Courier service first appeared in 1907 in the USA. The principal idea of the service was to collect small cargoes and correspondence immediately from the shipper's door and take it to the mail with payment of transportation cost. At the consignee's side, a representative of a courier company received the cargo at the mail office and delivered it straight to the addressee's door. This service became extremely popular which spurred its grandiose development. As time elapsed, courier companies reduced the time of cargo delivery and expanded geography of transportation using airplanes and high-technology sorting centers (HUBs).

The principal concept and competitive advantage of courier service is consolidation of small cargoes and correspondence into big volumes. Let us give a simple example: transportations of 1 kg and 10 tons of cargo by different airplanes with the same route will have the same cost. However, the cost of transportation of one kilo in the first case will be considerably (!!!) higher than in the second. That's why if you turn directly to an airline for transportation of a small cargo your transportation rate will be a lot higher than the rate that a courier company which consolidates a big volume of cargo for the desired destination will offer you. Besides low rates, there are a lot of extra services such as: collection of cargo directly from the consignor's door and delivery thereof to the door of consignee; cargo packing, following the cargo delivery status in on-line mode, insurance. All this makes express-service essential both for corporate customers and for private persons.

In order to provide high-quality courier service for our customers, in 2003 we establishes a specialized company Imex-Express which offers services of express delivery of correspondence and cargoes all over Russia and CIS. Imex-Express is:

• A proprietary network of regional representations in the territory of Russia which covers over 2500 population aggregates.
• A credit form of payment - we bill customers upon delivery of the cargo. The payment can be made by a shipper, a consignee or a third party.
• Flexible discount rates for corporate customers.
• Timely providing customers with bills of lading and original consumable materials for packing cargoes to be forwarded.
• A unique multifunctional system of remote access provided to corporate customers.
• Insurance of cargoes "against all risks" provided by an independent insurance company.
• Individual approach to every customer with consideration of peculiarities of his business.