Groupage

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.

Whether a shipment involves electrical appliance parts from China to the EU, pharmaceuticals from Belgium to Poland, or cosmetics from the USA to Russia, warehousing services are a core component of the logistics chain for customers in almost any industry. In April 2020, AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG opened its own warehouse for customers in Poland.

In mass markets, companies win the battle for customers by providing positive customer experiences. Business can use marketing tools to study the needs and desires of customers. The information collected is used to create and promote products. The next step includes sales and service. In stationary stores, interior design, music, aromas, merchandising, and friendly staff help make buying pleasant. E-commerce companies aim to build positive customer experiences in other ways.

Towards the end of the calendar year, there are plenty of reasons to go shopping, e.g. Black Friday sales, Christmas gifts for loved ones, and New Year celebrations. Both traditional and online stores quickly replenish the assortment of goods they sell during the busy season. Clearly organized logistics systems are what keeps those shelves filled. What best practices do transport and logistics industry experts use to make sure everyone receives a holiday gift? Let’s find it out with Justas Cibulskas, Head of the Groupage Cargo Division at AsstrA.

The Middle Kingdom is the largest importer of goods from Europe. Every year, more and more products of European origin reach the Great Wall. The main means of transport is rail. What do Chinese importers bring in European containers?

Container transport by rail is the most dynamically developing branch of logistics. The railroad linking the Far East and Europe and comprising part of the New Silk Road is an alternative to sea and air transport from China and is reshaping the nature of import and export. Currently, rail has completely replaced air and sea as the preferred transport mode from the Far East to Europe.

In Europe, Less Truck Load (LTL) shipments account for a quarter of the entire freight market. To learn the secret to success in groupage shipments and uncover the hidden difficulties of organizing them, we talked with AsstrA Group Transport Department Head Justas Cibulskas.

Each country has its own trendy products from certain brands. There is no secret that there could be hundreds or thousands of kilometers between a brand’s “homeland” and where its products are actually manufactured.

A 20-meter Moscow metro wagon. A 6-ton passenger plane engine. A 1,000-part city tram. All these vehicles’ components must go a long way before they can function together as a whole. Sometimes production starts with one piece in Japan and ends with final assembly in Austria.

Defining waste is easy. According to the Polish legal Act of 14 December 2012, waste is any substance or object whose holder is or will be disposing of it or has the obligation to do so. Removing waste, however, is not so easy.

Five crates of beer from Germany? 150 kilograms of soap from France? A couple of wool rolls from Sweden? Separately, each of these shipments could be quite dear to a customer. But in a groupage shipment, even small amounts of cargo like these can be transported profitably.

Practically any kind of cargo can be transported via less than truckload shipping. The delivery mode minimizes transport costs by using vehicle space efficiently and ensures the safety of the goods carried.

Company rankings: to participate or not to participate? Many entrepreneurs ask this question every day. Some do not believe in disclosing company data to the public and some – like those at AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG – very much do!

By definition, the sharing economy is a transactional online ecosystem where users interact to buy and provide services. The systems involved allow users to save money, provide faster services, and bring in new revenue

In 2017 AsstrA specialists executed around 7,500 partial load orders, of which 2,000 involved Russia-bound routes.

Every year during the Hi-Tech Supply Chain Summit, transport services providers, technology manufacturers, retailers and telecom infrastructure providers discuss the latest challenges and opportunities facing the hi-tech supply chain

We talked with experts from the international transport and logistics group AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG about the carriers selection process.

"Delays at the European Union border, road inspections, bureaucracy – these complications are a regular part of transporting cargo from Poland to its east. Such factors have a negative impact on the predictability of the supply chain and the punctuality of cargo delivery. The driver needs a responsible and competent guide who will help him navigate all these challenges. And that’s what we do best," emphasizes Poland Country Manager Mariusz Borkowski.

This year the international logistics provider AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG welcomes the guests of the exhibition at its own stand E245 in the Hall of the 3rd International Exhibition Center «Crocus Expo»