Expansion into eastern markets progressing as planned
The expansion of Itella Logistics’ operations in Russia is progressing as planned, with an agreement on a new logistics centre to be constructed in St. Petersburg being signed in April. The premises, due for completion for operational use in early 2008, continue the project involving the Moscow logistics centre, which began operating at the end of March – beginning of April.
The total area of Itella Logistics’ St. Petersburg premises is 10,000 square metres. The related operational concept is very similar to the one applied in Moscow: the logistics centre will provide contract logistics services, including finishing services such as preparing goods for delivery in Russia, service warehousing and delivery services alongside transport and forwarding services in the growing Russian market. The local delivery network will be based on partnerships.
The centre to be completed in St. Petersburg has good connections, being located in the Utkina Zavod area in the western part of the city by a new ring road. At the St. Petersburg logistics centre, special attention has been paid to security to meet specific customer requirements.
– A railway connection will be constructed for the logistics centre to facilitate cargo loading and unloading directly from train carriages. Railways constitute a significant transport method in Russia, and this facility will further enhance our operational efficiency, says Aki Ojanen, Director in charge of Contract Logistics at Itella Logistics.
The St. Petersburg logistics centre will also open up new opportunities for mutual synergies between Itella Logistics’ Transit Terminal in Kotka, Finland, and the Moscow logistics centre. Certain products can be prepared completely ready for sale in Kotka and transferred to Moscow and St. Petersburg to await delivery. Product finishing is also possible in Russia.
The Moscow region is the largest centre of business operations in Russia, generating 25% of the nation’s net sales in logistics operations. The St. Petersburg region comes next after Moscow. – We are confident that demand for state-of-the-art warehousing facilities will remain high in Russia over the next few years. Itella Logistics intends to capitalise on this by continuing to increase its contract logistics’ capacity in the Moscow and St. Petersburg regions. In order to replace our present rented premises, we are continuously seeking suitable land areas for purchase both in St. Petersburg and Moscow, says Ojanen.
Both Finnish and non-Finnish companies are interested in the expanding Russian markets, and this is reflected as strong growth in demand for logistics services for Russia. Itella Logistics’ strengths in the industry include sophisticated information system solutions localised into Russian and customised to fulfil local needs, with Logia Software Oy, a Finland Post Group subsidiary, responsible for system development.
For further information, please contact
Vesa Vertanen, Senior Vice President, Logistics, tel. +358 (0)20 451 5073, vesa.vertanen@itella.com
Aki Ojanen, Director, Contract Logistics, tel. +358 20 451 8683, aki.ojanen@itella.com
Corporate Communications:
Tuomo Antikainen, Information Officer, tel. +358 (0)20 451 4754, tuomo.antikainen@posti.fi