The ROGTEC Interview: Andrew Vincenti, Branch Director Kuehne + Nagel Sakhalin
Please describe your position and role within the company
I am the Branch Director of Kuehne + Nagel Sakhalin with responsibility for Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Korsakov and Nogliki offices as well as the newly opened Vladivostok office. I have held this position for 11 years.
Kuehne+Nagel has been working in Russia for a number of years. How is your regional business currently going and what does the
future hold?
We established an office in Sakhalin in 2002 and have been steadily growing and expanding our business since then. We are well known locally for our door-to-door solutions of outstanding quality and excellent HSE. We have had no fatalities or life threatening incidents since establishing the office in 2002. With our individual solutions and leading communication and information systems allowing our clients to be kept up to date 24/7, I believe the future looks bright for our business. Our further expansion plans includes increasing our market share and customer base by providing our services to new clients in Sakhalin as well as in Vladivostok, Magadan and other promising Far-East regions of Russia. We hope to eventually become the Contractor-of-Choice for the Oil & Gas industry.
What are the key differences between your logistics services and the other providers?
I believe it comes down to our approach and how we treat our customers. Our mission statement says it all – “Focused on our customers’ needs we provide integrated logistics solutions of outstanding quality and operational excellence – we are the extension of your business.”
It is this focus on our customers’ needs that ensures we offer logistics services and solutions tailored to what our clients actually require, not what we think they want.
What services do Kuehne+Nagel provide in Russia?
In Sakhalin, we are able to offer our customers comprehensive supply chain management solutions from cargo origin to our clients’ end users on the island. We have three offices on Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Nogliki and Korsakov). This year we opened a branch office on the mainland in Vladivostok.
The services we can offer to our clients include, but are not limited to:
1) HSE – documentation, compliance, policy and procedure implementation, training and plan development,
2) Expediting, checking paper work and documents, daily contact and status reports
3) Customs Brokerage / pre-shipping
4) International Transportation, cargo consolidation, warehousing, receipt checking, dispatching, ocean, air and rail freight
5) Customs Brokerage / on-island, PSA and non PSA, temporary importation, re-exporting, surplus disposal, custom clearance and management
6) On-Island Logistics, transportation and trucking, rail transportation, warehousing, material checking, document control and storage
7) SAP experience, posting, tracking, transfers, monitoring and invoicing
8) Web-based tracking from PO / line item placement to final delivery; other reports as required including O S&D; KPIs; and others as per clients’ requirements
9) Extensive experience working with various governmental departments: environmental departments, traffic and road police, customs and rail authorities
What is your most recent success story in Russia?
It is difficult to pick just one, but I am particularly proud of two achievements that each showcase how we differ from the other logistics providers. Firstly, and as already mentioned, we have had zero fatalities or life threatening incidents since our inception. I am very proud of all of our staff and contractors because of this and a special mention must go to our HSE Manager, Pavel Bazanov. Secondly, we have successfully addressed the demand for logistics solutions in this market sector and have significantly increased our portfolio of customers in Russia in the last four years. For example, Benetton is one customer benefiting from our service in Russia, as we have established a full supply chain for them.
What is your favorite part of the country?
Sakhalin, of course! I really like this place and have seen it grow over the years, yet retain its innate inimitable friendliness and diversity. It has, through my colleagues and friends, become my second home.
How do you see the Russian O&G market developing in the next few years?
I see the Russian O&G market expanding with more opportunities for companies like ourselves. At the same time it will become more challenging as clients are demanding more services and competition from other logistics providers becomes stronger. And in this regard I see not primarily international providers but rather Russian ones who are becoming stronger and bolder in their outlook and horizons. What this means for us is that we have to be 100% focussed on our clients’ needs, wishes and requirements; continuously train and upgrade our staff; and maintain total commitment and focus on HSE.
