During the pandemic, logistics, unlike other areas, according to the president of the transport and logistics company Atasu Group, Marat Zhuman, showed growth. Although, he notes, it is still difficult to export goods from Kazakhstan to China. In an interview with a correspondent of Kapital.kz the entrepreneur told why the demand for rental of wagons and containers has increased and how it is possible to bring Kazakhstan's logistics to a new level through a healthy partnership between the state and the business community.

- Marat, the whole world has been fighting the pandemic for more than a year. How has COVID-19 affected the work of your company? 

- Unlike other industries, we have practically not felt the negative consequences of the pandemic. In 2020, the company's EBITDA-profit before depreciation and amortization expenses-increased by more than 22%. This is due to several factors. Mainly due to the increase in trade turnover from Asia to Europe. Compared to the pre-pandemic 2019, our company has increased cargo turnover by more than 20%. I think this dynamic will grow from year to year, especially in the field of container transportation by rail. First of all, the increase in turnover is associated with an increase in the need for more rapid delivery of goods. Especially considering the digitalization of various economies and marketplaces. For comparison: if it takes an average of 15 days to deliver cargo from Shenzhen (China) to Nuremberg (Germany) by rail, the cargo will arrive by sea in three months.

- Nevertheless, you probably had to adjust your strategy to meet new challenges…

- Yes, we have adjusted the development strategy of our company, primarily in terms of digitalization. The pandemic has once again demonstrated how important speed is in cargo delivery. And it was these lockdowns and quarantines that accelerated the process of digitalization in our company. Let it be immodest, but I will say that we have something to be proud of in this direction. We have optimized many business processes.

The company has implemented the technology of Robotic Process Automation - robotic automation of business processes from the Kazakh developer of software robots Python RPA Ltd. RPA is a new approach to work in logistics companies, in which software "virtual employees" are created, exactly repeating the actions of employees at the computer. This allows you to automate manual labor very quickly and precisely. In total, we have launched three such robots. Everyone has their own task. One of them helps us in accounting, contacts the portal where all the company's invoices are issued, the machine takes all this and "puts" it into the system. The second robot counts the financial part for us for the entire empty refund. Another one is engaged in the creation of an electronic archive of transport invoices. That is, what our specialists did yesterday, today the equipment is already doing.

One of our main achievements is the server version of the Rail tariff. We have created our own interface, implemented it in our accounting program, which has greatly facilitated the management of wagons, and we have also developed our own interface for the deployment of all rolling stock, which is loaded every four hours, regardless of the participation of people. This allows us to regularly receive all the information about our cars – which are faulty, which are in working condition and, accordingly, respond quickly. In Kazakhstan, we are one of the few who managed to do this.

Now we are also implementing the Fulfillment service. This is a system that includes the American warehouse program WMS. This know-how allows you to fully automate all processes in the warehouse and turn them into an accurate and well-established mechanism that works like a clock.

In addition, we have acquired the Russian RTM system-road transport management, launched a courier delivery application, as well as a container platform management program. In other words, quarantine has taught us a lot, first of all, to value time, human resources, and, most importantly – to properly adapt our business to new working conditions

- How does the Kazakh logistics market feel now, when there is already a tendency to weaken the quarantine?

- One of the clearly defined trends is that railway transportation was more in demand during the pandemic. I attribute this to the fact that during the lockdown period, and after it, road carriers experienced more difficulties when moving goods compared to railway carriers. Remember, when crossing the border, car drivers had to endure a two-week quarantine and only after a negative PCR test could they follow the route.

But the cargo moved freely by rail. Among other tangible changes in the market, I would attribute the fact that many companies have begun to reorient their business, focusing on the development of courier services. People began to order goods more often online, through marketplaces, and it was during the pandemic that there was a surge in demand for courier services. 

As for the main trends that cover the logistics market today, the main one is, perhaps, the problems with the export of goods from Kazakhstan to China. Previously, at Chinese terminals, cargo was smoothly received from our country, loaders manually unloaded wagons and trucks. Now, due to quarantine measures, Chinese loaders are prohibited from manually unloading containers due to the risk of infection with COVID-19. This complicates economic cooperation with China. The situation has led to the fact that large traffic jams have formed on the border with the PRC, both on highways and on railways. At the same time, cargo from China enters our country without any problems. Currently, negotiations are underway on the part of Kazakhstan at the government level to solve this problem. But there are no results yet.

- Our country has a very favorable geographical transit position. At the same time, the transport infrastructure requires modernization. How do you assess its quality today?

- Indeed, the quality of the infrastructure needs to be improved. Many joint railway stations have been functioning since the Soviet times, so they should be expanded. It is also necessary to build additional railway tracks, terminals.

It is precisely because we have such a geographical resource that we need to give priority to logistics. With the help of a well-thought-out logistics chain and high-quality infrastructure, Kazakhstan, as I have already said, can increase the volume of transit traffic, significantly increase the scale of exports of products and expand trade relations.

Kazakhstan has no direct access to the sea routes. This should be taken into account, and therefore develop rail, road and air transportation. In order to clearly establish the transportation of goods in our country in large volumes, so that this process works like clockwork – strictly according to the timetable, first of all, it is necessary to develop railway transportation. The quality of the infrastructure should be as close as possible to international standards, private transport companies should have all the opportunities for development. It should be noted here that the railway has a lot of advantages. Railway transportation is more efficient and reliable compared to others. You know that Kazakhstan is famous for the size of its territory, we have very large distances between settlements. In addition, the climate is very harsh. And it is railway transport that is effective in using over long distances, it is not afraid of either blizzards or ice. This is a transport adapted to any weather conditions.  

Atasu Group has been investing in the development of the railway direction for several years. From 2018 to the present day, we have invested more than 100 million $  in infrastructure and the purchase of transport-railway cars and trucks. Our company was one of the first to build transshipment terminals on the border with China. And, as I said earlier, we are investing in the purchase of wagons and the construction of warehouses. I am sure that our country has every chance to become a logistics hub in Central Asia.

- Using the example of your company, how well are all types of transportation developed here? Which ones prevail? What is the share of the railway line in your transportation portfolio?

- In our portfolio, the share of railway transportation reaches about 80%, 18% is occupied by road, 2% is air transportation. Atasu Group offers a full range of logistics services: rail, road, air, multimodal transportation, loading and unloading services, warehouse, courier, as well as customs broker services.

-  In 2018, you won the EY "Entrepreneur of the Year" competition in Kazakhstan, and in 2019, you represented our country at the international stage of the competition in Monaco, where you competed with dollar millionaires from all over the world. Has the competition changed your vision for life, business?

- Of course, it was a great honor to participate in the competition, especially since I had the opportunity to represent Kazakhstan's business on the world stage. Yes, my vision has changed - both for life and for the format of doing business. I got acquainted with various businessmen, communicated with them, received a huge amount of information. After all, some of the most successful people in the business world gathered at this event. I was interested in everything there. This year our company will be 23 years old. All this time, we have not only set ourselves commercial goals, but also sought to achieve global goals. For example, through logistics, to expand cooperation between Kazakhstan and the countries of Central Asia, Southeast Asia, as well as Europe.

Atasu Group has recently joined the European Business Association of Kazakhstan (EUROBAK). Due to our membership in this association, we have the opportunity to keep abreast of all current issues raised by the international business community, as well as establish new contacts with entrepreneurs and diplomatic missions of almost all European countries, which is important for us, for further business development and representation of Kazakhstan logistics abroad.

I believe that only through the joint efforts of market players, the state, foreign partners and investors will our country have the opportunity to become a transit hub in Central Asia.