GLS has started operations in new EU member Croatia with a nationwide delivery service andinternational connections thus expanding its network in South East Europe.
In the first stage, the company will operate four sites in Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Osijek thatwere set up after the creation of the Croatian subsidiary in May this year ready for the country’saccession to the European Union at the start of July. Previously, GLS had been servicing thecountry in cooperation with a local network partner.
“We place great emphasis on offering our international customers in the Southern and Eastern EUmarkets short delivery times and comprehensive services,” GLS CEO Rico Back said. “Establishing ourown companies has proven to be successful here.”
GLS considers Croatia to be a growth market, especially because the country’s economy willbenefit from EU membership. “As soon as customs borders are broken down, the natural demand forjust-in-time deliveries rises, so it’s important to be present locally,” Back added.
“Right from the start, we’ll be delivering national parcels in Croatia with a standarddelivery time of 24 hours,” explained Gergely Farkas, Managing Director GLS Europe East, who willmanage the new GLS subsidiary. “Many additional services, such as cash on delivery and notifyingprivate recipients of upcoming deliveries, are also available with immediate effect.”
The depot near Zagreb (Popovec) will serve as a national distribution centre at the sametime. It is equipped with modern security technology and a highly productive parcel sorting systemin compliance with GLS standards.
From September this year, international GLS shipments will also be routed via Zagreb. Dailyservices will connect Croatia on the west with Ljubljana (Slovenia), Ansfelden (Austria) and GLS’European hub in Neuenstein (Germany), while fast connectivity to Eastern Europe will be ensured viaGLS’ hub in Budapest (Hungary). From Croatia, GLS delivers to countries like Hungary and Sloveniawithin the standard times of 24-48 hours. Just about the same time is needed for parcels from thesecountries to arrive in Croatia. From the European hub in Neuenstein, export parcels to Croatia aregenerally delivered within 72 hours.
GLS Croatia is the company’s fourth start-up in the region following those in Slovakia, (2004),the Czech Republic (2005) and Romania (2007). In Hungary and Slovenia, the company has been presentwith its subsidiaries since 1999 and 2000 respectively. “Founding our own company in Croatia ispart of our networking strategy. Europe is our core market with the EU countries being logically inthe focus,” Back concluded.
