We open a transport company. Business plan for a logistics company Creation of a transport company from scratch

The transport business is a very profitable investment for your capital. Today, cargo transportation is more in demand than ever: consumer demand for a wide variety of goods is constantly growing, as a result of which supply is also growing. Large manufacturers organize mainly wholesale deliveries. And here small wholesale, retail trade and numerous online markets - regular customers transport companies. But, of course, in order to organize a competitive business, you should carefully study the area in which you plan to work.

At the initial stages, you will have to lay all the main organizational activities on your shoulders. Of course, if you do not initially have an intelligent assistant with a good reputation and experience in senior positions in forwarding and logistics companies “at hand”. Such you need a partner like air. If you fail to find an experienced consultant in this area, it is better to postpone your venture for a while - there is a high probability of “filling up” everything at the very beginning. But, if you are determined to create a logistics business, then consider how to open your own transport company step by step.

Features of the transport business

The essence of logistics is in the development of optimal transportation routes, including the driver’s rest time, refueling, and any circumstances that “slow down” the process that may arise along the way. The forwarding department constantly supervises the process, controlling the location of each machine, collecting information and making sure that customers are completely satisfied with the service provided to them. The undoubted advantages in the transport business are:

• no need to obtain a license;
• "start" and the initial stages of business development will not require too large financial investments;
• "buoyancy" and "fortress";
• according to statistics, among transport companies the bankruptcy rate is one of the lowest, because after the first and second waves of the crisis, representatives of this market segment recovered very quickly.

Opening a transport company from scratch - what do the owners of such a business say? The video below provides the answer.

Company registration

Most transport companies registered as CJSC (closed joint-stock companies), LLC, OJSC, as well as PBOYuL(entrepreneur without formation of a legal entity). Each of these organizational and legal forms is endowed with its own disadvantages and advantages. At PBOYuL there is a value added tax.

Joint-stock companies are an excellent form for creating a business with the prospect of serious expansion, but in order to open an OJSC (and even more so, a CJSC), one must go through many very complex procedures associated with tedious paperwork and obtaining tons of information. Therefore, the optimal form for today is considered an LLC, which is preferred by many entrepreneurs, owning a variety of companies.

By the way, you can also purchase a ready-made company, but in this case, you should thoroughly familiarize yourself with the object of purchase, identify "pitfalls", possible hidden reasons why this business is being sold.

Registration can be done much easier if you seek help from a reliable company providing legal support services. So you will avoid unwanted mistakes, fuss, conflict situations, queuing. Before choosing such an assistant firm, make sure of its decency, experience and competence. Among other things, you will be required to deposit start-up capital and open a bank account for the company.

Room selection

The office space will not only be the legal address of the enterprise (in connection with which a lease agreement will be required between the owner of the area and the newly formed company), but will also be the “face” of your company, which should not be forgotten. Not necessary, it is not even desirable that the office be "immersed in luxury", but it should look decent: a simple renovation and new office equipment, as well as an impressive plasma or projector in the presentation room - this is a necessary minimum.

Warehouses must be spacious and comply with all safety standards: fire, sanitary, labor protection, etc. That is, the floors must be non-slippery, perfectly flat (without cracks and holes), the ramps must be comfortable and appropriate for the height of the vehicle. It would be nice to equip warehouses with electric ramps.

You should take into account that the work of the warehouse is 70% of the success of a transport company. This means that the conditions for workers should be as comfortable as possible - a dining room with a microwave and a kettle, the presence of cold water, a shower with cold and hot water - many entrepreneurs “forget” about this, not wanting to take into account that the times of feudal lords are long over and earning capital on health and humiliation of simple hard workers sooner or later lead to collapse.

Equipment

It's best to buy new. So, you will be sure that in case of any problems during the warranty period, everything will be fixed or a new one will be sent to you. As Winston Churchill once said: "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things." You can’t argue with this - of course, you need to save money, but the priority, after all, should be put on quality. On average, new rokla (hydraulic trolley) will cost you 7500 - 9000 rubles. Ideally, you should have 1 of these devices for each warehouse worker.

In addition, regardless of the size of the warehouse, you will need a forklift adapted to work with pallets (pallets). New costs about 500,000 rubles. See for yourself here - if it's expensive, you can buy used ones in excellent condition. But then, when buying, take a specialist with you who will properly inspect the car.

It is not necessary to buy a loader immediately, but it is highly desirable. The fact is that one of your potential customers may need to transport something too heavy. Unloading this manually is impossible, using a rokla is extremely difficult and threatens to break it, as well as damage the cargo itself. Therefore, the loader machine will greatly simplify and speed up the work.

Make sure that the warehouse always has a sufficient amount of consumables - stretch tape and adhesive tape, it is not advisable to save on them, but keep strict records to avoid theft. As for cars, usually transport companies enter into contracts with the owners of trucks, often part-time drivers. Thus, the transportation is generously paid, but the responsibility for possible damage to the transport and cargo on the road lies with the owner of the transport.

Personnel and promotion

First time you can limit yourself to a minimum staff, combining several functions at once for each of the workers. In order to save money and gain invaluable experience and myself The owner of the company may initially assume several important functions. But keep in mind, if your employees are overloaded with diversified work, this will significantly reduce their efficiency.

It is advisable to give preference to specialists with experience, even in related fields and not in leadership positions. Bookkeeping is too important a moment, so you can’t entrust it to an amateur. It is not bad to use the services of an audit company, but it is much better to find an intelligent specialist on your own.

Depending on your creative abilities, connections and financial capabilities, you can completely entrust the function of promoting your business to a reputable advertising agency, or try to do it personally, limiting yourself to ordering professional advertisers to develop the “face” and style of your brand.

The agency, taking into account your wishes, will come up with a logo for the company, a corporate color scheme, a slogan, perhaps an advertising audio clip for the radio or a billboard poster; brandbook, branded stationery. With where, in what quantity and how to place advertising products, you decide for yourself. Of course, completely relying on the agency is convenient, but not always affordable.

Possible problems

Start-up transport companies often face the following obstacles:

Theft. You must be confident in your "backbone" - the employees with whom you start a business. In addition, a control system should be provided - video surveillance cameras, security, personal checks of accounting, regular reporting.

Service. Customers may be dissatisfied with the quality of services. Especially at the development stage, it is not uncommon for something to go wrong. Delays in cargo, causing damage to the client. This process needs to be controlled rudeness on the part of the staff should not be allowed, each client must be satisfied- the reputation of the enterprise directly depends on it.

Control carrier. It is desirable that the machines are equipped with GPS systems.

Quality transportation. The load must be compact and securely stowed. To do this, warehouse workers should always have enough supplies and the right equipment. It is necessary to establish the level of permissible “combat” of the load and withdraw the difference from the salaries of employees in order to stimulate them to quality work.

Also install average monthly battle percentage- in case of good performance, employees should be rewarded. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that if you introduce a system of fines, it should not be excessively rigid, and besides, salaries should be quite high - otherwise you will never achieve even half the effective and high-quality work.

Freight transportation is a highly demanded business sector today. Transport companies will always be in the black if there is a need to transport goods or move. But why do some firms go bankrupt? Simply because their owners initially led the wrong business policy. In the trucking market, the fittest survive, and this is a fact. But how not to become bankrupt and how to open a transport company from scratch? You will learn the answers to all these and many other questions in the course of our today's article.

Choice of work scheme

Before you open a transport company, you should determine the appropriate scheme of work. There are two options in total:

1. Organization of own transport company with own fleet of trucks. In this case, you can rent cars or purchase them in the required quantity by re-registering them to an individual or legal entity. In addition, if you are counting on a large share of cargo transportation, you should hire qualified workers (mostly drivers). If the company's budget is small, you can hire a driver with a personal car. So you save not only time for searching for suitable personnel, but also money for purchasing your own fleet.
2. Provision of forwarding services. In this case, your company turns into a freight forwarding service. The essence of her work is to find carriers on the side. Thus, firms receive quite high profits. On average, they take from 5 to 10 percent of the total cost of transportation (for 1 freight). And this is with the complete absence of its own fleet and a minimum recruitment of workers. In general, the business is also very profitable.

How to open a transport company providing dispatch services? Pitfalls and more

The scheme of work of a company providing forwarding services is quite simple: a cargo owner - a dispatcher - a cargo carrier. What does it mean? The dispatching company connects the owner of the cargo with the carrier for the purpose of mutually beneficial cooperation. At the same time, the forwarding company takes into account all the interests of these two parties.

How to recruit your base of carriers?

In order to make a profit, the company must first have its own base of carriers, otherwise there will be no one to cooperate with. Here you can make a list of transport companies and private carriers - owners of trucks.

You need to compile this database in such a way that you can organize not only road types of cargo transportation, but also sea, air or rail. Most modern forwarding companies operate according to this scheme. However, at first you can try yourself in only one type of transportation (it is desirable that it be road transport).

Documentation

All companies and drivers with whom you will cooperate must have a full package of registration and permits. An agreement should be concluded with the owner of the freight transport, since without it, the dispatching company will be responsible for the delivery and safety of the cargo. What should be included in this document? When drawing up a contract, pay attention to the following points:

1. Shipping Name.
2. Its mass.
3. The type of cargo being transported.
4. Volume.
5. Place of loading / unloading.
6. Type and number of the vehicle.
7. Penalties for disruption of delivery (forfeit).

At the bottom of the contract, indicate the signature and seal of both parties (the carrier and the dispatch company). The exchange of documents is carried out in several ways: by fax or by e-mail. Delivery of cargo can also be paid in several ways: in cash (when loading / unloading) or by bank transfer.

In the latter case, payment is made within 7-14 banking days. But, as practice shows, money by "non-cash" may not come even after a month (fortunately, this happens very rarely).

How to open a shipping company?

First of all, you will have to think about purchasing transport, since in this case you simply cannot do without it. How does a transport company work? The whole essence of the work of your company will be to search for orders (this can be done through the same dispatch services) and deliver goods in various directions.

Thus, trucks will be the main "gear" in the work of the entire huge mechanism of the carrier company. Many start-up companies rent a fleet of vehicles. But if you have a large enough initial capital of the company, it is best to buy your own trucks and not pay monthly rent, as in the previous case.

When your fleet has 15 or more cars, consider building your own service station or working closely with a specific company that maintains such equipment.

How to open an office?

Where exactly your office will be located does not matter. And if you decide to equip it, be sure to connect a multi-channel phone to it. Next, you should think about buying furniture, office equipment and connecting the Internet. In general, an office for such a company that delivers goods is not a mandatory aspect.

Most often, it is needed by dispatch companies that simply do not have their own fleet of vehicles. If you are a private carrier, open a website instead of an office. There you can specify all the detailed information about your company, tariffs, as well as place photos of the fleet. So you will definitely interest the customer who wants to cooperate with your company.

The working staff of the company

When compiling a business plan for a transport company, it is impossible not to touch upon the problem of employing employees in your company. Is it even worth hiring people for your company? The question is very ambiguous. And the exact answer to it depends on the scale of transportation and the number of pieces of equipment. Agree, why hire a dozen people if you have only one car.

Studying the business areas in which today you can actively develop, novice entrepreneurs should pay attention to the field of cargo transportation. This industry directly depends on the growth of the industrial sector, as well as on the general economic situation in the state. When planning to open a transport company, a novice businessman must first of all monitor the local market, realistically assess his ability to compete, and also draw up a competent financial plan.

Registration

After making the final decision regarding the opening of a transport company, a businessman must go through the state registration procedure. To do this, he needs to determine in what status the commercial activity will be carried out:

1. Individual entrepreneur.
2. Closed or Open Joint Stock Company.
3. Limited Liability Company

Important! Experts in the field of economics and law recommend that Russian citizens who decide to develop a cargo transportation business choose as a form of management. Its main advantage is that the founders and managers of the company are not subject to legal liability. In the event of problems with the regulatory authorities, the Limited Liability Company will be responsible only with personal property and assets on the balance sheet.

After studying this video, aspiring entrepreneurs will be able to learn how to properly organize the workflow in a transport company:

If aspiring entrepreneurs have chosen an LLC as their legal form, then the best option for them would be to switch to the UTII tax regime (see also). In this case, they will be able to use up to 20 trucks in their work. For individual entrepreneurs, the form of taxation 3 personal income tax is more suitable. Before starting work, the heads of the company must open settlement accounts in any banking institution, since very often both small and large companies order cargo transportation, which need to document their costs.

Attention! Today, Russian citizens can apply to law firms whose specialists open turnkey transport companies in record time. They can also purchase a ready-made company with an open bank account and a complete set of registration documentation.

Premises selection

After the completion of registration activities, business entities planning to work in the field of cargo transportation need to find an office space and a protected area for a car park. When looking for a room where clients will be served, you can choose large business centers where offices are rented. When choosing a territory for a cargo fleet, one should pay attention to those places that have fences and a nearby transport interchange. Today, many companies rent out their warehouses and hangars, as well as management buildings that can accommodate management and staff offices.

Important! For the work of a transport company, it is necessary to purchase computers, printers, a scanner, a fax and a telephone, which are necessary for working with clients and processing cargo transportation. Ordinary office furniture is suitable for arranging cabinets.

If a novice entrepreneur has a large start-up capital, he can purchase an office space. In this case, he will be able to profit from such real estate (rent it out), even if there is no development in the field of transport services. The transport company must have its own garage, in which mechanics will repair cars and carry out their maintenance. It is also recommended to equip a warehouse in which the goods of customers will be temporarily stored.

The subject of entrepreneurial activity should approach the issue of personnel selection with all responsibility, since the financial result and prosperity of the company will ultimately depend on the qualifications and decency of employees. When hiring drivers, you need to pay attention to their experience and length of service in this area. The number of such employees should match (or better exceed) the number of trucks. If the company works every day, then 2-3 drivers need to be put on one truck. For them, a schedule of work shifts is drawn up, which includes days off.

If truck drivers have the opportunity to independently carry out maintenance and repair of vehicles, then the position of a mechanic can be saved (otherwise, such a unit should be added to the state). It is mandatory to hire qualified and non-drinking movers who can carry out loading and unloading operations both manually and with the help of specialized equipment.

To work in the office, you will need to involve an accountant, cleaners, security guards and a secretary, a trade manager, a logistics dispatcher (the number of these employees depends on the size of the fleet), who will place orders. A large logistics company should have a lawyer on staff who can also deal with insurance. If the manager cannot find suitable specialists for the positions of a lawyer and an accountant, he can contact an outsourcing company and use the services of its employees. Today, many transport organizations maintain full-time doctors who examine drivers before each trip to the route.

Important! A business entity can save money by hiring drivers with personal trucks.

The transport business is becoming increasingly popular, both among consumers and in the business environment. The demand for these services is constantly growing, and in connection with the development of online commerce, transport companies have a lot of new regular customers. Becoming the owner of a transport company is not the easiest task, since this type of activity has a high entry threshold and experience in forwarding and logistics companies. How to open a transport company from scratch for a beginner?

Logistics, as a business, has undeniable advantages over most other activities. The transport company does not require licenses, is considered financially sound and has less risk of going bankrupt. In this regard, quite tough competition has developed in this environment, and a newcomer to this market will need a competent approach and the ability to make decisions quickly and efficiently.

Business registration

Before opening a transport company for the transportation of goods, it is necessary to settle legal formalities. This type of entrepreneurship requires registration of a legal entity, or PBOYuL (entrepreneurial activity without forming a legal entity).

Opening a CJSC or OJSC is a promising option that will allow you to seriously expand. But these forms oblige to issue a lot of certificates and permits. PBOYuL are waiting for the costs of paying additional taxation. Therefore, LLC is a more profitable and convenient option.

To settle all the formalities for registering a transport business in the form of an LLC, it is recommended to contact specialists who will save you from long queues, mistakes and misunderstandings. It is important to remember that an LLC requires a Charter, start-up capital and a settlement set in a bank.

Room selection

When a new LLC is formed, it is necessary to conclude a lease agreement with the owner of the premises - the office address must become the legal address of the enterprise. In addition to the office, warehouse space will be required.

The premises do not need luxurious renovation, but at the same time they should look decent. An important requirement is compliance with the standards of fire and sanitary inspections. The office is the face of the company, so it needs a presentable look and a stylish interior.

Warehouses - clean and dry, equipped with a shower and a place to eat. Statistics show that the success of opening a transport company for cargo transportation is 70% dependent on warehouse workers. Therefore, their working conditions must be provided with proper comfort.

Equipment

The transport business needs new high-quality equipment. Not only the success of the company depends on this, but also the safety of employees. Low-quality or used equipment often runs the risk of becoming unusable and increasing the costs of the entrepreneur.

Necessary equipment and special equipment for the warehouse of a transport company:

• rokla - one for each working warehouse;
• forklift - one per warehouse;
• consumables - adhesive tape, stretch tapes, etc.

Cars for cargo transportation are expensive transport. It is more profitable to start a business by negotiating with car owners. It is convenient if the owner of the transport agrees to work as a driver on it. For the entrepreneur, this means less responsibility, since the driver-owner of the car will be responsible for all possible damage or loss of cargo on the road.

office equipment

In addition to the warehouse, it is necessary to take a responsible approach to the work of the office. This room performs not only a representative function for customers. The office should accommodate dispatchers who will control the work of drivers. For control rooms and for receiving clients, the premises will need:

• computers and office equipment;
• tables and chairs;
• landline and mobile phones. It is desirable to have 2 fixed lines;
• walkie-talkie to communicate with drivers.

Company staff

Starting a freight forwarding company from scratch is not an easy task. It is good if the entrepreneur has experienced employees on staff who can give advice and take on some managerial functions. You can also entrust certain workers with various functions, in order to limit yourself to a small staff at first. It is important not to overdo it with diversification, so as not to reduce the efficiency of employees.

The company will need the following employees on a permanent basis:

• Dispatcher - 2 people. Dispatchers take orders, issue vouchers for drivers, keep in touch with them during trips.
• Drivers - 2 people per car if long trips are planned. Drivers must have the required driving categories and have experience in driving trucks.
• The mechanic is one person on the staff. His job is to service vehicles and machinery.
• Warehouse worker - 2 people.
• Advertising manager - to find customers and promote the company.
• Accountant - in this case, you need it regularly, consulting services will cost more. The responsibilities of an accountant include payroll for employees.

How to get clients?

A business such as a freight forwarding company is in itself popular and in demand among customers. But at the initial stage, the business will need promotion. The Internet is recognized as the main way to disseminate information about the provision of services today. How to offer your services online:

• create your own website;
• place ads on free classifieds boards;
• monitor the demand in the network for cargo transportation services;
• send letters with commercial offers to the addresses of potential customers.

Costs and payback

As a business, a transport company requires serious start-up capital. Before you start opening a business, you should carefully calculate all possible costs. They include:

• rent and repair of premises;
• Payment of utility services;
• staff salaries;
• purchase of the necessary equipment;
• purchase of spare parts for special equipment;
• payment of taxes;
• gasoline and other automotive fluids.

Without the purchase of vehicles for transportation, the average cost of starting a business will be at least 1,200 thousand rubles. The purchase of vehicles will significantly increase these costs. In addition, experts argue that a faster payback from the transport business of transporting goods should be expected when renting a car.

Income

The profitability of the business depends on the number of cars in the fleet and the availability of orders. With proper business promotion, properly organized work and minimized losses, the average profit from one machine per month will be 30 thousand rubles. If you have 2 cars, the business will pay off no earlier than in 1.5 - 2 years. The profitability of the business is recognized as high: it is up to 40% of the total revenue.

Small and medium business in Russia occupies approximately 95% of the motor transport industry. Consequently, the industry employs approximately 15 million people in the country. Based on the data of analytical portals in the Russian Federation, recently there has been a positive trend in the growth of industrial production. Despite the fact that the country's economic development is rather unstable, freight traffic continues to grow. That is why it makes sense to think about how to create your own trucking company and draw up a business plan for a logistics center.

The indisputable advantage of opening such a trucking company is that this business does not require large initial investments. In addition, a license is not required for transport and forwarding activities. However, it is worth noting that the lack of a license quite often entails the unfair performance of their duties by dispatchers of private motor transport companies. Therefore, this is a rather big disadvantage of opening such an enterprise.

It should be understood that at the initial stage of development of a motor transport company, the owner of the enterprise will need to do most of the work on his own. In addition, you will need experience in forwarding activities, so as not to overwhelm the work at the very beginning of the existence of the enterprise.

The first steps must be taken with extreme caution, because the activity of forwarders is to satisfy the interests of potential customers of the trucking company, as well as in possession of information.

There are cases in which only a forwarder is able to resolve the situation between the cargo owner and the carrier.

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What do you need to open a trucking company?

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Types of companies that transport various goods

Among the total number of transport companies, the following main types can be distinguished:

1. Companies that provide services to individuals. Such services include the delivery of large-sized furniture and equipment, equipment. Most often, such companies carry out delivery only within the city. Such companies use small-tonnage vehicles for freight transportation. Carrying capacity - only up to 7 tons.
2. Companies that provide transportation services to legal entities. This can be delivery to wholesale bases or from wholesale bases to store warehouses. The geography of service is quite extensive. There is a possibility of transportation from Russia to neighboring countries. Trucks with trailers are used.
3. Companies that transport various types of cargo for industrial companies. Such delivery is most often carried out only within the Russian Federation. Of road transport, dump trucks, long vehicles and tractors are used.
4. Companies that are engaged in the delivery of groupage cargo. Such services most often cover not only the Russian Federation, but also the near abroad. There are cases when foreign countries are also available. In this case, such a type of transport as a road train is used.
5. The last type is intermediary companies that search for orders on their own. In such firms, most often they do not have their own transport, and all orders go to the manufacturer.

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Organizational and legal aspects of opening a motor transport enterprise

In this business, as in any other, the form of registration of activity must be chosen based on the participants and co-founders. Therefore, if there is only one organizer of such activities, it makes sense to register as an individual entrepreneur (individual entrepreneur). If co-founders are also planned, it will be necessary to register an LLC (limited liability company). Regarding the taxation system, you should know that for the right choice, you will need to decide on the target audience, that is, with those people with whom the logistics company will work. If you plan to work only with individuals and companies that work without VAT, the best form of taxation may be a single tax on imputed income. This system allows you to own no more than 20 cars.

In the event that it is planned to service entire industrial companies with general taxation, a limited liability company will need to use the general taxation regime. For an individual entrepreneur, the best choice would be the tax regime on the income of an individual in form 3.

In addition, do not forget that you will need to open a bank account. This is a very important aspect of such activity. This must be understood, because in the absence of a current account, there may be a situation in which the company will lose a client.

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Selection of suitable employees for opening a similar company

List of specialties without which no successful transport company can function:

It is worth noting that for the first time you can limit yourself to recruiting employees. This can be done by combining the responsibilities of several positions. But it is worth knowing that such an approach can significantly slow down the workflow of a trucking company. Finding a highly qualified and experienced specialist, while not guaranteeing him a high salary, can be quite difficult. That is why it makes sense to hire a capable employee without experience in a similar field and engage in his training. Regarding accounting, it is worth knowing that an exceptionally highly qualified specialist who has extensive experience will be needed here. Since the responsibility for wages will now lie with the entrepreneur, it is better to avoid risks and use the services provided by the audit company.

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The contract that the driver must have

All drivers and companies with whom cooperation is planned must have with them a complete package of documents, registration and permits. It is important to know that it is imperative to conclude an agreement with drivers, because if this is not done, the responsibility for the cargo will lie with the dispatch service. A standard contract for the carriage of goods by road consists of the name, weight, type and volume of cargo, place of loading, place of unloading, type and number of the vehicle, penalties, signatures and seals of the parties. The exchange of contracts can be carried out by transmission by mail, including electronic, fax. Payment for the work done can be carried out both in cash when loading or unloading, and by bank transfer.

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Customer base and search for possible orders

It should be understood that the future success of a trucking company that provides cargo transportation services will depend on the number of attracted customers. Therefore, after opening a logistics company, you need to take care of finding potential customers.

For transport companies that plan to provide their services to individuals, the following actions can be used to attract customers:

Firms that focus on working with legal entities and various industrial companies should take the following steps in order to attract potential customers:

It is worth knowing that at the beginning of the existence of the company, it makes no sense to get involved in advertising. This is due to the fact that advertising can lead to a lot of potential customers, which it will be quite difficult for a start-up company to cope with. Consequently, this may lead to negative publicity, which will not in the best way affect the reputation of the new enterprise.