Press centre

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.

The global pandemic highlighted the need for smooth supply chain operations. The measures introduced by governments to limit the spread of the virus have affected all aspects of life, including logistics networks. Mykolas Tokarenko, Head of AsstrA’s Baltics & Belarus Container Division, discusses how the coronavirus and quarantine have changed the maritime transport market.

At AsstrA, strong customer relationships are a core value. Our abilities to listen and evaluate help us builds fruitful partnerships. We prioritize achieving ambitious, shared goals with clear, confidential communication.

The Covid-19 crisis seems to be rewarding those who are brave, those who think beyond the traditional constraints of business as usual, those who are adapting business models and processes to reflect a new reality.

A third (33%) of supply chain leaders have moved sourcing and manufacturing activities out of China, or plan to do so in the next two to three years, according to a survey by Gartner.

The year 2020 will go down in history as an inflection point where life – as we knew it – changed. Previously forgotten basic truths took on newfound significance. Face-to-face conversations with loved ones and evening walks in the park became more valuable than the latest gadget or fashion accessory from a new collection. Doctors began to receive sincere applause, and everyone remembered that good health is in fact the most important possession.

“As a nation we are creaking back into action and beginning the return to work. However it seems that our workplaces can’t adapt easily to the ‘new normal’ overnight where we take care to distance ourselves properly and compliantly. We are used to making the most of our premises, using every spare inch, so it’s inevitable that we’re all going to need more space. We have been talking to a few businesses about the safe supply of additional buildings in preparation for a slow reverse of lockdown.

It’s only when you get the chance to take a few minutes and look back at the past three months of a global pandemic that you realise what has really been achieved in the world of logistics.

Spain and France are among the European countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The countries’ governments imposed strict quarantines at the end of March 2020, and residents spent 7 weeks at home. National leaders eased the self-isolation regime in early May.

This year’s National Forklift Safety Day returns on Tuesday 9th June to promote the importance of safe segregation of pedestrians in the workplace – and despite the restrictions imposed by lockdown, the campaign is already gathering momentum across the materials handling industry.

Investment in the right mezzanine and flooring can future-proof any warehousing operation, allowing sites to cope with increased levels of e-commerce, automation, use of robotics and the impact of a global pandemic writes Christopher Walton.

The quality of services an international logistics company or transport partner provides is the result of the coordinated work. Good teamwork is an indicator of a company’s competitiveness and a key factor behind its successful development.

Every day, tens of thousands of vehicles operate on international highways. Occasionally, these vehicles includes convoys of trucks moving oversized, non-standard cargo like medical modules, components of petrochemical plants, and even homes.

The world experienced the spring of 2020 in self-isolation mode. Governments of numerous countries around the world imposed quarantines, and many people have been forced to stay at home and be content to go out only to walk pets or shop for food.

A majority of UK businesses are looking at international expansion after the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit exposed reliances on domestic trade, according to a study by cross-border shipping specialist One World Express

May saw a small recovery of air cargo volumes, however, a fall in demand over the last two weeks of the month means the market still ‘remains erratic’ according to Clive Data Services.

As the Coronavirus pandemic has altered our ways of living and working – potentially for good – it has sent shockwaves through areas of UK business previously thought untouchable.

The value of the commercial shipping industry has been significantly highlighted in the wake of the COVID-19. Under normal circumstances, consumers didn’t think much about the supply chains, shipping containers, or the human resources involved in getting essential and luxury products into markets around the world.

May has marked a turning point in the easing of quarantine measures and restrictions. After a strict quarantine, Western Europe is gradually returning to the usual rhythm of life. The first countries to return have been the Czech Republic and Slovakia.