journey of Mediterranean Shipping Company, MSC, began more than half a century ago, with a fleet consisting of a single vessel. The company has since grown to become a world leader in shipping and logistics, able to offer best-in-class transport solutions, optimal transport routes to anywhere in the world and a portfolio of solutions to support customers’ supply chains at every stage
The Serbian market provides significant potential to strengthen our company’s position locally and regionally, and we will continue to improve our services by listening to customers and investing in the key business areas needed to optimise their supply chains, says MSC’s regional MD Stevica Čarapić.
MSC is well known globally, but we would like to know what the regional office’s journey has looked like since it opened back in 2005?
MSC started with just one vessel, while today it carries approximately 22.5 million TEU annually through its network of 675 offices in 155 countries, calling at 520 global ports.
Opening our regional office covering Serbia, North Macedonia and Montenegro was an important strategic decision. Despite challenging beginnings, we have managed to position our company as the logistics leader on the Serbian and regional markets, thanks to constant support from our headquarters and our local team of dedicated professionals. Our services include a wide range of transport solutions for both imports and exports, with global port coverage, as well as pick-up and delivery, which is crucial in landlocked countries like Serbia and North Macedonia.
The world has faced numerous challenges over the past three years, with the logistics industry among the hardest hit. What was your response to the crisis?
As a response to increased demand, MSC invested in its equipment and fleet, attempting to minimise the impact of global congestion caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Locally, MSC Serbia concentrated on providing the best possible service for customers via its local office and regional intermodal links. We also invested in our reefer container capacity in order to serve the increased demand for fruits from the Serbian region.
The MSC service covers all ports of the region – Rijeka, Koper, Bar, Ploče, Thessaloniki, while part of the cargo is transported via Italian and North European ports
The MSC service covers all ports of the region – Rijeka, Koper, Bar, Ploče, Thessaloniki, while part of the cargo is transported via Italian and North European ports, due to their direct services to the U.S. and Canada, and we can offer the best possible transport solution from/to Serbia at any time.
The past three years have also highlighted the importance of digitalisation, and at MSC we are continuously investing in developing new digital tools and technologies to provide customers with easy-to-use, flexible and reliable online shipping management solutions. Our transport and digital solutions are also tailored to help customers decarbonise their supply chains.
You are known on the market for your personal approach to every client, regardless of their scope of business. Is this something you’re proud of?
Yes, we insist on a personal approach to every client, and our goal is to build long-term partnerships with our customers. We are constantly listening to their needs and planning our activities accordingly. As an example, take the support we are providing to clients with temperature sensitive goods, as I mentioned earlier. Our reefer container experts are always at their disposal and we conduct regular reefer education sessions, where fruit and vegetable exporters learn about proper packing, loading, temperature and ventilation settings to ensure sensitive cargo remains fresh from pick-up to delivery.
Our personalised approach provides a single point of contact for our customers’ supply chains – whether that’s moving their goods, helping with their customs clearance or providing our Peace of Mind insurance Solutions.