Cargo transportation from Russia, the CIS countries: what to expect from the post-Soviet space
Transportation of goods from Russia, as well as from the CIS countries: what to expect from the post-Soviet space. A large number of industrial enterprises that produce products imported into our country, as well as an abundance of interested wholesale buyers, make cargo transportation to / from Russia very popular. The service of cargo delivery within the CIS countries is also very popular, for example: cargo transportation from Belarus and Ukraine to Russia, from Moldova to the CIS countries, from Russia to Kazakhstan, etc.
It would seem that working with these areas should not promise difficulties, since there is no language barrier when communicating with partners, customs authorities, and law enforcement officials. However, in reality, the organization of such cargo transportation requires knowledge of many nuances: from the customs legislation of each country and the smallest details of the route, to the peculiarities of the mentality. Let’s talk about some of these nuances.
Delivery time and cost: main influence factors
The main difficulty of Russian transportation is the distance and the condition of the roads. In Russia, there are many hard-to-reach regions where domestic carriers simply refuse to go, citing reluctance to not know the route and possible dangers on the road. In some cases, such arguments are justified, and in some it is nothing more than a desire to unreasonably raise the price of transportation.
As a rule, the freight price in the post-Soviet space is calculated based on the cost per kilometer, or the currently established price for transportation. For all carriers, this indicator is more or less the same, and when choosing a transport company, you should pay attention to its experience in the selected region. When calculating the distance, one should take into account not only the kilometers between the start and end points of the route, but also the mileage that the car will take from the place of customs clearance to the place of unloading. Often it is hundreds of kilometers. Ordering transport, focusing only on the rate for transportation, is not always rational. Speaking about the cost of cargo transportation in Russia and the CIS countries, it should, first of all, be compared with the time of delivery.
There are plenty of factors influencing the term of delivery of goods from Russia. First of all, these are the features of the organization of the work of many enterprises and customs structures. For example, you cannot plan to do customs clearance in one day, the optimal time is two days, in practice the process can take up to five days. The more experienced the transport company, the carrier, the faster the issue with customs will be resolved. Next step: loading and unloading. Here, the time also depends on the “elbows” of the driver and the experience of the dispatcher of the transport company. Most of the Russian partners are large enterprises, many of which operate on Soviet principles for organizing the acceptance of goods. Yes, the shipment will be clear, but not fast. The larger the enterprise, the longer the machine can be kept under loading or unloading. Freeing a car in Russia in 2 days is a real art.
Thus, the final cost of freight for transportation will consist of the price for the distance, taking into account the delivery time and time for unloading. It is possible to reduce the transportation time if the client and the carrier act in a coordinated manner, exchange information in a timely manner and maintain contact with the Russian side.
I want to save on the rate. Is grouping possible?
Yes, it is possible to organize group transportation or groupage transportation to/from Russia. But it is much more difficult to do this than in the European direction. The reason is the peculiarities of the customs legislation of Russia (not all regions know how to properly register group cargoes). Companies involved in the delivery of groupage cargo in Russia and the CIS countries do not collect more than 2-3 cargoes in one car, so as not to delay the delivery time too much. For example, the delivery of three shipments at the same time can take up to two weeks. For many clients, these temporary losses are much more significant than the small benefit of savings on the rate.
Conclusion: ordering group transportation, groupage cargo from Russia, or from the CIS countries is possible only for transport companies specializing in this service: they know exactly all the intricacies of paperwork, and also have consolidation warehouses that reduce delivery times .
Transit through the CIS countries: a reminder to the client
When ordering transport from Russia, be sure to coordinate the route with the carrier and specify the countries of transit. Is your partner located in Russia or Europe, and the delivery of the cargo involves transit through some CIS countries? You will have to clarify in advance the nuances of transporting your type of cargo through these countries: whether it is necessary to issue a financial guarantee for the cargo, whether sanitary certificates and permits for cargo transit are needed, and much more. Remember that the carrier – the transport company is responsible for the transport and documents for it, and all documents related to the cargo must be provided by you – the customer of the transportation.
Your task is to monitor in advance the readiness of sanitary andveterinary permits for the cargo, if any, as well as provide the carrier with full information about the type and value of the cargo: some categories of goods can only be transported through Ukraine and Belarus under escort, and some require a financial guarantee. Registration of the latter can “fly a pretty penny” and will be borne by the client, since it directly relates to the cargo.
Of course, an experienced transport worker – forwarding carrier will check the availability of all documents before departure. But if he does not do this, you can blame him for idle time only if you were not warned in advance about transit through the country in which the problem arose. In our transport-forwarding company, you can get advice on all the intricacies of transportation.
