Professional team is the basis of my business – Artur Czepczyński, President of ABC Czepczyński

The ABC Czepczyński company celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Congratulations! Please tell me what the key is to your company’s success?

Thank you very much, it has been a great joy to me and my family, as well as for the entire ABC team, thanks to whom we have been on the market for 25 years.

I believe that the key to building a well-functioning business is team building. It is important to look for people with higher competences in areas where they can complement us. And then, empower them and entrust them with making their own decisions and responsibilities for their actions.

The second but very important element, in my opinion, is to build the business on specific and real values, as well as implementing them in the company’s strategy. I have always focused on family, education and support for the local community. Dedication to such values, not only on my part, but also on the part of the whole team (because only then will it have a chance to be able to convey our real message), has led us to this year’s 25th anniversary, as well as to the establishment in 2019 of the Czepczyński Family Foundation.

Could you tell our readers about the beginnings of your company? What difficulties did you have to face?

At the beginning, the company struggled with the typical problems that every fledgling enterprise has, i.e. acquiring customers and business partners, building relationships with them and, above all, trusting the ABC Czepczyński brand. However, the greatest difficulties appeared after several years of our operation, when our company glimpsed the first specter of possible bankruptcy. It is not easy when a company may have to be brought into bankruptcy but we, as the management board, always stand up for and take care of our employees, clients, partners as well as protecting all of our liabilities, while risking all of our own private assets. On the way, I have seen three such specters. But by the time of the third, I found it was like a heart attack – once I had survived the third crisis, nothing could beat me. And with this feeling, I continue to this day.

What were the most important moments in the history of ABC Czepczyński’s development? What do you count among its greatest successes?

Important moments in the development of ABC Czepczyński were the decisions to change the qualifications and activities of the company. The first such decision was made in 2008, when we decided to sell our entire fleet, which transformed us from a transport and forwarding company into a pure forwarding enterprise. The second, similar transformation is currently underway. We are changing the company’s business profile and, without giving up shipping, we are going to specialize in the field of automation and digitization.

We know that a professional customer service is a priority for your company. What do you pay attention to the most in this matter?

Probably every business owner will answer that in customer service the most important thing is to build professional and lasting relationships with customers. We are of the same opinion as well, but we do it in a slightly different way. We are involved in many CSR activities related to ecology or the education of children. Our clients appreciate this very much and, more than that, they become actively involved in our initiatives. This allows us to establish very positive relationships with our partners, thanks to which we can solve any problems more efficiently, and negotiate terms that are favorable to both parties, but most importantly, get a lot of good things done together.

Your company is very much involved in charitable activities. What initiatives are currently supported by ABC Czepczyński?

Our CSR activities can be summed up in three categories: employee initiatives, companies and foundations. The ABC team, despite the fact that the members work from different parts of Poland, is jointly involved in many local charities, of which I am very proud. Our employees support, among other activities the WOŚP and Szlachetna Paczka charities as well as local orphanages.

The company, in addition to supporting employees in the implementation of the initiatives mentioned above, is involved in the development of local communities – we have participated, among other things, in the expansion of a local hospital, the co-financing of medical equipment and an ambulance, as well as taking care of future generations and being patrons of a class from a technical school close to us in Międzychód.

The Czepczyński Family Foundation, on the other hand, specializes in the development of children’s education – increasing accessibility and improving its quality. The foundation’s flagship projects are the ABC of Economics and the ABC of Empathy. Both are aimed at kindergartens and primary schools. The ABC of Economics disseminates financial education among the youngest, explains the basic concepts and builds positive attitudes, thanks to which children in their adult lives will be able to consciously make financial decisions. On the other hand, the ABC of Empathy is a dream come true, a project which was partly based on the history of my family. It shows what relationships between children who are either more or less healthy should look like, and how to explain these difficult aspects of our lives to children. I heartily encourage you to join our projects; more than 1,500 facilities in Poland and nearly 100 abroad can confirm the worth of them.

What are your guidelines when selecting the staff in your company? What do you pay special attention to?

First of all, we concentrate on competences. As I mentioned at the beginning, a professional team is the very basis of our business. However, I often tell people recruiting at ABC Czepczyński not to forget that we are employing a real person, not a CV. In order for us to fulfill the company’s mission and to be faithful to the values ​​we profess, we must surround ourselves with positive and open-minded people who are guided by similar ideas.

What are the biggest difficulties you face in your industry?

The TSL industry has been suffering from two major problems for a long time, namely a lack of employees, and in particular drivers, and the European mobility package, introducing a number of changes in regulations that are unfavorable to us. These are the two main topics that are currently killing our industry.

What are the company’s goals for the coming years?

I would like ABC Czepczyński to transform from a forwarding company to a technology company. Of course, we still plan to operate in the shipping area, but our priority for the coming years is the company’s development towards automation and AI. For this purpose, we have established an R&D team that is working on improving our processes and tools on a daily basis.

We also have specific goals in the area of ​​CSR. For the coming years, we plan to continue to care for our planet and strive, among other aims, to minimize our carbon footprint (e.g. by developing technological solutions that enable the liquidation of empty kilometers), and to develop educational projects. By the end of this year, we intend to equip 1,000 Polish municipalities and 100 hospitals with children’s wards with the ABC of Empathy project free of charge.

Artur Czepczyński – Owner and President of the Management Board of ABC Czepczyński, a company providing forwarding services in European road transport. Creator of the SafeCargo proprietary carrier verification system, actively involved in the prevention of mass theft of cargo. Owner of the SONRISO boutique travel agency and the Carelius insurance multiagency. Co-owner of the WEZAJ holiday resort and the MUFU creative agency. The founder (together with his wife) of the Czepczyński Family Foundation, whose main goal is to increase access to education for children as part of the ABC of Economics and ABC of Empathy projects. A member of the Family Business Council at the Lewiatan Confederation. Forbes’ family philanthropist of the year 2019.

Last Updated on February 9, 2022 by Anastazja Lach