The RZD

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BUSINESS MAGAZINE №1 (37) 2014RUSSIAN RAILWAYS

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Meeting the needs

of it-Logistics

«The rzd-parTner inTernaTional»№1 (37) 2014

2

Editorial

The global market is changing rapidly, bringing a lot of new tools for efficient business strategy. Whether it be gigantic ships, ticketing technologies, iPad apps or safety systems – all these innovations are making modern logistics processes faster and more reliable.

But not all the companies today dare to get rid of their ex-pireware and to try something new – for example, to become paperless. The reality is that about 15 million tons of paper is used every year for work usage. And if we talk about the lo-gistics supply chain, add here usage of cardboard boxes. As the world moves towards green logistics and sustainability becomes an important factor for success, it is not too late to pay attention to IT solutions – such as iPad applications for logistics work. Integration of all the devices and electronic documentation available – which today may seem daunting, but tomorrow when EU directives concerning sustainable de-velopment become stricter, those playing the environmentally friendly game from the start will be the winners (pp. 30-31).

Definitely, the logistics of tomorrow will be completely influ-enced by IT, and cloud solutions are also going to play a very important part here. Currently it is a very young technolo gy – less than 5 years old, but, according to experts, a very promising one. The best thing about it is tracking – the ability to follow the route of cargo and to be sure it will arrive in time (pp. 27-29).

Time. The most important factor for winning clients for lo-gistics companies. Engineers are working hard to make trans-port faster. Is 1,220 kph enough? The super high speed train project was designed by the founder of the SpaceX company, Elon Musk. This passenger train, which looks like a capsule,

travels along a reduced-pressure tube. There is also a concept for such a freight train, which can transport cars (pp. 42-43).

There are a lot of critics of this invention. As, for example, for gigantic Triple-E container ships. It’s hard to collect enough cargo for them, it’s hard to provide maintenance and not all the terminals can accommodate them. But this technolo gy is the future, because of increasing traffic and once again – implementation of green logistics principles. Big ships use less fuel per 1TEU and, therefore, have less impact on the environ-ment (pp. 32-33).

The future, when all these things become common, is not so far away. But let’s come back to the present. While thinking about reliability and time, logistics companies always face the problem of choosing the most profitable route. It’s an open secret that the most popular means for delivery is a truck, but the cheapest one is a ship. Unfortunately, the railways are losing (pp. 24-26).

If we talk about shipping to Russia, the situation is clear. Even if rail is the most reliable means of transport, as you can avoid traffic jams at the border, the level of bureaucracy is very high. According to foreigners working in Russia, you need only four documents to ship a container in Germany, but 10 documents for the same work in Russia. But even this serious obstacle can’t stop logistics companies from coming to this country. CEOs as usual are sharing their opinions on our pages and giving advice to those who would like to expand their cargo flows (pp. 56-57).

Follow the trends and find out more transport analytics in a newer, sleeker and more informative format in the first issue of RZD-Partner International Magazine in 2014.

No Fear