Transportation difficulties. What complicates the work of logisticians in 2023?

The work of a logistician is affected by many interrelated factors. There have always been difficulties, but the acute crisis began with the pandemic period. And then new events were added on an incremental basis.

The work of a logistician is affected by many interrelated factors. There have always been difficulties, but the acute crisis began with the pandemic period. Then new obstacles began to be added on an increasing scale: geopolitical tensions and related sanctions and restrictions, parallel imports, reorganization of work schemes, new routes, import substitution, alternative ways of product delivery, etc. As a result, there is a factor of uncertainty, which is present in our work today. First of all, it is expressed in the inability to forecast demand. No one understands how events will develop and how it will affect consumer demand, logistics, production, prices... It is becoming increasingly difficult to solve work tasks in such conditions - not only because of objective difficulties and daily stress, but also because of internal, subjective factors. The ambiguity of circumstances and the precariousness of the situation keeps not only companies in limbo, but also creates increased tension in employees. Such background anxiety people try to compensate or drown out by increased activity, which sometimes manifests itself in the form of fussiness and impulsiveness. All this affects people's professional activities, their decisions and business relationships. Ultimately, it negatively affects the quality of work.

Another difficulty characteristic of today's time is the increase in delivery times and consequent disruption of contracts. Due to the fact that part of the railroad tracks and infrastructure serves the purposes of foreign policy activities. And the railroad is under increased load. This means that failures and delays in other types of transportation are inevitable. These delays cannot be foreseen and calculated in advance. In addition, Russian Railways haphazardly coordinates plans with shippers. In order to avoid lawsuits due to delayed shipments and the associated costs. Costs are inevitable - insurance premiums, tariff increases, and fines for violations of contractual obligations. In general, this is a “fat” time for insurance companies - they are profiting well from instability and general anxiety. The third difficulty is the active introduction of digital services. Most often (almost always) they are not debugged, they work with failures, and sometimes frankly crooked and ill-conceived. This interferes with work, complicates all processes and slows down shipments. We should add to this the ever-appearing cyber threats. As stated earlier, no one has canceled the principle: first we think, then we do.

How to work in the difficult conditions of today?

In order to effectively solve current tasks, it is important to stay calm and keep emotional balance and stability. Preferably, do not give in to situational impulses and do not let the situation out of control.  Do not feed your anxiety by scrolling news, do not have a bunch of obscure sources of information. You can choose the minimum quality content you need. Verify information and facts, determine the value of the information you receive at any given time. Prioritize both your information consumption and your daily work - this will help keep your focus on what is really important. 

Make time for personal communication with colleagues and clients. And also find time for yourself). It is advisable to do this on a regular basis.