Walter Guerra | PLAYERS of life

Walter Guerra (Guadalajara, 1980) studied a degree in Administration and International Business at the Universidad Panamericana, and for several years has been an entrepreneur with Zenkor Hand Carry Services, a business specialized in logistics services with which he is responsible for transporting urgent materials or documents through a person (courier) who travels with them on commercial flights to speed up and optimize delivery times, with greater security and reducing the risk of loss or damage. The services that Walter provides through Zenkor are used by national and international companies that seek to avoid production line stoppages or, in the case of documents, when these are confidential or non-replaceable...

How did Zenkor Hand Carry Services start?

Most of my working life has been in logistics areas, and although the hand carry service is not something new, I realized that in the industry there were a large number of small and medium-sized companies that required this service and were simply not provided with it, either because they did not know who to turn to, or because it was not offered with the quality and service standards that they required. That is how I saw a business opportunity, in a niche that was not being exploited.

What processes do you carry out in a service?

Each hand carry service carried out has a different process, since they are made to measure. Although the origins and destinations of these services are often the same, each one generates a particular logistics depending on many factors, including: the time of request and availability of the material, origin and destination, type of material to be transported, quantities, measurements and weights, packaging, number of couriers to be used, whether the service is national or international, whether import and export processes will be required, whether there will be stopovers in transit countries, whether a visa will be required by the couriers to enter or transit through certain countries. That is why there is no general process, but rather a particular one is generated for each service.

What is the essential function of a courier?

The courier is the core part of the hand carry service, and its primary function is to take care of and travel with the material from the time it is collected until it is delivered to the final destination, ensuring that it is properly handled and that it travels in optimal conditions so that it reaches its destination without any damage. It is worth mentioning that not necessarily a single courier is used for each service, but the participation of two or more may be required.

What competitive advantages do you find in a city like Guadalajara?

This city has been, for several decades, home to many manufacturing companies in the electronics and automotive industry, so the business opportunity is great, in addition to the fact that we have an international airport that serves the most important cities in both the country and the United States, which gives us great connectivity. Likewise, there is a lot of talent in Guadalajara, so it is easy to recruit trained and committed personnel.

What other industries are subject to hiring your services?

The main industries that use our services are the automotive and electronics industries; however, there are also opportunities in the jewelry industry and other industries such as the pharmaceutical industry, although only at a national level due to the import and export permits that these products require. In reality, there is opportunity in any industry in which urgent materials or documents need to be sent. A clear example is when a piece of machinery breaks down, and the production line is stopped, and it is more expensive to wait for the piece to arrive with a conventional express transportation service, than to have it ready at the plant in a matter of hours, paying for a hand carry service.

What service marked a before and after in the history of the company?

The company is relatively young, so there is still no watershed as such. However, the evolution and growth has occurred gradually and constantly and, therefore, a consulting firm was hired that for almost a year helped us with a reorganization and restructuring of processes that have resulted in an increase in administrative and operational efficiency.

What has been your greatest challenge at the head of a business like Zenkor?

From day one, one of the main challenges we face is gaining the trust of potential new clients, those who have not hired us before and who do not know our work; It is difficult for a company to trust you, without knowing you, with the transportation of its critical materials, because any error in a hand carry can represent great losses. But thanks to the excellent work of the team, and the many years of experience of the staff