INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH: BALKAN CARGO

Two Teams, One Corridor

Darko Ašik, Owner and Managing Director of Balkan Cargo

"Whoever handles the cargo along the way, the client deals with one company from pickup to delivery, and the responsibility stays with us."

Balkan Cargo has recently opened its own office in Thessaloniki and established a local team in Greece. What prompted this strategic move, and how will having a direct presence in the Greek market change the way you work with clients and business partners?
Greece has been the starting point of most of our business for more than twenty years. Greek producers and exporters have been among our most important clients since we founded Balkan Cargo in 2005, and our Belgrade team has always worked closely with colleagues in Greece. Still, clients expect someone close by who can react on the spot, and in Greece business relationships are built face to face, in the client's own language.
Opening our own office in Thessaloniki this year, with a local team, was the natural next step. Thessaloniki is the logistics gateway between Greece and the Balkans, close to the port, to the industrial zones of Northern Greece and to the border crossings we use every day.
For clients, the difference is practical. They now have a team that speaks Greek, understands their business culture and can visit their warehouse, check a loading on the spot or solve a problem the same day. Pick-ups, consolidation and documentation are organised locally, while our Belgrade team handles operations, customs and delivery at the other end. The client deals with one company and one point of contact on both sides of the route. For our partners – carriers, warehouses and partner forwarders – it means closer cooperation and faster decisions. Above all, it gives us a base from which to grow beyond the Western Balkans.

Your groupage transport network now covers a broader range of destinations, including Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, North Macedonia, Albania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltic countries. How do these new connections complement your existing services, and what advantages do they offer companies trading across these markets?
Our core has always been the corridor between Greece and the Western Balkans. Every year we handle more than 7,000 groupage shipments and around 3,500 full truckloads. We run regular groupage and full-truck lines between Greece and Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, in both directions, with weekly departures from Athens, Thessaloniki, Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana. Greece–Serbia is our busiest lane, with full trucks every day, groupage several times a week and a transit time of two to three days; to Croatia and Slovenia it is three to four days. We also operate a temperature-controlled groupage line at 2–4°C from Thessaloniki to Belgrade and Zagreb, dedicated to dairy and meat products.
The new connections from Greece to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, North Macedonia, Albania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltic states are built on the same model, and they are driven by our team in Thessaloniki. These are very experienced logistics professionals who know Greek exporters and their needs well. They are the key to launching each new line and to the cooperation we have built with a carefully selected partner in every one of these countries. Whoever handles the cargo along the way, the client deals with one company from pickup to delivery, and the responsibility stays with us. Many Greek companies export to several of these markets, but often in volumes too small for a full truck. Until now, they usually had to work with a different forwarder for each country, or pay for capacity they did not need.
With groupage, a client can send one pallet or ten, at a predictable price and on a regular schedule, sharing the cost of the truck with other shippers. Everything runs through one partner, one contact person and one set of documents, with the same service standard on every route. For companies trading across these markets, this means they can test a new market with small shipments, grow step by step and keep their logistics simple as they expand.

With more than two decades of experience connecting Greece and the Western Balkans, Balkan Cargo has developed an in-depth understanding of trade relations across the region. Which industries are driving demand for transport services between these markets, and where do you see the strongest opportunities for further growth in regional trade?
Food remains the backbone of trade on our corridor. Greek food products are well established on Balkan shelves, and much of that cargo travels refrigerated, including dairy and meat on our 2–4°C groupage line to Belgrade and Zagreb. Since this spring, however, imports of Greek dairy and meat products into Serbia have been suspended under veterinary measures. We fully understand the need to protect animal health, but the suspension affects producers, importers, retailers and consumers alike. We look forward to free trade being restored as soon as possible, and we appeal to the competent authorities of both countries to work together on lifting the ban, applying regionalisation and clear veterinary guarantees wherever possible.
Pharmaceuticals are a growing segment, which is why we offer dedicated 15–25°C transport for both full and part loads. Agriculture is another important flow, especially fertilisers and other agricultural inputs. We also see steady volumes in construction materials and chemicals, including dangerous goods under ADR, and in equipment for the hospitality sector.
Construction should be one of the strongest growth areas in the coming years. Serbia is investing heavily in infrastructure and construction, including projects linked to Expo 2027 in Belgrade, which creates continuous demand for building materials, equipment and chemicals along our routes.
In the longer term, I see the greatest opportunity in Greece's role as a gateway. The ports of Thessaloniki and Piraeus connect the Balkans with global maritime trade, including goods arriving from Asia. A well-organised road connection from the Greek ports into the region can be a faster alternative to routes through Northern Europe. Trade in the region is also becoming more diverse. More small and medium-sized companies are exporting, often in smaller and more frequent shipments. That is exactly the type of business regular groupage services are built for.

In road transport, reliability, flexibility and timely delivery are essential to maintaining strong business relationships. How does Balkan Cargo ensure consistent service quality across different markets, and what do you believe makes clients choose a long-term logistics partner rather than simply comparing transport prices?
Consistent service comes from keeping the key steps in our own hands. We run fixed departure days on our main lines, so clients can plan production and deliveries around a schedule instead of waiting for a truck to become available. We have our own teams at both ends of the route, in Belgrade and Thessaloniki, and we handle customs clearance in-house, with bonded warehousing for goods awaiting clearance. That removes many of the handovers where delays and mistakes usually happen. Since June this year, our quality management system has also been certified to ISO 9001:2015.
We also work with a stable network of carriers, many of them for years, which matters most when capacity is tight. And every shipment is covered by All Risk cargo insurance with Generali for 100% of the invoice value, because clients should not have to worry about what happens if something goes wrong.
As for price: every client compares prices, and they should. But the price of a transport is only one part of its real cost. A missed delivery date, a damaged pallet or a truck stuck at the border because of a document error can cost far more than the difference between two offers.
Long-term partnerships are built on what happens on a difficult day. When a border is congested, a truck breaks down or a client urgently needs to change a delivery, they need someone who answers the phone, knows the shipment and takes responsibility for solving the problem. That is the standard we hold ourselves to, and it is why many of our clients have worked with us for years. After 26 years in road transport, I still know most of our clients personally, and they know they can call me directly.

New technologies and rising expectations for speed, visibility and efficiency are changing the way logistics services are delivered. How is Balkan Cargo incorporating these developments into its operations, and which improvements do you believe will make the greatest difference to customers in the coming years?
For us, technology is not a slogan but a practical tool for faster answers and fewer errors. This year we are introducing a specialised freight forwarding ERP across both our Serbian and Greek companies. Quotations, shipments, transport documents and invoicing will be managed in one system, so information is entered once and follows the shipment from the first inquiry to final delivery.
At the same time, our teams in Belgrade and Thessaloniki are starting to work with an AI assistant connected to their email. It prepares quotation drafts with the price and the client's previous offers, so our people focus on checking and deciding rather than retyping, and it makes sure that no client inquiry is left waiting for an answer. Our website is now also available in English, Greek and Serbian.
The improvements that will matter most to customers are not the most spectacular ones. They are speed of response, accurate information and fewer errors. A client wants a quote quickly and the documents right the first time. Technology will take over much of the routine administration in our industry. That will leave logistics professionals more time for what clients value most: planning, solving problems and building relationships.

As a long-standing member of the Hellenic Business Association of Serbia, how has HBA contributed to your business development, and how can business associations support companies pursuing regional and international growth?
We have been members of HBA since 2012, and for a company whose business is built on trade between Greece and Serbia, it is the natural place to be. Many of our clients today are companies I first met through HBA events and contacts. Beyond new business, the Association has helped us exchange experience with other members and stay close to developments in the business environment. What I value most is trust. In our business, a recommendation from someone you know often counts for more than any advertisement. HBA creates exactly that kind of environment, where companies meet as partners and not only as suppliers and customers.
For companies pursuing regional and international growth, associations like HBA can play an even bigger role. They can share practical knowledge about doing business in each market, connect members with institutions and decision-makers, and give smaller companies a voice on issues that affect everyone, such as border procedures, rules for professional drivers and transport infrastructure. In the end, trade between Greece and Serbia grows one relationship at a time, and that is exactly where HBA makes the difference.