As part of the II International Forum “Transport Science: Innovative Solutions for Business”, which opened in Moscow today with the support of JSCo Russian Railways and was organised by Business Dialogue, a session was held titled “Optimising Transport Flows for Better  Business: Innovative  Solutions for Transportation Management”.

Boris Lapidus, D.Sc. in Economics, Professor, General Director, Russian Research and Development Institute of Railway Transport; Chairman, International Railway Research Board at the International Union of Railways, said that the generation and selection of the most effective innovative solutions must be based on a systemic vision of the problem domain and that the first step towards solving this problem has already been taken.

Preparations are currently being made under the aegis of the Russian Railways Unified  Scientific Council to issue the first and, for now, “rough” draft of the Red Book of Railway Transport, which not only organises the technical and engineering problems of the railways but also establishes their interconnection, which makes it possible to identify the most effective innovative solutions. It should be noted that this is the first attempt to organise the problem domain of transport in the world, not only in Russia, therefore creating this highly important document has been no simple task.

Nevertheless, the best practices and experience gained make it possible not only to continuously improve this document, but also apply it to the specific problems faced by railways in other countries. A resolution has already been adopted on such work within the framework of the International Railway Research Board at the International Union of Railways.

Leonid Mazo, D.Sc. in Economics, Expert, TransBasis, presented a concept for the development of a regulatory pricing model on freight shipments based on the economic feasibility of the carrier switching to flexible tariff management within the upper and lower levels established by the Regulator.

The experts and session participants also considered new approaches to putting together an investment programme to renovate the locomotive fleet, optimise the flow of empty train cars within the private fleet, and develop logistics centres at transport hubs.

In particular, Anatoly Fedorenko, Head, Logistics Infrastructure Management Department, National Research University Higher School of Economics, believes it is not only the modern market that dictates the requirements for the high-quality delivery of freight. Today demand is seen for a high-quality integrated transport product and level of service from a single company – a logistics operator that offers the full range of logistics services: transport, freight forwarding, warehousing, customs brokerage and coordination.

Establishing effective transport and logistics infrastructure is one of the main postulates for developing the Russian transport system. Forming this system, in particular, involves the construction of modern high-quality warehouse facilities in all areas where freight is transported. However, the pace and scope of warehouse construction today are determined not so much by government programmes as they are by the interests and opportunities of private developers and logistics companies.

Business Dialogue press centre:
E-mail: media@businessdialog.ru