The war ruined logistics for many companies. Adapting to war zones and besieged cities conditions was quite a challenge for logistics companies.

“MIM-Kyiv Economic Front” logistics discussion featured executives from leading operators.

Yulia Pavlenko, director for the international operations department of the Ukrposhta, governmental postal operator, and MIM-Kyiv current SE MBA student participated in the discussion. Out of 11,000 Ukraposhta's branches all over Ukraine, 3,000 – 5,000 are operating daily. Several of them are working even in the occupied towns. Yulia said:

- Delivering pensions to more than 3 million retired people is among our top priorities. As of March 21, we have delivered nearly 80% of the pensions. Ukrposhta cooperates with retailers in the besieged towns by offering them collection services. We collect cash and use it to pay pensions, subsidies, and other social grants. Thus, we managed to pay everything in February and 70% in March. It was quite an undertaking.

Currently, the major share of cargoes is all sorts of relief. Yesterday’s competitors are working together. Before the war, the Ukraposhta and Nova Poshta, the largest private postal service used to be bitter competitors. Now, together they are providing logistics to the “Help Ukraine”, the humanitarian relief project implemented by Fozzy Group, Rozetka, and some other large businesses. The cargos are flown to Poland and then are delivered by trucks to the destinations in Ukraine.

Yevhen Tafiychuk, operational director of the Nova Poshta and MIM-Kyiv’s MBA talks about the cooperation:

- There are several incoming delivery lines of humanitarian relief. Nova Poshta operates one of such lines and distributes 500 tons per day in addition to the Help Ukraine cargo. We run the distribution outlets in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv. Schedules, addresses, etc. are on our site. We provide groceries. We also help local authorities with the logistics of medicines, gear, etc. for our Armed Forces. We tripled or even quadrupled our humanitarian operations compared to the beginning of the war.

Delivery of military gear for the Armed Forces is the priority.

- Only military units may have bulletproof vests. It requires detailed documentation. If you need to deliver military gear, several funds such as Come Back Alive assist with that. Ukrposhta can also help through their partners in Poland. The letter of confirmation by the military unit – recipient to the head of the customs office is mandatory. European countries do not have enough bulletproof vests and they are afraid of the invasion. Naturally, people are trying to deliver from the USA or Canada. In that part of the world, only licensed operators may do that. In Ukraine, only the Razom.UA fund is licensed. They work together with the Come Back Alive fund, Yulia Pavlenko explains.

Both Ukraposhta and Nova Poshta restart their commercial activities. They drive cargoes from the warehouses in Poland and Romania by trucks to Ukraine. Delivery in Ukraine takes longer but the companies are doing their best to make the deliveries shorter. To do so, Ukrposhta is expanding its logistics hub in Kyiv. It is also implementing the “Exile Bag” project. Within the project, people can send household items to the temporarily displaced Ukrainians with a 70% discount.

- To do so, people only need to fill in the simple declaration. Our agreements with postal operators in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Moldova allow us to reduce the cost of delivery. We are negotiating with operators from other countries. As part of the project, it is possible to send medicine, groceries, or apparel to Ukraine. It is possible to send up to 30 kg. parcels from many postal branches in Georgia and Romania for free. Poland, Armenia, Estonia, Slovakia, and even Gibraltar are joining the project, Yulia Pavlenko explained.

Yevhen Tafiychuk told us how Nova Poshta supports Ukrainian Armed Forces:

- On February 25, we donated 25 million hryvnias to our military. Then we have given 60 vehicles to the Army and territorial defense units. We have been opening groceries distribution outlets for civilians in our branches. And we have been providing logistic services to our military and local authorities.

Representatives of Ukrainian businesses are joining our Economic front. More valuable experiences and exciting stories are coming!