Thousands of the largest Russian companies became the subject of a thematic survey by the factor research center. In the central cities of Russia: Astrakhan, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, St. Petersburg, Saratov, Ufa - the rating of the most popular transport and forwarding companies was determined. LLC “Auto Trading” turned out to be in the top three. Respondent reviews indicate: 71% of Russian companies use their services.
All-Russian enterprise
This enterprise can really be qualified as All-Russian, because it has provided a network of its branches (and there are as many as 105) of the entire territory of the country - from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. The geography of cargo delivery from "Auto Trading" today includes more than 3.5 thousand cities and villages of Russia. Isn’t the scale of such work impressive? Therefore, reviews about this company are not uncommon on the Internet. Success is also achieved through reasonable and competitive rates. Therefore, "Auto-Trading" and acts as a prominent player in the federal market of transport and logistics services.
Continuous improvement of the quality of customer service is a strategic focus in the company. In addition to servicing applications from individuals, its daily activities include the main component - constant contractual cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises. Thanks to such a pragmatic policy, we are witnessing a systematic increase by Auto Trading in the serviced market share of transport and logistics services.
Transport and logistics market
Strategic macro analysis of the Russian market shows its clear tendency towards development and diversification. Moreover, the leading “locomotives” in raising the level of freight forwarding services are enterprises of the federal level, such as Avtotrading LLC. Feedback on their work indicates that they adequately have the resources and capabilities to further increase labor productivity. Their logistics allows you to choose one optimal option for cargo delivery from the many. At the same time, small transport enterprises are more limited in options, and therefore are sometimes forced to act less efficiently, that is, at high costs from their economic activities.
The costs are reasonable. Components of the freight market
Let's talk about the costs attributed to LLC "Auto Trading" at the macro level. Russia is traditionally classified as a country with a high level of transport and logistics costs. The share of
logistics costs in Russia's GDP is 19%. For comparison, the same indicator for China is 18%, for India and Brazil, it ranges from 11–13%, in Germany, Italy, USA, Japan - 8.3–9.4%.
If we talk about absolute figures, then according to the Russian market of transport and logistics services, its volume in the most successful 2012, excluding pipelines, amounted to 2.03 trillion. rub. Currently, the leading market trend is the increase in the share of warehouse services. As a percentage, its structure is shown in the following table.
Components of the transport and logistics services market | Relative value, in% |
Management Logistics | 0.7 |
Distribution and Warehousing | 5.8 |
Forwarding services | 6.2 |
Cargo transportation | 87.3 |
As you can see from the table, the absolute leader is cargo transportation. But their absolute prevalence is an extensive way of developing the market of transport and logistics services. When tracking the range of services of Avtotrading LLC using Internet notes, the feedback from its customers showed a higher relative average Russian level of forwarding and storage services. The best organization enables this company to offer the customer clear delivery times and good information support.
Indeed, Avtotrading, which has been developing on the Russian market for more than twenty years, is able to offer the client any choice of delivery methods, varying between the logistic capabilities of auto, air and rail transport. At the same time, the company demonstrates modern approaches in attracting a mass customer by offering him integrated logistics outsourcing.
Integrated outsourcing
Let this “abstruse” foreign word, dear readers, do not bother you. It should be understood as a comprehensive concept that reveals the essence of the activities of the enterprise we are studying. Transport company "Avtotrading" accentuously develops in-house technologies of its customer service, due to which it is achieved:
- the more dynamic nature of the formation of groupage cargo, achieved by increasing the customer base;
- increasing the level of professional work with general cargo, including heavy (over 5 tons) and oversized;
- development of warehouse processing of consignments;
- Providing customers with qualified assistance in customs clearance of goods;
- assistance to customers in the certification of compliance;
- provision of customer services when arranging insurance with the help of proprietary developments in cooperation with leading Russian insurance companies;
- the provision of other services accompanying the carriage of goods;
- the ability to receive cargo in the interests of the customer without his presence;
- Tracking the stages of cargo arrival and informing the client about his arrival.
Additional amenities for customers promise the company's proprietary offers: delivery of cargo to the door, providing the customer with a loader to install heavy and oversized general cargo.
Serving customers through an online tracker on the Internet
Transport company "Avtotrading" provides customers with high-quality services at economy class tariffs. To reach the maximum client audience, an online service is involved. Each client can estimate in advance how much it will cost to deliver the goods using an online tracker implemented on the company's website.
Another purpose of this program is to help the customer monitor where the goods are located, execute paperwork, and upon arrival to order delivery.
In practice, working with this service for the client looks like entering the Autotrading company website using your password, identifying the cargo using the number of your own waybill, and also the name of the settlement and the date of dispatch. Here, on the website, the company’s customer is provided with the necessary consultations and background information.
Customer Reviews: Positive and Negative
Let’s try to thoroughly analyze the Internet as an environment where customers post reviews about the Auto Trading company. St. Petersburg, for example, is served by seven branches of the enterprise we are studying. With it, we will begin to study the level of customer service. A high percentage of positive reviews is striking, indicating a clear internal regulation of the work. Transport branches of North Palmyra are quite efficient in servicing customers. Freight forwarders have good professional knowledge and communication skills. As a result, the customer receives accurate and specific information about servicing his cargo.
There is a stable group of St. Petersburg entrepreneurs collaborating with this company. These are real practices. Their reviews are initially informative and friendly. The initial message for their reasoning is to state the fact that there is no ideal transport company in the Russian logistics market.
Understand correctly, for entrepreneurs who have expressed such an opinion, it is not a reason for solid conclusions. On the contrary, it is the starting point for a sound choice of a transport company for long-term cooperation. The reviews analyzed by us testify: many St. Petersburg entrepreneurs note the competitive dominance of the company AutoTrading, which we are researching, on the basis of the “price / quality” criterion. They also note the qualifications of the forwarders of the company offering meaningful freight transport schemes.
Analysis of critical reviews of customers and employees
The aforementioned flattering characteristics demonstrate a trusting and business relationship linking regular customers and Auto Trading. Employee reviews (Moscow) at the same time indicate delays in paying salaries to them.
By the way, for some reason, the work of Moscow branches specifically causes the most complaints and complaints on the Internet from customers. Even tolerant entrepreneurs note a slowdown in freight flows served by the metropolitan divisions of the company. The same entrepreneurs, as a starting point in improving the situation, recommend the managers of Auto Trading to increase staff motivation.
Motivation, qualification - is it in demand?
The motivational factor should not be discounted. Is it thanks to him that individual branches are touted by customers, while others are not?
Customer reviews will inevitably become more loyal with productive, motivated work of employees. However, the qualification factor of forwarders is no less important. The quality of forwarding services is directly related to:
- route optimization;
- supply of transport for loading exactly when this operation will be prepared;
- synchronization with the technical processes of processing shipping, customs, and approval documents;
- control of transportation by tracking “control points”.
Are all negative reviews constructive?
There is statistics according to which more than 99% of customers are “simply served” by the company “Auto Trading”. They are completely satisfied with the "rules of the game." They are satisfied with the service, believing that "it should be so." Therefore, you will not find their reviews on the Internet. Thanks to them, as we mentioned earlier, the company has developed to the all-Russian level. However, there are other customers, of whom less than 1%, formally related to the contract with the company, do not understand the basic conditions for servicing their orders. Their online reviews are easy to learn: a lot of emotions, few links to contract clauses.
Of course, while working on the article, we came across negative reviews. But they tried to take them into account with a certain level of objectivity. It is impossible, for example, to formulate a conclusion in the opinion of a “one-time customer” who initially ignores the advice of forwarders. Having performed the aforementioned “filtering” and comparing the economic indicators, we were convinced that the Autotrading shopping center demonstrates a truly effective market strategy.
Drivers
Reliable and efficient transport component is a subject of special concern for the Auto Trading company. The responses of the drivers show that for the stable and high-quality work of the branch it is important not just to hire the right number of drivers, but to have a “backbone”, that is, specialists working for more than a year. And for this we need feedback, mutual respect of the administration and employees. It was the grateful reviews of the Autotrading drivers that we met on the Internet. The experience of such intercompany collaboration, found by talented middle managers, deserves to be disseminated throughout the company’s system.
What do the drivers themselves say about this? Problems and wishes should be promptly identified, analyzed and, to the extent necessary, agreed upon and implemented. Controlled by the leadership should be issues of logistics of drivers, providing them with free phones, an adequate level of salary. It is in this way that the aforementioned “skeleton” is formed, capable of “substituting a shoulder” in the performance of the most critical tasks.
Remuneration of labor, social guarantees
A sign of the economic strategy of this company is the constant expansion in the Russian market of transport services, that is, a growing network of Auto Trading branches. Reviews about the employer indicate the initial orientation by managers of hired personnel to highly intensive highly specialized work. In addition, the company guarantees a social package and official employment.
If we make a comparative analysis of different sectors of the economy, the level of pay for transport workers is average. Of course, branch directors get more through bonuses and compensations. The leaders, on the other hand, are reasonably moderately encouraged to have stable and productive work in Auto Trading. Employee reviews testify to this.
The real level of remuneration
The reviews of the employees themselves indicate the company's initially truthful declaration of the level of salary. Imagine the information we received from specialized job posting sites. The manager for cooperation with corporate clients receives 35 thousand rubles; claimant specialist - 30–35 thousand rubles; driver of categories "B" and "C" (specialization "dump truck" - from 45 thousand rubles; personal driver - from 50 thousand rubles; freight forwarder-driver - from 60 thousand rubles); storekeeper - 35–40 thousand rubles; loader - 30–35 thousand rubles; packer, carpenter - 33 thousand rubles; Customer Relations Manager - 35 thousand rubles. (taken from open source).
Is conservatism always good? In many respects, the traditional system of remuneration for the Russian market is demonstrated by the Auto Trading trading company. Employee reviews suggest that with further training, the further alternative to in-house professional growth is rather small. Either a talented employee can become a branch director (and there are few such vacancies), or he will have to look for more “bread” work in another company. Although from the standpoint of macroeconomics such a personnel policy, involving a real corporate concept and strategy, is undoubtedly a positive development on the Russian labor market.
Conclusion
What can wish the company managers for the future? Further growth and prosperity. As recommendations for the future, I would like to advise a transition from the criteria for extensive growth to more stimulating the work of the lower level. Perhaps more attention should be paid to training.