For the AsstrA corporate group, the beginning of the year was marked by a remarkable event – a victory in a tender organized by a leading global automobile manufacturer. The route to be serviced runs from the United States to Russia. The customer’s requirements for the transport company included knowledge of the logistics in the region, high-quality services, below-market rates, and a warehouse near the manufacturing plant.

This auto giant, whose history began in the early 20th century, leaves nothing to chance. That is why the project’s first requirement was a test shipment to check service quality levels before beginning regular deliveries. The transport business in America works differently than in Europe and the CIS. Therefore, this shipment of 15,000 units did not take place directly from the USA to Russia but rather involved a warehouse.

In the first stage, the cargo was collected from the sender and delivered to a nearby warehouse. American cargo senders often operate on a “pick and drop” basis. The truck calls in, detaches the trailer to be loaded, and leaves. The cargo is recounted, calibrated, repacked, and stickered. Then the truck returns to take the container and deliver it to the recipient.

This service phase in the American warehouse distinguishes this painstaking process. Its purpose is to identify possible shortages or discrepancies as quickly as possible.

“When preparing our tender proposal, we faced a challenge finding a suitable warehouse in the USA. The warehouse team needed to be able to carefully recount the items and affix all the detailed stickers. After numerous dead ends with warehouse partners, there seemed to be no hope left. However, thanks to the work of our local AsstrA office in New York and a trusted agent, a solution was found. The AsstrA team personally inspected the chosen warehouse in Detroit before cooperation began,” comments Ekaterina Zlatoustovskaya, Trade Lane Manager in AsstrA’s US Container Division.

Our local presence in the USA played a decisive role in successfully initiating our partnership with this client. The US transport market is closed to companies operating exclusively outside American borders. The only way to work properly here is to open your own office, obtain the necessary licenses, and partner directly with local suppliers. Everything must overseen in the same time zone.

“We have been in talks with this client for three years, and this time – after at least 5 months of preparation – we won this long-awaited tender victory. The third time is the charm! We held meetings in Russia and the USA with the sender and receiver and audited the American warehouse in “Motor City.” We’ve also had preliminary discussions about how delivery procedures will be organized. Winning the trust of a customer of this caliber will help us get positively recognized by other automotive market leaders," notes AsstrA Automotive Logistics Project Manager Nikolaj Krokun.