21st-century logistics and complex network building

Kerekes Kft. has been developing dynamically since its foundation in 1992. Their logistics and freight forwarding services reach every town and village in 6 counties in East Hungary. The Ebes-seated company started organising the Privát retail chain, which now consists of 186 Privát Max and 316 Privát stores. Commercial director Zsolt Novák told our magazine that their premises in Ebes covers 25,000m² where there is enough space for a modern warehouse, a fleet of transportation and company vehicles, a service station, an office building and a restaurant. They try to do everything themselves, so that they don’t depend on anyone and can control both quality and prices.

The secret behind the company’s constant expansion is simple: they have in-depth knowledge of the region and their customers, the peculiarities of which they can take into consideration when providing their services – unlike large, standardised nationwide service providers. Depending on the season, Kerekes Kft. stocks 6,500-7,000 different goods, from FMCG products to store furnishing to machinery. 270 people work in the field night and day to make sure that their delivery rate is above 95 percent. The company also employs 7 IT specialists. A barcode system helps in managing the inventory system and in order picking. Company vehicles are the same type and they are very reliable. Working conditions are of European standard, so employees are happy to be part of the Kerekes Kft.’s team. The company delivers to 400-500 locations every day and 5 representatives are visiting shops. Their main task isn’t order taking but keeping in touch with store managers, assisting them, and consulting and sharing knowledge that can help them perform better. Kerekes Kft. has been building the Privát chain for nearly 20 years. Large floor space stores with HUF 10-12 million monthly turnover make up the Privát Max chain. Both Privát and Privát Max stores offer Privát private label products. Currently there are 540 of these, mainly frozen, cooled and cured products. They always seek their customers’ opinion and organise a partners meeting every year, however, with the 100 biggest partners they meet many times a year. Kerekes Kft. believes that selecting the right people for the job, employee behaviour and expertise can have 20-percent influence on sales – either increasing or decreasing it. Mr Novák urges shop owners to be active members of their community, supporting good causes and making people get to know them, winning their sympathy. (X)