FAN Courier: regional growth with an eye on sustainability

One of FAN Courier’s main development goals is to expand and strengthen its business in the region and connect Romania with Central and Western European markets. Business Review sat down with Cornel Morcov, Chief Commercial Officer at FAN Courier, who outlined the company’s strategy in Romania and the region.

By Anda Sebesi

What were the most important projects the company carried out in 2023?

This year, FAN Courier prioritised the implementation of new alternative delivery solutions, the opening of new hubs to facilitate international trade, as well as digitalization and technologization. In early November, we installed our 1,000th locker in our FANbox locker network, a project that started last year and accelerated in 2023 due to high demand. We plan to continue this in 2024 by installing another 1,000 lockers, which we have already ordered.

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One of our development goals is to expand and strengthen our business in the region and connect the local market with Central and Western European markets. Due to increased interest from international sellers in Romania, we have recently opened up a new international HUB in Arad which is exclusively dedicated to e-commerce. The HUB is set to be technologized within about 6 months, with the installation of an automated sorting belt capable of handling 15,000 packages per hour. The total investment in this HUB reaches EUR 4 million.

Other important projects this year included the start of construction on a new HUB in Stefanesti, equipping multiple warehouses across the country with state-of-the-art technology and automation, and accelerating the digitalization process with a direct impact on customers: new design and functionalities for the company website, the selfAWB platform, and a new mobile app. The automation and optimisation of internal processes have led to productivity growth—this is an area we will continue to focus on in the future.

What is the current state of Romania’s courier market and what changes should we expect to see in the coming years?

The e-commerce market is experiencing a good period, and growth prospects in Romania are massive in the coming years. Therefore, we can say that the courier market will follow the same trend, as they are closely linked. We expect the growth in the two markets to reach at least 15%.

Another important trend in the courier industry is the development of new alternative delivery methods and the simplification of interactions between companies, clients, and courier firms. Digitalization and technologization—objectives that FAN Courier has prioritised for years—will continue to refine the courier market and provide customers with superior experiences.

How important are ESG and sustainability criteria for FAN Courier?

A very important goal for our company is to neutralise our carbon footprint by 2040, with FAN Courier having been the first Romanian company to sign The Climate Pledge. To achieve this goal, we have several ongoing initiatives that we consider to be continuous processes towards our neutrality objective. At FAN Courier, sustainability is reflected in the responsibility of each employee, in how vehicles are driven and loaded to minimise consumption and resource use, the continuous improvement of delivery routes to reduce the number of kilometers per trip, and waste management practices. We run awareness and education campaigns among employees to increase our recycling levels.

What were 2023’s main challenges from a management point of view?

This year’s challenges came from several directions. First, uncertainty in the region generated by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, an unpredictable situation that could deteriorate at any moment, with major repercussions on the local business environment due to proximity.

The introduction of new taxes and the lack of fiscal predictability were other major factors disrupting Romanian companies’ operations. In the same context, the pressure on costs caused by still high inflation and the difficulty of passing these costs onto the final price of services remained among the key issues of the year.

The shortage of specialised labor is a constant challenge we have been facing for years now. The need for new employees is about 5-6% annually, with a constant need for couriers, handlers or customer support staff, as hiring follows business growth, which increases year by year.

What is the outlook for the courier market in 2024?

We are opening new opportunities for cross-border e-commerce, entering more international markets, developing as many alternative delivery solutions as possible, starting new technologization projects, and continuing to expand our FANbox locker network.