The Neregelia company is one of the leaders on the Montenegrin distribution market. It started its journey 20 years ago, with only 4 employees. Today, the company has close to 200 employees, and the value of Neregelie's assets is around 20 million euros. About the journey that lasts 20 years and plans for the future, but also about what would happen if the distribution chain was interrupted for just one day - we spoke with the executive director of Neregelia, Ljilja Pižurica.
Neregelia has been present on the Montenegrin market for 20 years. How do you evaluate the two decades and can you draw a parallel between the business at the very beginning and now?
Two decades of business is a really long period, taking into account all the economic and political circumstances that we went through at that time in the entire region. In Montenegro, we worked hard and dedicatedly, building the organization and relations with customers, so we deserved all the good results and growth that we can see today.
At the very beginning, only four employees in a small, rented space, started with the distribution operation, still our most important principal, Procter & Gamble. Over the years, with investments, teamwork and synergy with Nelt in other countries of the region, we have grown into a company with around 200 employees and today we proudly manage the portfolios of 25 principals. These are leading companies in the field of consumer goods and pharmaceutical business. I will mention only a few: Mars, Philip Morris, Mondelez, SC Johnson, Sebapharm, Neoplanta, which is also a company from the Nelt Group, etc.
Last year we successfully ended with over 62 million euros in gross turnover and by acquiring an additional warehouse of the company Gorenje we reached, for Montenegro, an impressive 7.500 square meters of storage space with 4500 pallet spaces. The company's current assets in Montenegro are worth around 20.000.000 euros.
How much did the distribution market in Montenegro develop in the previous period, how many international standards were adopted?
Neregelia is today the leader in distribution in Montenegro. We have implemented all the necessary standards in business, and we are big supporters of technology and constant process modernization. We are recognized as someone who is among the first to implement international current events in the business domain - whether it is HCCP, QMS, GDP. Today, we cover the entire market of our country, we cooperate with all customers in all current trade channels.
However, I must mention that, despite all technological and system solutions, the most important thing for us is still people and interpersonal relationships. We try to maintain a friendly relationship with all our principals and customers and to build long-term business cooperation through the prism of good relations.
As consumers, we are often unaware of the importance of distribution in our daily lives. What would happen if the supply chain was interrupted for a day?
Bearing in mind the high professionalism of our people and respect for the strategically set principles of distribution by which we work, an interruption of one day would not be felt in the supply of the market, but several days would already be problematic.
The importance of distribution is often neglected, perhaps with reason, because we are exclusively a B2B (Business to Business) type of business, which usually does not have direct contact with end consumers through our own brands. However, if it were to happen that there is no adequate distribution in a certain market, primarily consumer goods, customers would quickly feel the lack of favorite and necessary brands and products. To clarify in more detail - our distribution delivers each of the 2300 products from the portfolio within 24 to 48 hours. We visit at least 380 points of sale daily with 90 of our own vehicles. Our goal is the distribution ideal: to have 100 percent coverage of the assortment in 100 percent of stores, 100 percent of the time. With serious investments in business and logistics systems such as SAP, WMS (Warehouse management system) or the Pick by Voice system for ordering goods, we meet market requirements in the best possible way.
How much were the company's investments and in which areas did you invest the most in the previous period?
I mentioned new investments in warehouses, modernization of the fleet, systems, technology. However, the most important investments are those in our people, their education and development. I would like to mention the statement of a colleague from Nelt, who said that working in Nelt group companies is one big school. I think he was right. We also have significant programs for new employees, their on-boarding and training. In 2016, we had 22 training sessions, which included all employees.
You are part of the NELT Group, an organizational system consisting of 11 companies in seven countries. How much does belonging to a strong system mean from the point of view of a company coming from a market such as Montenegrin?
The Nelt Group has become a very important player in the Western Balkans region. I will remind you that Nelt companies also have a strong position in Africa, where we operate in Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, covering a market of 90 million inhabitants. Our Neoplanta is the leader in the meat products market in Serbia, while we have high hopes for the recent investment in the e-commerce website takolako.com, which should soon start operating in Montenegro as well.
Belonging to such a system, with almost 4.000 employees, on two continents, also strengthens the position of Neregelia on the Montenegrin market. The fusion of knowledge, experience, data from other markets and the exchange we have horizontally and vertically through the Nelt group is our comparative advantage compared to other distributors. The aspect of mobility and exchange of employees who have potential with other companies is also very important. I am very proud of my friend and our colleague Miloš Velimirović, the former director of Montenegrin sales from Neregelia, who recently leads all African operations in the position of executive director of Nelt Africa.
What are Neregelia's plans for the future?
First of all, our plans are aimed at strengthening distribution. I do not mean only new principals, but also the expansion of service segments for existing partners. Hence the strong focus on transport, storage, forwarding - basic elements of integrated logistics services. We are working with the leader in logistics, the Montenegrin company Montenomax, to create a strategic partnership, which at this stage is developing in the domain of knowledge exchange and capacity building.
The distribution of our new brand Helt, healthy mixes of nuts and dried fruits, which are an ideal substitute for high-calorie snacks, also starts this month. With this, in addition to Neoplanta, we have taken an important step forward in the development of our own brands, which we will distribute in all markets where we operate.
Neregelia has been a partner of the Podgorica Marathon for over ten years, we work with several eminent faculties, we are continuously on the White List of companies.
However, we would like to declare this jubilee year a strategic year in the further development of cooperation with the social community in Montenegro. With the help of our principals, we enter into cooperation with health institutions, with a special focus on places where help is provided to the youngest.
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