Philippe Higelin, President of Redspher Group – We will use our experience from Serbia to expand into neighboring markets

In the week leading up to the Olympic Games, Philippe Higelin, President and Owner of the Redspher Group and “a passionate tennis lover and a big fan of Novak Djokovic,” as he mentioned at the beginning of the meeting, arrived in Belgrade from Paris for the first time.

The company Flash, which operates within the Redspher Group, is Europe’s leading specialist in premium freight and it recently celebrated its first year of operation in Serbia. PlutonLogistics had the opportunity for an exclusive interview on the very day that the trial production of a new car model began in Kragujevac. It was an excellent moment to discuss urgent deliveries in the automotive industry – its biggest client – as well as touch on many other significant topics.

PL: You haven’t had the chance to visit Serbia until now. What are your first impressions?

– I am impressed by Belgrade and your country. I always emphasize that I am not fascinated by buildings and structures, but by people and their energy. I can feel when a country is blooming, growing and expanding. In that light, I am confident that Serbia has a bright future.

When we talk about our business as a European company, I believe that the future is more promising on the eastern side of Europe rather than the west. I am quite certain of that. There are many motivated, ambitious people here. I think there is more ambition in the east than in the west.

PL: Flash marked its presence in Serbia exactly one year ago – how did the first year look from your perspective, and how satisfied are you with the current operations?

– When you start a business, success cannot come overnight. I think that’s almost never possible. The past year has therefore been challenging, but this year is promising.

Our next step is to use the experience we’ve gained over the past year to enter the markets of neighboring countries. We plan to expand from here to neighboring countries in Southeast Europe together with Nebojša (Mandić, Director of Flash in Serbia, ed. note).

We are primarily considering North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly because there are no barriers between the countries, but we are also planning to explore other markets, such as Albania. This will be our focus in the coming years. The reason for this decision is that we see and feel that more and more customers are moving their production here or are already expanding their factories. We want to be where our clients are because we believe that’s the only path to success.

PL: Premium freight is primarily associated with the automotive industry. How many of your clients are from this sector, and how represented are companies from other sectors?

– We have three main groups of clients. The first group is automotive – everything related to the automotive industry, from car manufacturers to factories that make small parts for cars. This accounts for about 45% of our business, which is a huge sector.

The second group includes all manufacturing companies, excluding automotive. For example, the aerospace industry: Airbus is one of our clients, as are all its numerous suppliers. Then, there’s agricultural machinery manufacturing, machine industry, chemical companies, healthcare… And the third category – which is currently small but promising – is what we call retail. We have clients like, for example, IKEA or Amazon. This part of the business is interesting because we provide B2B services, but practically directed toward the end consumer, allowing them to, for example, receive their refrigerator on a specific day at a precise time. This is what I call the click-economy: you click and get your product.

PL: The automotive sector is dominant in your activities in Serbia as well. What is your perspective on the news from the Stellantis factory, how significant is this news for you?

– Yes, the majority of our clients in Serbia come from the automotive sector, but we also have many clients, for example, in the aerospace industry, given that a large number of parts manufacturers and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) operations are based here.

Regarding the automotive industry, we work with most companies operating in Serbia in this sector, from the north to the south of the country – Subotica, Novi Sad, Šabac, Loznica, Belgrade, Niš…

We are very excited about the start of trial production of the new car model in Kragujevac. Our company collaborates with Stellantis across Europe, including in Serbia; they are one of our major clients, and we are confident that we will see an expansion of our collaboration in the future.

PL: What is your perspective on the dynamics between companies focusing exclusively on premium freight, such as Flash, and larger companies that provide all types of transportation? Is the future in specialization?

– I would say we are at a turning point, as our biggest competitors are becoming regular transportation companies, and large ones at that. We are smaller but highly specialized in time-critical shipments. I firmly believe that the opportunities are on our side and that this type of service will shift towards specialized companies in the future, both in Serbia and in the neighboring markets. I also believe that demand for these services will grow significantly.

Premium freight is unique, and organizing on-demand deliveries is quite different from traditional transportation. I’m not saying it’s harder or easier, just different.

Thanks to digitalization, which is the second part of the Redspher Group’s business, Flash operates 24/7. We can respond to inquiries at unusual times, in the evening, at night… We provide solutions within 10-15 minutes and pick up shipments within 60-90 minutes. Our digital platform is connected with over 40,000 vehicles circulating across Europe. Additionally, we offer premium solutions in air transport, provide charters when necessary, and have an onboard courier service for urgent small shipments.

PL: How has the Redspher Group’s business developed?

– The Flash was established in 1981 in the northeast of France as a regional carrier. Over more than four decades, it evolved into a leading European premium freight forwarder. In 2015, we digitalized our operations and explored new markets, which led to IT services becoming another area of our business.

We developed a leading European platform for time-critical deliveries, which connects supply and demand in one place. It is open to all freight forwarders and carriers and is the best place to find, book, and track on-demand deliveries. Our easy-to-use digital tools and team of transport experts are available to you 24/7 to help you ship or find freight.

About 75% of our shipments are fully digitalized. This number will certainly grow, although I don’t believe it needs to reach 100%.

I would compare it to banks – I believe that bank branches in their traditional form will never completely disappear; they will only change their role. All simple operations will be digitalized, and most things will be done independently and online, but when we need something exceptional or in special cases, we will go to the bank.

PL: Does your platform utilize artificial intelligence too?

– Absolutely. What AI helps us with the most is a better understanding between supply and demand. Artificial intelligence helps in structuring all information and data, “correcting” any ambiguities, and finding better, more suitable solutions for inquiries on the platform. AI also prompts users for clarification and asks additional questions whenever something is unclear.

PL: You mentioned banks; your career started in the banking world, didn’t it? Are there similarities between banking operations and what you do today?

Yes, I’m actually a “finance guy”. I studied finance and started my career in French banks. I loved that job a lot, but I wanted to be more than a manager; I wanted to be an entrepreneur. About twenty years ago, my career path led me to Flash, which was then a small regional transport company in northern France. I purchased a stake in the company, and the business gradually developed. For the past ten years, I have been the main shareholder of the Group.

We are freight forwarders, not carriers; we don’t have drivers or vehicles. Our task is to create solutions for customers. It’s similar to a bank—banks sell financial products or services and buy money, while we sell and deliver solutions and services and buy kilometers. In a bank, your advisor wants to find the product that best suits you, and we do the same for our clients.

We have come a long way from being a small regional company to a leading European firm in this segment, and we have big plans ahead of us.

Author: Milica Milosavljević
Photo: PlutonMedia