Customer-oriented experience of companies. Customer focus as one of the main logistics strategies of JSC "RZD. Holding values: Customer orientation, mutually beneficial long-term partnership with customers, continuous development of the product portfolio and
Improving customer service at the South-East Railway traditionally pays great attention. At present, in the conditions of an unstable economic situation and fierce competition in the field of transportation, the issue of improving the quality of services provided in railway transport is most acute. Today it is important for us not only to maintain, but also to strengthen our positions in all segments of transport services. Success in this business is possible only through the implementation of a customer-oriented system in work, from planning to the direct implementation of transportation.
Anatoly Ivanovich Volodko,head of the South Eastern Railway
As you know, the implementation of the customer-oriented strategy in our company is based on the main principle - an individual approach to each client, the ability to assess the degree of loyalty and satisfaction of consumers of services. What tools do we use to make this principle work at the road level? First of all, these are regional coordinating councils held on a permanent basis on the development of joint programs of constructive cooperation. Their role is difficult to overestimate.
In 2016, two meetings of the regional coordinating council- one, with the participation of key shippers, in February in the city of Stary Oskol, the other took place in June in the videoconference mode between the Moscow and South-Eastern railways. Clients also took part in it.
Such events allow shippers to become more familiar with the activities and services provided by the railway, and express their wishes directly. For us, this is an opportunity to correctly assess how satisfied customers are with the joint work, quickly identify and eliminate the problem, and outline further ways for mutually beneficial cooperation. Given the positive experience of this kind of interaction with consumers of railway services, we plan to continue holding working meetings at the sites of the coordinating councils.
In conditions market economy A very important criterion for choosing a carrier company for a consignor is the current tariff system, on which transportation costs depend. Currently, shippers often prefer transportation by road because of its mobility, availability for some remote regions, and ease of processing shipping documents.
At the service area of the South-Eastern Highway, rail transport accounts for 75% of the total volume of traffic, while 25% of cargo is transported by cars. In order to ensure the competitiveness of rail transportation, as well as attract additional volumes of cargo on the road, the management of Russian Railways decided to provide reducing coefficients within the tariff corridors for large partners that provide loading at or above the level of last year.
At the moment, a reduction factor of 0.882 is valid for the transportation of ferrous metals for export. It was adopted for the 1st quarter of 2016 and extended until the end of the year. As a result, over 5 months there was an increase in the loading of ferrous metals by 161 thousand tons or 2.4% compared to the same period last year.
The implementation of the customer-oriented policy within Russian Railways also implies continuous interaction between business units and divisions within the road. It is achieved through the organization of end-to-end provision of services from the start of planning to their completion. The business model defined by the Development Strategy of the Russian Railways holding until 2030 provides for the transformation of the company from a transportation company into a transport and logistics company.
In this regard, the railway provides customers with a new transport product- organizing the movement of freight trains according to a schedule with a fixed time of departure and arrival, which increases the reliability and economy of transportation, and corresponds to the conditions of operation of railway transport in a market environment. Departure of trains on schedule guarantees the delivery of goods to the client on time, significantly improves the reliability of delivery of goods.
In order to develop customer focus, reduce administrative barriers and improve the provision of services in the field of freight rail transportation, the Terms of Transport Service for Russian Railways were approved and put into effect. Today, it is enough for the client to sign and submit to any TCFTO (Territorial Center for Branded Transport Services) the original statement of familiarization and full agreement with the terms and cost of services provided on the Russian Railways website in order to receive the necessary service.
From March 1, 2016, the South-Eastern Directorate for the management of the terminal and warehouse complex put into effect the Price List for Works and Services, in which the contractual tariffs are determined in accordance with the flexible pricing methodology for this species services. This makes it possible to make the directorate's tariffs more competitive and attractive, maintain customer loyalty, respond to competitors' actions, while ensuring economic efficiency activities.
At the railway, close attention is paid to improving the quality of passenger service, introducing new types of services into practice. At the stations, stopping points, the actions "Passenger's Day" are systematically held, providing "feedback" with the passenger and allowing to take prompt measures to eliminate shortcomings in the work.
In order to maintain the volume of suburban traffic, improve transport services for the population, in cooperation with auto enterprises, regional administrations, work is underway to develop multimodal communications (“train + bus”) in passenger and suburban transportation.
Since February 2016, the possibility of paying for services has been implemented cellular communication through ticket machines at 24 points of sale. In September 2016, payment for the services of Internet providers will be introduced at the stations Voronezh-1, Belgorod, Michurinsk Uralsky, Liski, o.p. Mashmet.
At the stations Voronezh-1, Liski, Michurinsk-Uralsky, Belgorod, the possibility of non-cash payment for commuter train travel by bank card is open.
The Voronezh station complex houses the InPost POSTAMAT, the installation of which has become a convenient element of the station's infrastructure and has increased the attractiveness of the station complex as a whole.
Interactive kiosks have been installed at the Voronezh and Liski railway stations, allowing in a convenient and accessible form to bring to the consumer information about the services (of the station complex and other organizations of the city), sights and routes of the city.
In order to support the national program to promote reading among citizens, a number of stations implemented the Bookcrossing for Passengers project, which in turn is an additional free service.
In April 2016, the project “Library on Wheels” was launched for commuter train passengers of JSC “PPK “Chernozemye”.
For the convenience of cyclists, bicycle parking lots have appeared at the Voronezh, Liski, Povorino, Uglyanets railway stations.
The Suburban Passenger Company, together with the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, is working on the appointment of new suburban train routes on the road range and the development of intracity transportation. Currently, the administration of the Voronezh region is working on the issue of returning the train, which ran in April-May of this year along the direct route Prydacha-Rossosh.
In the autumn of 2015, the City Train project was launched in the city of Tambov, designed to increase throughput the main streets of the regional center, freeing them from traffic jams during peak hours, reduce the burden on the environment, improve investment attractiveness and the social situation in the region. Implementation of a similar project is planned in the Voronezh region.
Until the end of 2016, much remains to be done to improve the quality of passenger service in suburban traffic. This is a transfer of subscription tickets to a plastic carrier; development of online sales of travel documents, development of an interactive map on the website of the Chernozemye company with detailed information about train stations, stopping points, stations, socially significant objects and much more.
In order to increase the attractiveness of long-distance rail passenger transportation, from July 31, 2015, the train No. 45/46 Moscow-Voronezh was replaced with a double-decker train with seats, which is in great demand among passengers. During the period of increased demand (from May to mid-September), the double-decker train runs in an increased composition of up to 15 cars, during the period of reduced passenger traffic - 7 cars daily.
In July 2016, the replacement of carriages in train No. 69/70 Voronezh-Moscow with trains of double-deck carriages was organized.
To meet the demand for passenger transportation to the resorts of the Black Sea coast, the South-Eastern Branch of JSC FPC assigned an additional train No. 403/404 Moscow-Adler.
Since January 14, 2016, the Dynamic Pricing implementation area, which, along with others, includes the routes of the South Eastern Railway - Voronezh-Moscow, Voronezh-St. Petersburg, Belgorod-Moscow, Tambov-Moscow and Lipetsk-Moscow - has been replenished with Stary Oskol directions -Moscow and Belgorod-Novosibirsk.
“Dynamic pricing” for trains following the above directions is applied in luxury, SV and compartment class cars.
The program allows the passenger to plan their trip in advance and purchase a ticket at the lowest price. The earlier the ticket is purchased, the cheaper it is.
From July 1, 2016, for passengers traveling in compartment cars branded trains formation of the South-Eastern branch, it became possible to choose a diet from the proposed menu when purchasing a travel document.
The implementation of all these measures will improve passenger service, increase the level of customer focus, and will help strengthen the image of Russian Railways.
In a competitive environment, in order to stay afloat and continue to occupy a leading position in your industry, you need to be sensitive to changing market conditions. Therefore, we intend to continue working on the creation effective system sales of services, providing users with new transport and logistics products.
At present, a focus on the needs of the client is becoming the cornerstone for the further development of Russian railways. The turn of the carrier to the consumer is connected with the solution of two fundamental questions: what criteria are most important for the customer and how to meet them?
Carrier: in step with the times
During the dialogue between national carriers and shippers, held within the framework of the X International Business Forum " Strategic partnership 1520" in Sochi, market participants stated: the impact economic crisis on the railway complex can be considered twofold, since the decrease in loading volumes is accompanied by the market entering a new qualitative level. Against this background, bringing the topic of customer focus to the fore looks absolutely logical. Vadim Morozov, First Vice President of Russian Railways JSC, notes that for the holding, a systematic approach to this direction is a fairly new matter and had to start with the development of a single concept. “We defined customer centricity as the ability to generate an additional flow of customers by fully satisfying their needs,” he explains.
“The first and most important thing for us is how customer-oriented the company is. And only the client can decide this, and never its management. Second: customer orientation should be accompanied by the effect of increasing RZD revenues, while the company will support the interests key clients. The concept of “client” is not limited to consumers of services, it is also necessary to form an internal customer focus, that is, to ensure the coordinated work of business units responsible for infrastructure and freight traffic, the provision of transport and logistics services and the development of passenger traffic. The coordination of these areas is key point customer focus policy.
Customer orientation is one of the elements crisis management and gives the carrier new, especially valuable opportunities in the context of a decline in traffic. What are the specific steps? At the end of December 2014, a business development and customer focus department was formed at Russian Railways. “The structure was created by optimizing resources without increasing the apparatus,” emphasizes V. Morozov, “its mission is to create a corporate policy of internal and external customer orientation, provided for by the Holding Development Strategy until 2030.” The stages of its implementation are also defined: first, the development of a unified policy, then the creation of a concept (including detailed options for each type of business), implementation tools, as well as assessment methods and an implementation program. The list of current tasks includes the formation of an optimal package of services that excludes intercompany competition, and the creation of a single catalog of services. “The organization of end-to-end processes from the moment of planning a service to its implementation implies the integration of network-wide actions, and we will form this vertical by the end of the year,” promises V. Morozov.
Thus, the holding development vector is set. Roman Baskin, head of the business development and customer focus department of Russian Railways, argues that the tasks assigned to the new division are not easy, therefore, they sought to recruit creative people with experience not only within Russian Railways, but also outside the company. “This is very important for developing a methodology and concept of customer focus, that is, documents common to the holding, as well as for solving current problems, for example, creating a customer survey system,” R. Baskin concludes.
“Long-term pricing is important for a shipper in the current environment. We have moved away from this model and now make decisions manually, but returning to it is also a serious tool for increasing customer focus. In addition, we believe that the company needs to go into logistics: work with port infrastructure better, create service chains. Price tools are good, but this is not a panacea, but improving the technology of working with a client is the right way to quality.”
Integration in Kazakh
The current tasks of Russian Railways are well known to JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the national carrier, which has assumed the role of an integrator of the republic's transport assets, including port infrastructure and the TLC network. How is this task performed? Vice-President for Logistics of NC KTZ, Kanat Alpysbaev, notes that the efforts are aimed primarily at the development of the regions. “We have a positive experience of joint implementation of investment projects with clients with subsequent return on investment on certain conditions,” he notes.
In addition, an integrated planning unit has been created in KTZh, which deals with issues of transportation activities, tariff setting and marketing. “The task of the new structure is to remove unnecessary processes and speed up customer service,” emphasizes K. Alpysbaev. Changes are taking place at all levels: for example, the post of deputy chief for logistics has appeared in the departments of the road. In fact, this is an account manager who works with clients on a daily basis.
The railway complex of Kazakhstan (as well as the Russian Federation) is characterized by a high degree of overregulation. According to K. Alpysbaev, it complicates the introduction of new services, but KTZ is trying to solve this problem. “The first thing we want is to remove railway transportation from the regulation of the antimonopoly services of Kazakhstan on those routes where there is competition with other modes of transport, in particular with automobiles,” says K. Alpysbaev. The second issue is related to the unification of various shipping documents for the purpose of their use in multimodal transportation. “For example, we have to negotiate with the customs authorities for a long time so that there are no delays due to transit invoices when transporting cargo to the airport,” he clarifies. Another problem lies in the lack of a full-fledged regulatory framework for container transportation. Now they intend to do this very seriously in order to be in tandem with the times.
One of the key tasks related to customer focus in KTZ is the creation of a single window. “We want to involve all the assets under our management in its solution,” says K. Alpysbaev. “Moreover, UTLC already has experience in creating a unified platform for managing the rolling stock fleet and selling services, and it should be developed, including when implementing other joint projects.”
Non-zero sum game
As you can see, the experience of national carriers testifies to the relevance of a customer-oriented policy. How is it evaluated by those for whom it is intended? Deputy CEO OAO Management Company Kuzbassrazrezugol Irina Olkhovskaya believes that the efforts of OAO Russian Railways are beneficial to the coal industry. “We see a fairly stable growth in exports, the positions of our coal miners in the world markets are preserved,” she states. - These results were achieved thanks to joint work". It is about building infrastructure and technological development transportation, including at the Eastern range, a significant reduction in the time of delivery of goods to the port compared to 2013-2014. and most importantly, about bringing together the positions of participants in the transport business. “The latter thesis was confirmed by the adjustment of the Russian Railways tariff corridor at the beginning of 2015 in favor of shippers in the coal industry,” notes I. Olkhovskaya. “We were treated with respect.”
Of course, the cost of services is a very important criterion for the shipper to assess the level of customer focus of the carrier, but not the only one. Denis Ilatovsky, Deputy General Director for Logistics of SUEK, believes that price disputes are akin to a zero-sum game, while there are many other parameters that the carrier and the client can jointly improve, receiving mutual benefit. For example, in 2013, the fleet management technology of various operators on the approach to the ports of Murmansk and Vanino was improved, which led to an increase in the speed of coal delivery, and reverse side acceleration was a decrease in SUEK's demand for railcars. “In 2012-2013. we attracted 52-55 thousand wagons, now 45 thousand are enough, because due to the acceleration of the turnover of rolling stock, the need for it has decreased,” explains D. Ilatovsky.
Another important parameter for the cargo owner is the routing of cargo transportation. Together with Russian Railways in SUEK, its level was brought up to 70%, but the partners are not going to stop there. Another topic is to increase the carrying capacity of network sections. SUEK analyzed traffic on the Komsomolsk-on-Amur-Vanino section: after the commissioning of the Kuznetsovsky Tunnel, the length of the train was increased, but due to problems with traction, it returned to the previous 53-55 cars, while the volume of traffic still increased due to the increase in the weight of the train , consisting entirely of innovative rolling stock.
How to beat the highway?
The carrier's retail customers using wagon shipments are increasingly finding solutions on the market that are alternative to rail transport, transferring cargo to the road transportation segment. Konstantin Zasov, a member of the Board of Directors of CJSC Rusagrotrans, cites disappointing statistics: the share of road transport in grain transportation has increased by 10% since 2009 (up to 65%), and by 2020 it can reach 80%, for finished metallurgical products the same indicator since 2005 increased by 49% (up to 69%), for scrap - by 45% (up to 50%) by 2013, although in 2014 due to the freezing of tariffs it dropped to 38%. According to the expert, there is real competition here, while the situation requires a solution, which should be sought jointly with Russian Railways.
Of particular concern is the inability to compete with motor transport at distances up to 1,000 km. According to K. Zasov, the state of affairs can be changed only by simplifying the mechanism for applying the tariff corridor of Russian Railways or by abolishing the regulation of the railway tariff on such segments. “The possibility of regulating the infrastructure component depending on the type of cargo would also help,” he believes.
In order to ensure equal conditions for competition with road transport, it is proposed to amend the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in terms of changing the base for collecting transport tax, differentiating rates depending on the mass and number of axles of the car, as well as tightening remote control over compliance with regulatory parameters, including weight standards for cars, on highways of federal and regional subordination. In addition, Rusagrotrans considers it necessary to license road freight transportation and introduce restrictions in the field of technical regulation - similar to how it works in railway transport, with amendments to the technical regulations Customs Union. “The state needs to formulate a clear position,” sums up K. Zasov. “Otherwise, we will fight for equal conditions endlessly.”
German experience
According to industry experts, the experience of Deutsche Bahn is very interesting, since before the transformation the company faced many problems related to customer focus. One of them was the underdevelopment of the business culture: management thought in terms of individual business units and did not take into account common goals, respectively, the sales approach was carried out with an emphasis on the revenue of one unit. Another disadvantage was the fragmented operational planning of movement by numerous departments located in different regions and even countries, which led to inefficient use of assets.
Lack of unified commercial terms when selling the same products, the person responsible for loading the assets of the person, and overall strategy The development of the network, which implies the formation of transport corridors, was complicated by many interfunctional conflicts, since the organizational structure of Deutsche Bahn was quite complex, there were insurmountable barriers in communication between departments. Together, all these shortcomings led to a loss of focus on the interests of the client.
According to the partner and managing director of BCG in Russia Andrey Timofeev, the organization of the transport and logistics business of Russian Railways was influenced by both the remnants of the Soviet economy and the partial liberalization of the railway industry. The result is a duplication of functions within the holding. In general, a situation has arisen where the production service prevails over the commercial one, and the latter does not have the tools to influence the production process. The processes of supporting sales and commercial work with clients also require improvement.
“Obviously, two key decisions could improve the situation,” says A. Timofeev. - First of all, we are talking about the formation of a service offer, integrated with both sales and operations. Secondly, about customer service on the principle of a one-stop shop at the industry level.”
Andrey Timofeev,
Partner and Managing Director of BCG in Russia
“Certainly, customer focus in rail transport should develop against the backdrop of fair competition: if we do not establish equal conditions, we will not be able to attract cargo. Our task is to look at the volumes that are transported in alternative routes and compete for them together with the carrier. Today, fluctuations in motor transport tariffs during the year reach from 50 to 250%, while the railway tariff is unchanged. Thus, we have practically no tools to fight for the cargo. In addition, with the existing tariff setting system, it is impossible to beat vehicles at distances of up to 1,000 km, here special solutions are needed that must be developed jointly with the Federal Tariff Service,” Konstantin Zasov, Member of the Board of Directors of CJSC Rusagrotrans.
Thus, price regulation and technology improvement represent two options for increasing the level of customer focus. However, the possibilities for increasing tariffs are limited, and it is difficult for a carrier to form an investment program at the expense of the client. So there is only one tool left to increase revenue - work with the client.
Marina Ermolenko
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