"If Russia goes to Kiev again, we are ready." Interview with Operation Director of New Mail Eugene Tafiychuk
Who he is: Operation Director of New Mail why he: makes key solutions for preserving and developing business of a leading Ukrainian logistics company during Russia's full -scale war against Ukraine in the morning of February 24, the lives of millions of Ukrainians were divided into before and after. Large companies that have been built over the years of Ukraine's independence were on the verge of survival.
The turnover decreased by dozens of times, and in the meantime, assets and staff were threatened by physical destruction. Nova Poshta did not suspend work for a day and took on an important mission of delivery of humanitarian goods. The company not only retained the business in a difficult period, but also continued its development and entered the European market. Focus spoke with Yevgeny Tafiychuk, Operating Director of New Mail, about the important decisions of the first year of the war.
Let's remember the first days of the war. What was happening in the company then? The day before, I was on a business trip to Zaporozhye, where we had to open a new automated terminal, which could miss more than 20 thousand departures per hour. Then they planned to come to Mariupol. But at five in the morning on February 24, I was awakened by a call from our dispatching department and I was informed that a full -scale war had begun. I went to Kiev by car.
At about ten in the morning, I was already with the CEO of the company Alexander Bulba and co -owners Vyacheslav Klimov and Volodymyr Porzhnyuk in our Kiev office. We discussed the situation and launched work in accordance with a pre -prepared plan. They decided to move to our safer office in another city with other employees.
What are the management decisions that are important for the future company at the beginning of the war? Then we made two important decisions that influenced the further course of events. First, we have confirmed one hundred percent readiness not to stop business, to work further, tracking the situation and responding to the challenges. Secondly, we had to optimize business.
That is, when we, instead of about 1 million, parcels, as usual on February 25 in the morning, realized that with such a turnover and existing network and infrastructure, we simply go bankrupt. Therefore, we decided to reduce our network to 320 cargo compartments, to which all departments were transported. It helped to withstand at the beginning of the war, but in the future it hindered development.
Because when we had to deploy the network again, we were behind the necessary recovery rates for a while. You mentioned a pre -drafted action plan. That is, the company was preparing for a full -scale invasion, how exactly? Indeed, somewhere in 1. 5-2 weeks before the invasion, we began to study information from open sources very seriously and analyze the actions of our officials. They saw that there would still be an invasion.
Then we created an operating headquarters that was responsible for the preparation for the invasion and I, as an operating director, headed it. We have developed logistics models and evacuation routes. Prepared areas for evacuation of departures, places for placement of employees in Western Ukraine. We trained in advance and performed a certain test. Worked out alternative ways of communication, saturated the regions with empty cars to export cargo and more.
We also modeled how the enemy would go to us, but here were a little mistake in the calculations. We expected that the front line would stretch along the eastern border to a maximum of Sumy region and did not predict the attack on Kiev. However, all the measures we then developed could be rapidly scaled. Regardless of where the enemy attacked, we had to work an algorithm of actions that every employee needs to be taken in his link and support office.
How did the full -scale Russian invasion affect the performance of the company in the first and subsequent months? As I said, on February 25, we worked only 30 thousand departures. Then during the first week of the war we had a maximum of 50,000 parcels a day. And at the end of March we went out about 600-700 thousand parcels a day. The main load then created volunteer and humanitarian departures. The second direction was business relaxation.
We then turned to our partners with a message that we are working and ready to help. And in response, the business appealed to us with requests for the relaxation of its businesses and transportation of goods. At the same time, we opened a large humanitarian composition in Poland in Rzeszow, from which humanitarian cargoes were sent to Lviv, where they were overloaded and delivered to Nikolaev, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and all frontier territories. As for financial indicators, we had a big minus here.
In particular, in March, we worked with a loss of UAH 300 million, and we managed to get out in May only. And it is only about the result of operating activities, without taking into account direct losses from hostilities and occupation of territories. What are the assets of the company damaged or lost as a result of hostilities? At the beginning of the war, we completely lost our objects in Mariupol. The terminal, the branch and the departure that remained there are destroyed.
Since the enemy came very quickly, we did not have time to evacuate equipment and parcels. In the occupied part of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, the department was captured and laid. In total, 820 of our branches and three terminals remain in the occupied territory - in Nova Kakhovka, Melitopol and Severodonetsk, which is seriously damaged.
In the video from our terminals, where the Russian military came, we saw how they removed the wheels from our cars, disassembled them, took away departures, household appliances, equipment and even toilets. In the spring, the enemy broke the Kharkiv innovative terminal with direct hit. Chernihiv and Nikolaev terminals also received damage from direct hit.
Recently in Poltava and Dnipro, the drones of Kamikadze were aimed at our object, and two weeks ago in Kharkiv-a strike on a depot, which is located in the city center. On the latter case, Russian publications reported that they had destroyed the new mail facility that works for the military.
How does the company evaluate these losses caused by the first year of the war? It is about UAH 1 billion, but the war has not been over and we have not yet got to all our objects to give an accurate assessment. At the same time, we practically all lost during the war paid compensation to customers. That is, if, for example, departure went from Mariupol and disappeared there, the recipients were compensated for the declared value. In general, we are talking about more than 70 thousand parcels.
We had the legitimate reason not to do this, but we really understand the importance of these departures for people and business. So we decided to support our citizens. At what point from the beginning of a full -scale invasion did you feel the greatest threat to the existence of a business and that, finally, helped to stay? In the first days of the war, the feeling was lost because we did not expect such a large -scale offensive.
But thanks to the willpower and entrepreneurial spirit of the company founders, we made the decision to roll their sleeves and work. We became the first company to restore our work and worked every day of the war. For our customers, we have become one of the first positive examples. It was extremely difficult because there were many destroyed roads and bridges. For example, we spent an additional 6-7 hours to go around the bridge in the Kiev region. Checkpoints that had huge queues.
The New Mail did not have any privileges for crossing the checkpoint. It is worth mentioning and commanding hours, during which we could not move. So it was difficult to plan the logistics pathways, but there is nothing impossible for us. Already at the end of March we resumed sales, and our managers went to customers with reports that we are working, that we have already opened half of the network, that our delivery speed is almost pre -war and TP.
Our marketing team in three months then launched more than 100 marketing actions with our partners, created a special landscape for Ukrainians, where all the online stores were collected, which resumed their work so that people know where they can buy goods and order the delivery of "New Mail" . We all worked non-stop. With our personal example, inspiration for work, belief in victory, we raised e -commerce, and all the business that helped the army and citizens.
Did you have to make unpopular decisions about staff cuts and cutting the remuneration in the most difficult business period? In order to survive in such conditions, it was necessary to make bold decisions and be responsible for them. First, the top management of the company refused a month from salaries. Secondly, to survive in those conditions, we needed to cut the network. And we calculated how many frontline staff we need to work in it.
We understood that we had no right to reduce salaries to employees of the "advanced line". These are drivers, terminal workers, logists, loaders, branches, packers, that is, people who interact with the client, work with their hands. Therefore, they were left one hundred percent official wages as before the war. At the same time, employees in dangerous regions were charged with salaries.
With the staff of the support office, they agreed to reduce wages, because they have conditions and level of payment higher than that of colleagues from the frontline. There was a separate arrangement with each. Someone was reduced by 30%, someone - by 70%. We also spoke that we will restore the salary as the number of parcels increases - and as soon as it has become recovered to 100%, we will return to 100% of the pre -war salary. So it happened.
As our network was restored, other frontline workers gradually went to work. We have taken advantage of the legislative possibility of termination of labor relations with temporarily unsatisfied employees. But as soon as the department was restored, they were immediately returned. That is, as of now, in the company, as well as before the war, there are 32 thousand employees and another 10,000 in the franchise network of branches.
In January 2022, we raised our employees of the frontline by about 20%. We have not yet compensated for 30% of inflation in 2022, but we will continue to respond to the situation in the labor market. Did the company face at different stages of the war with the problem of outflow and scarcity of staff and how did it solve it? We were moving from a major shortage to the surplus of frames.
The maximum level of migration to other regions or abroad was in March, and because of this we felt lack of labor in the regions close to the collision line. To get out of this situation, we worked with volunteers there. We asked the Regional State Administration for assistance, disseminated information about our needs and found those wishing to help us unload departure. Meanwhile, there was a large carriage in the west.
Then, gradually people began to return to their regions and it became easier for us to close vacancies. We started not only to restore our network, but also to open new compartments, even in frontline cities. Since August, we are experiencing a surplus in the labor market. We close most of our vacancies in the short term. The company resumed work in the de -industrial territories at the first opportunity.
How is the land being released and what difficulties is it related to? Since the beginning of the war, we began to work closely with all the Regional State Administration, because when the roads are overlapping and operating the curfew, we needed passes. Thanks to these established contacts, we are one of the first to learn about the situation in the regions. In addition, we will monitor the public and online resources on our own.
As soon as the information about the release of a certain settlement was received, we immediately addressed the military and the Regional State Administration and declared our readiness to open. We were usually told about the need to wait another 5-7 days, we asked to grant permission the next day, first of all, to bring humanitarian aid. After receiving permission, we went to a car with Starlink, a generator and a humanitarian cargo. Workers were purchased bulletproof vests and helmets.
They came in a column without any stops on the roadside because everything was replaced. There is no connection, even the maps do not work and fall behind the column is strictly forbidden. On site on the base of the car we equipped mobile sites where people could recharge their devices, use the Internet and get help. After survey by explosives, we made an audit of our premises and opened offices.
In some places where there were no surviving premises, we used mobile compartments in special containers. Our staff are heroes! When we renewed our work in the Kharkiv region and in the first days we could not find people in cities, we addressed our workers in the region and found more than needed to work in liberated settlements. People were eager to help their countrymen. Also, as I said, there were times when we turned to volunteers.
And what remembered the return to the de -industrial Kherson? We were very waiting for this moment! With the first opportunity, our standard process was launched - they sent cars with a humanitarian, generator and Starlink. Then they asked the Regional State Administration to check our facilities and opened it immediately. In the first three days in Kherson, we gave more than 12 tons of humanitarian aid from New Mail - food, medicines, hygiene products.
In Kherson, by the way, our employees were able to save 4 thousand parcels. The fact is that this regional center was captured very quickly at the beginning of the war. And there are our departments in the branches. Delivery and departure to Kherson stopped immediately, but for about a month the branches continued to work there and give departures that were there at the time of the invasion.
It is important that the residents to the latter had the opportunity to withdraw cash from the card if it was at the cash desk. Thanks to our employees who did not leave the branch, the parcels were saved. They lifted them on their own transport from the city and region to two support units in Kherson. And after the release of these parcels, we sent to the addressees with a sticker: "I am your parcel, survived 9 months of occupation and returned.
" People were amazed, they cried because they received a piece of past peaceful life. What are the indicators of 2022 and how did the war affect the implementation of pre -war plans? In UAH, not taking into account the inflation and the exchange rate, we did not have about 10%to perform the annual indicators. In fact, last year we were able to make up for the losses of March and April. Last year we delivered 315 million parcels.
We reinvest about 70% of our profit into the company and the investment program of 3 billion UAH last year provided for the construction of several terminals. But now, given the inflation of these funds, only one terminal should be enough. What are the individual directions in 2022, despite the war, developed the most dynamic? Our strengths have become even stronger.
First of all, it is a network of branches, delivery and shipment, our products B2C, that is, sending goods from e -commerce operators to consumers, and international delivery. It is also important that this year we went to the international market and opened our branches in Poland. In mid -March will start the work of the department in Lithuania, in Vilnius. We did not give up any project. In June, our investment program was completely restored and the terminals in Odessa and Kiev continued.
Meanwhile, our Supernova Airlines airline was able to receive a operator's certificate despite the war and changes in the standards in the State Aviation Service. The situation in this direction was complicated by the fact that we were unable to work on Boeing aircraft, which we planned because the owner of this fleet refused to cooperate for financial reasons. But we decided to start transporting goods from Europe to the An-26, which has certification in Ukraine.
We are now looking for a hub in Europe among the airports located near the borders with Ukraine, and with two of them we are already talking. We plan to make several flights a week and download our planes to both directions: in Ukraine and Ukraine to Europe. You mentioned the services of B2C, which is actively used by Ukrainian e -commerce, small business.
How do you evaluate the impact of war on entrepreneurs' activity? Those who were larger, bolder, and have a stability, have a blow and feel more or less stable. It was very difficult for young players, and only now do they start to return to their activities a little. At the beginning of the war, the activity of this segment did not exceed 30% of the pre -war level. But we have invested a lot of effort to encourage entrepreneurs to start work.
In particular, they gave the business to delay the calculations. Чи планувала компанія вихід на ринок Польщі до війни і як фактор російського вторгнення й наявність великої кількості українських біженців за кордоном вплинув на це рішення? Напрямок міжнародної доставки ми активно розвивали до війни.
В нашу групу компаній входить "Нова пошта Глобал", яка доставляє по всьому світу та пропонує українцям сервіс NP Shopping — доставка товарів з закордонних онлайн-магазинів, де немає прямої доставки в Україну.
Але великим триггером для подальших кроків стала міграція українців від війни. Ми дивились, куди поїхали наші співвітчизники, й звернули увагу на Польщу, де знаходяться біля 3 млн українців. Звідти ми отримували багато запитів щодо наших послуг.
І тоді ми прийняли рішення про вихід на цей ринок, а вже у жовтні 2022 року відкрили перше відділення в Варшаві. Таким чином, ми стали першим українським великим бізнесом, який вийшов на ринок Польщі й гучно заявив про себе.
Бо за три місяці ми вже відкрили там термінал і 18 відділень, у тому числі, вантажних, в різних містах. В Польщі, й за кордоном в цілому, ми працюємо під брендом Nova Post. Оскільки українське слово "пошта" є незрозумілим для європейців, тому ми адаптували назву.
Які подальші плани компанії щодо розширення присутності в Польщі й в інших країнах за кордоном? Ми збираємося масштабуватися й виходити на найбільші ринки Європи, США, Китаю. Тобто в нас є амбіції стати міжнародною, глобальною компанією.
Розпочнемо з Європи, де зараз живе найбільше наших клієнтів з України, які нас знають. В пріоритеті Польща й ринки країн, які з нею та нами межують, — Німеччина, Румунія, Чехія, країни Балтії.
Як на діяльність компанії вплинув російський енергетичний тероризм? Операційно на цей виклик ми реагували дуже швидко.
Коли з’явилися перші ознаки того, що ворог націлився саме на інфраструктуру й загострилася ситуація на захопленій ЗАЕС в Енергодарі, ми почали закуповувати генератори.
Левову частку з них придбали ще в вересні-жовтні, коли через великий попит й відсутність податкових пільг генератори коштували вдвічі дорожче, ніж зараз. Таким чином, ми стали одним з перших бізнесів в Україні, який забезпечив генераторами свої підрозділи.
Наразі всі наші відділення та сортувальні центри по всій країні повністю автономні. Щоб залишатися на зв’язку, вони також забезпечені або Starlink, або трьома або навіть чотирма альтернативними каналами інтернету. Інвестиції в це обладнання склало біля 700 млн грн.
Крім того, є потреба в запасах палива й додаткових витратах на його купівлю й збереження. Наприклад, генератор, який забезпечує роботу Київського інноваційного терміналу, споживає близько 150 літрів на годину.
В цілому, забезпечення парку генераторів паливом потребує 40-50 млн грн в місяць. Але до цієї ситуації нам було адаптуватися дещо легше, бо навесні ми вже пережили паливну кризу. На жаль, війна продовжується.
З якими новими викликами компанія може стикнутися в другий рік повномасштабного вторгнення й які цілі перед собою ставить? Щодо ризиків війни, то ми підготувалися навіть до повторного наступу, яким зараз всі лякають.
Й наразі ми стали більш сильними й гнучкими, ніж були на початку війни, й тому адаптуємося навіть до ускладнення ситуації. Серед головних цілей — розвиток міжнародного ринку й зростання рік до року більш ніж на 15%.
Тобто ми будемо розвиватися й відкривати нові термінали й відділення. Ми продовжимо інвестувати в країну, створювати робочі місця й очікуємо тільки зростання.