Despite seeing the industry change since he started in 1998, Oleg Valenkov, country manager Iraq, and operations director for Middle East at TGP, says human interaction will remain the key factor. Personal management, customer focus and sales will remain of paramount importance. 

Speaking to Project Cargo Journal, Valenkov noted that his career in the industry began in 1998 with Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick (SWK), British transport consultants where he held the position of project manager. He highlighted the importance of his first project manager at SWK, Peter Ranger whose management models Valenkov still uses.

Valenkov’s position entails operations and general management and control, which certainly includes numerous meetings and video calls in order to develop solutions TGP’s customers require.

What changed?

After working for SWK, Valenkov moved to IHG Logistics, then further to DHL and Instar Projects before joining TGP in 2018. Throughout his career, Valenkov held managerial positions, and he has been able to follow the change within the industry from that aspect.

“Computerisation led all of us to online operations management and meetings; still personal meetings are required for decisive points in any business,” he said, adding that in the future he expects further development of on-line business models, interaction with shipping lines only through online platforms, e-bidding a well as introduction of AI in supply chains.

Going forward, Valenkov calls for more transparency in business dealings to ensure competitive, even playground. “The number of players should not be reduced, both big and small, agile companies are required to support fair market conditions,” he said.

The market is currently facing consolidation with project cargo specialists being taken over by global and multinational companies, which could lead to deterioration of service levels as competition is destroyed, which could only be a loss for the customers.

Read also: 

• Project logistics is sexy, Maarten Bedaf, Lubbers Logistics Group
• Human interaction will remain key, Oleg Valenkov, TGP
• Project logistics requires passion, Murilo Caldana, FOX Brasil