After the conflict in Ukraine ramped up in February 2022, the country’s citizens faced a threat to the supply of critical cargo, such as food and medicine, leaving millions concerned about their future.
With hostilities raging on, the international community, in close cooperation with the Ukrainian Government and Civil Society, mobilised to provide goods to people in need within Ukraine.
Although there are recurring challenges with power outages, disrupted supply routes and occasional border delays, the general flow of deliveries inside of Ukraine is still working well with minimal disruption.
Having established a presence in the region back in 2006, Move One has steadily deepened its long-standing capabilities in Ukraine and the surrounding region to build a team capable of handling the logistics needs of the numerous government, military, humanitarian, and development agencies operating in Ukraine.
Move One’s goal is clear: To support the people of Ukraine anywhere, anytime, no matter what it takes.
“Whatever it takes – this is not just a slogan, but a promise. We all work in an unpredictable world and things rarely go as planned. Every day our staff around the world show up and are 100% dedicated to coming up with creative, compliant solutions to ensure we keep our promises and we help our clients’ succeed,” Greg Forgrave, Product Manager Government Services at Move One, said.
Smoother supply chains
A wide array of services are necessary and in demand for Ukraine. Move One facilitates daily cross-European trucking from regular origins like the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey to Ukraine.
The logistics provider also facilitates large volumes of inbound sea cargo via the Polish ports in Gdynia and Gdansk and equally large volumes of urgently needed air cargo arriving in Warsaw and Rzeszów airports in Poland.
“We have managed to take over several high-end existing facilities in country to facilitate the safe storage, inventory and eventual frontline delivery; a process which required minimal physical renovations and cleaning but relied heavily on the implementation of our in-house Warehouse Management System, deployable software and IT solutions tailor-made for operating in locations with limited infrastructure and unreliable power supply,” Forgrave highlighted.
“Beyond regional capitals in Ukraine, road and bridge infrastructure can be damaged, and the closer our delivery locations are to the front lines, the more complex delivery planning becomes. Move One draws upon a trusted network of local staff, partners, and regional transporters to ensure ground-sourced, up-to-the-hour logistics solutions that mitigate risk to the best of our ability.
“In terms of transport, we have managed to scale capacity for both cold chain and dry goods immensely which has allowed us to take on large scale distribution, country-wide, even during surges in the numbers of internally displaced Ukrainians and heavy and consistent incoming bombardment from the Russian forces,” he continued.
READ: Keeping cargo flowing amid conflict
Rapid response
The swift response in Ukraine highlights the true nature of how quickly operations can meet the moment. Move One’s rapid deployment team works to ensure that they are on the ground first, establishing a reliable and accurate flow of information. With a 24/7 control centre, Move One integrates air and surface operations with global humanitarian aid partners to get goods moving as quickly as possible.
Move One have experienced and stable global management whose previous direct involvement in crises in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and across Africa allows them to focus and execute on the micro-mission and ignore the external noise that may draw others off course or away from the mission.
In addition to their country management in Kyiv, Move One now also has five warehouses and manage field teams in Odessa, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Lviv with the aim of providing maximum logistics support to the Ukrainian government, its people, and the organisations working tirelessly to ease the human suffering caused by the Russian invasion.
As the conditions in Ukraine changed Move One’s clients were quick to react and push as close to the frontlines as possible so as to support those most affected. Returning to Kharkiv was absolutely necessary for the company in order to facilitate the delivery of desperately needed food and humanitarian cargo to the people in the area.
“Lead by our fearless founder and CEO Curt Clements, we always strive to arrive on the scene as soon as the events have begun – start surveying the market for existing solutions to tap into and to ensure our customers are getting the best and most accurate information possible on delivery possibilities from our people on the ground,” Forgrave said.
“Once, we have arrived in a new land our intentions are always to get officially registered as quickly as possible with the local authorities and to begin hiring and training capable local staff to augment and enhance the efforts of incoming expat management. Being on the ground also facilitates problem solving, creativity and a never-say-never approach to finding a way to get urgently needed supplies to those in need ASAP,” he explained.
“We cannot and will not rely on secondary sources and we have prided ourselves for 30 years on being those you call when you need competent, trustworthy and compliant delivery in turbulent and changing conditions. In each new scenario, its our senior management who are at the forefront of every new challenge,” he added. “Unlike our competitors, who tend to lead from a comfortable distance, our senior managers are out front and on the ground with our customers and partners, understanding their challenges and needs. This allows us to offer unique solutions and have a reliable knowledge of what is happening in such fluid and dynamic situations.”
