This week, The Leader spoke with Kirill Vlasov , director of Russian Logistics Services, Ltd., a company with representative branches in 13 cities in Russia and the N.I.S. employing 200 people.

The Leader: What is your educational and work background?

Mr. Vlasov: I am a graduate of The High School of the KGB in mathematics and programming. Prior to setting up Russian Logistics Services, I worked for four and a half years in the MARS LLC Logistics Department, where I was in charge of pipeline planning, warehouses, ice-cream logistics, etc.

The Leader: What does Russian Logistics do?

Mr. Vlasov: Russian Logistics Services Ltd. was founded in 1996 as a general service provider in logistics. What we offer depends upon the client and contract. For some companies we serve as a general logistics service provider, including transportation, customs clearance, domestic transportation by rail and by truck and warehousing in the regions. For example, we transport the goods of one company from Moscow to Yekaterinburg, provide them with warehousing in five cities and also with rail transportation to Krasnodar and then back to Moscow.

The Leader: What are the ideal skills, education and work background of someone who works in logistics?

Mr. Vlasov: There is no high-quality education in logistics in Russia; students are taught a lot of theory without a chance to use received knowledge in practice. Also, since the Russian rail network is a monopoly run by the Ministry of Rail Transport, those who want to ship goods by rail need to pass special exams.

The best work experience can be found in the logistics departments of foreign companies. I got my logistics experience from MARS and the Swiss company Hilti. Specialized logistics companies are even better for experience in the field. Experience in customs declarations and MPS (the rail communication ministry) is also useful.

Important skills include an understanding of the transportation process, detailed knowledge of certain documents such as the Charters of Rail and Auto Transport and an understanding of how they apply in real life. Knowledge of the claims process, being able to use PCs and knowledge of English are also useful.

The Leader: Could you describe your main responsibilities?

Mr. Vlasov: In order to explain them, I have to first describe the structure of the company. Russian Logistics Services consists of a central unit and two main regional branches. I’m director of the group of companies and the western regional branch encompassing Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar. It is my responsibility to make things happen; every day we have a million problems to deal with, such as dealing with customer questions and contacting the directors of the transport companies we deal with. I also manage personnel assessment in each office. I manage each office’s budget, as well as that of the company as a whole, and I come up with new ideas. It was my idea to create an internal insurance company for the Russian Logistics group, which also does insurance for other companies, as the insurance companies we’ve worked with in the past haven’t always paid up. In addition, I am in charge of decisions to open new offices or expand existing ones.

The Leader: Could you please describe an average day?

Mr. Vlasov: My day starts at 9 a.m. I make decisions about strategy and apply them and deal with benchmark controls for the regional offices, meaning comparing and analyzing their performances. I then use this information in order to try to improve things. I also communicate with customers and service providers, such as the trucking companies that work for us.

The Leader: How is the logistics business in Russia unique?

Mr. Vlasov: The logistics business in Russia is unusual in that 90 percent of goods are transported from east to west, and this means that when trucks return eastwards, they go back empty, which is obviously not an efficient use of resources. This is why teamwork is important, because we rely on the regional offices to try to fill up the trucks on their return journey.

Logistics in Russia is also unusual because it is hard for me to guarantee to clients the cost of transporting something. There are, for example, unexpected payments and unpredictable fees for loading and unloading at railway stations. International companies prefer to know in advance exactly how much everything will cost and like to pay by bank transfer. At certain train stations, we have our own forklifts and workers and, in such instances, I can guarantee costs, but it is otherwise hard to do.