How Much of the Price Tag Is Logistics?

If a can of soda costs 100 tenge, 10 tenge of that price goes toward logistics.For some goods, logistics, i.e., transportation and storage, can account for half of the final cost. Let us see why logistics is not just an item in anExcel spreadsheet but a factor affectingthe final price of the product.

Hitting the PriceTwice

Logistics affects the price of a product at least twice. First, when raw materials are delivered to plants and factories from other regions or even countries, transportation costs become part of the production cost. Then, the finished product has to be delivered to a distributor, retailer or end customer. These costs are ultimately reflected in the final price. In both cases, the consumer pays. The more expensive the logistics, the higher the price on the store shelf.

Conversely, the more efficient and reliable the logistics, the more affordable and competitive the product can be.

An Outsourced Logistics Department

A manufacturer does not necessarily benefit from maintaining its own logistics department, railcar or vehicle fleet, customs and tariff specialists, and warehouse staff. Instead, these functions can be outsourced to a logistics operator that effectively becomes the plant’s external logistics department, allowing the manufacturer to focus on what it does best: production. Raw materials in, finished products out. Everything before and after is handled by the logistics company.

Atasu Group has adopted this model.One of the best examples is Atasu Group’s work with an automotive plant using a just-in-time delivery model.

The chain looks like this:

Atasu Group delivers empty containers to a component manufacturing plant in South Korea for loading.

The plant loads the containers with components.

Atasu Group transports the loaded containers by sea to a port in China.

Atasu Group assembles a container block train to the Kazakhstan border.

At its own terminal, the company transfers the containers onto its own railcars.

The containers are transported to a temporary storage warehouse.

After customs clearance, Atasu Group delivers the containers to the plant using its own vehicles.

The plant does not need to maintain large inventories: components arrive just in time for the start of each shift. Even a few hours of conveyor downtime can mean that vehicles are not produced on schedule. That is why every container on the train has to arrive exactly when it is needed. Neither too early nor too late.

Logistics affects more than the price of goods; it can determine the stability of production itself. Therefore, a manufacturer needs not just a carrier but an operator capable of managing the entire logistics chain.

For the manufacturer, this means a single point of contact instead of several contractors: there is no need to manage sea freight, rail transportation, terminal handling, customs clearance and truck delivery separately.A single operator is responsible for the entire chain.

Logistics as a Competitive Advantage

Let us return to our can of soda. A manufacturer cannot control the global price of sugar or aluminum, but it can influence the 10 tenge spent on logistics.The key lever is choosing the right logistics operator, because the operator ultimately has a major influence on delivery costs. Money saved on logistics translates into a price advantage on the shelf, a margin, and the opportunity to build a second production line.

Therefore, logistics is not just an expense. It is a lever, and those who know how to use it win in the end.