Career
The end of May was very busy in the world of Ukrainian logistics. Three key industry events happened practically at once: Grain & Maritime Days in Odessa, the Odessa Shipping Dinner, and the All-Ukrainian Logistics Day in Kiev. AsstrA specialists always follow the latest market trends and so they could simply not miss these events.
Natalia Demchenko, Head of AsstrA Kiev, shares her impressions of attending the conference in Kiev:
“Grain & Maritime days in Odessa, the largest meeting point for representatives of the grain and logistics industries, lasted three days between May 30 and June 1.
Its organizers and participants were there to share experience, consider pressing issues and challenges in grain logistics, and propose solutions for the future.The rich program involved 40 speakers discussing over 50 topics. Some broad topics were covered like building Ukraine’s presence on international grain markets. But there were also some specific questions about, for example, the development of Azov ports and the Corinth Canal, the gray market and corporate investigations, and technical possibilities for digitalizing sea shipping, to name just a few.
As AsstrA Grain Logistics has been playing an increasingly important role in the company for the last three years, AsstrA definitely had to be at this conference.”
The Odessa Shipping Dinner is Grain & Maritime Days’ traditional extension in which participants get together in an informal atmosphere to strengthen existing business ties and establish new ones. Such shipping dinners are held all around the world.
Vladislav Chesnakov, an AsstrA Container Specialist, describes the evening:
“This informal event did not have an established agenda but was very successful because so many service providers were there. The format helped us talk directly to potential partners, exchange contacts, and find out how we all might work together.”
And in the last days of May, the 21st All-Ukrainian Logistics Day was held in Kiev. Larisa Mevkh, AsstrA Ukraine Specialist, mentions some highlights:
“This year, 146 experts from 82 companies took part in Logistics Day. The objective of the conference was to create an effective and comfortable platform for sharing experiences, discussing logistics development trends, and establishing new contacts. For AsstrA, this event is an important way to build relations with existing partners and meet new ones. And for me personally it was a great self-development opportunity. I could get up-to-date on new trends and learn more about building transport logistics business processes.
Of the many topics raised during the conference perhaps the most interesting were Ukrainian freight volume analysis, customs risks, and how to best manage inter-departmental logistics workflows for optimal results.
Some forklift drivers gave an impressive demonstration of well-coordinated work with precise equipment control. This performance once again clearly demonstrated that qualified personnel are any logistics company’s most important asset and way to guarantee top-quality service.
All in all, the event was very well organized and had good, qualified speakers. If you want to stay current with the everyday realities of the logistics market, you need to attend such events. Only companies that never stop developing and are constantly looking for ways to improve business processes can provide customers with a consistently high-quality service in the long run.”
