Business persons
“Business Capital” special issue
No.9 / September 2, 2004

JSC “SKYFOR”
By Neonila Brkic

Transportation and forwarding services,
Licensed customs Broker.

General Director – Valery L.Gorchakov
Was born in 1959. Graduated from the Kiev Higher
Radio-Technical College and the Military Academy.
Is keen on tennis.

The “SKYFOR” Company is the Russian Customs Broker, multimodal forwarder – was founded in September, 1993. It renders cargo transportation service by all transportation means along Russia and abroad. The Company offers service to major Russian and Foreign companies, among which are “Ericsson”, “Megafone”, “MTU-Inform”, “McDonalds'”, “Coca-Cola”, “Sonic Duo”, “Procter & Gamble” and many others. The number of clients amounts to 200, but every project realized by the Company, is handled with respect and special attention to the Client. The Client's interests are of major importance for “Skyfor”. The trust of a Client in the Company is Skyfor basic capital.

  Mr.Gorchakov, the “Skyfor” started its business more than 10 years ago. What has changed since that time?
In the 90-s the word “Customs” had negative meaning. If you did not render work to privileged funds, took no part in shuttle projects and re-export, there was little opportunity to develop your business.
The main achievement of our state now is that legal stable part of the market is forming now. To gain and to preserve clients' confidence one should possess expensive licensee, a serious resource base, highly-professional staff. Only at Sheremetyevo we compete with 50 companies, and in Russia as a whole – with more than 300 companies.

What differs “Skyfor” from them?
In the beginning of my business career I had a lucky chance to start business at the American transportation company “Burlington Air Express” in Russia. The experience that I gained at that time gave me the opportunity to arrange high working standards as the basis for the “Skyfor” Company: i.e. client's interests are of major importance; immediate response to any request of the client; independence of managers when taking up a decisions and implementing decisions into life; personal and moral liability before the client for success or failure of the project; maximum free crediting of reliable clients in Customs and at warehouses; service payment only upon getting acceptance report, wide net of reliable agents abroad; deep penetration into all points and high professionalism of staff-fellows.
Staff-fellows, who do not meet the requirements and misplaced the trust of both the clients and partners, have to quit.

But everyone has blind sides?!
Not only our friends, but also our rivals will read your magazine. Obviously, our opponents should not know our soft spots.

I have read your interview to an English transport magazine. Do you think your prediction has come true regarding trans-national forwarding companies conquering Russian market when the economic situation becomes stable in our country?
Obviously, the situation in the market cannot be called normal. The moment of truth will approach when Russia joins WTO. Now the existing administrative system put barriers to World Division of Labour and thus will check competition on the Russian inner market.

Please tell about the perspectives for customs services business and for your company in particular?
I do hope the market will become legalized dynamically. Then the “Skyfor” will get a new push for further development.
Russia joining WTO, administrative reforms started by the President, National Association of Customs Brokers' activity (of which our company is a full member) – these all points play a significant part in the process.

And to crown our interview, what would you like to wish to your colleagues?
I'd like to offer a quotation from a fine American movie “Jerry McGuire”: “I can't teach you the way to live, because I have also experienced ups-and-downs, but I love my wife, I am fond of life and I wish you the same…”

Home grown
Can Russia's new generation of Freight Forwarders compete on the world scene? Valerie Gorchakov, Director of Skyfor, rises to the challenge.
World Cargo News (WCN): How long has Skyfor been in business? Valerie Gorchakov (VG): In 1993, we decided to split away from Wellington Air Express — an American-owned company.
Striking out on our own was a big decision, and a very big risk. Two years later, we now employ 18 staff.
WCN: Which are your key export commodities
VG: Sporting pistols, hunting rifles, industrial metals such as titanium, and commercial fish food.
WCN: Has your business seen any major setbacks?
VG: Following the start of the civil war in Chechnia, powerful lobby groups in the USA put a ban on the import of Russian sporting pistols and rifles — one of our key markets. But right up to the start date of the embargo, we did our best to deliver top service. Just before noon on December 1 1994 - the import deadline - we managed to get three aircraft to pick up 25 tonne loads. Our shipments made it on time, but other consignments are still lying in warehouses across the CIS because the forwarders didn't make the cut-off.
WCN: In the long-term, do you see more growth in national imports or exports?
VG: It's too early to say. Right now, the local economy is still under-stimulated, and no one can guess its true potential -Moscow alone now accounts for 80 per cent of airfreight within the Federation. In purely commercial terms, imports offer us less of a margin, but we'll supply whatever the customer needs. We have a very close import relationship with Motorola.
WCN: What are the biggest problems facing the Russian forwarding industry?
VG: Again, it's probably too early to talk about common problems for the industry — that industry is still being created.
In any case, problems are what make this business. Every time you can sort out a problem that others failed at, you win a bigger part of the market.
WCN: How do you rate World Cargo's service - and what could be done to enhance it?
VG: World Cargo has turned this market.

Valerie Gorchakov: winning a bigger slice of the CIS market round in the last two years. They've set a new standard of service.
Having said that, foreign carriers can't solve everything for us; we have to find the solutions ourselves. One day, it'll be much easier for foreign capital to arrive here, and when that happens, a lot of foreign forwarders will set up. The market will rapidly get very tough for all of us.