Midkhat Shagiakhmetov: The work of marketplaces in Tatarstan continues as usual
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan - Minister of Economy of the Republic of Tatarstan Midkhat Shagiakhmetov visited the logistics centers of the largest marketplaces KazanExpress, Wildberries, Ozon. The main task of the detour is to check the availability of goods and stocks, the preservation of logistics and the availability of prices for essential goods. As a result of the tour, the minister noted that there is no shortage of goods in online stores, delivery times remain the same.
“The work of marketplaces continues as usual. Orders will continue to be fulfilled as before - up to 1-2 days. The product range is presented in the same volume as before, all marketplaces have stocks of goods. The e-commerce format is actively developing. Tatarstan has a program to support manufacturers in entering popular marketplaces,” said Midkhad Shagiakhmetov.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan - Minister of Economy added that the termination of cooperation between European brands and Russia could be an opportunity for Tatarstan manufacturers to promote their goods. Because of the sanctions, Russian entrepreneurs have the opportunity to occupy niches that have been vacated by competitors.
At the distribution center of the Tatarstan marketplace KazanExpress, they talked about the current operational work and plans for further development. Now 5,000 people work here, the company has grown 10 times in a year. Goods are in sufficient quantity in the warehouse of the company.
“Our most important task is to save jobs. We have optimized all processes, prices remain the same, agreed with suppliers to have more discounts. And with the landlords agreed on discounts for us. We built KazanExpress to deliver goods to people, and this is what we will do,” said Linar Khusnullin, General Director of the company.
The company is completing the construction of the first phase of a new logistics center in the SMMLC. After the center is put into operation, which is expected this summer, marketplace sellers will be able to expand their assortment, and large areas will save on logistics.
The second point of visit was the Wildberries distribution center with an area of 100 thousand square meters, which houses over 42 million units of goods. The company noted that more than 50% of the goods presented at the site were produced in Russia. In addition, the largest online retailer has introduced support measures for sellers.
“We have actively supported Russian manufacturers before, for example, we took part in the development of all regional subsidies for marketplace providers. This year, a decision was made to introduce new marketing support tools, for example, separate landing pages to promote manufacturers. We have abolished the fee for storing goods in all warehouses and for the entire range. We make payments for goods sold 4 times a month without additional commissions,” said Timur Kovraev, head of the Wildberries logistics center in Kazan.
In the current situation, Ozon in Tatarstan is operating normally. “The warehouse continues to receive goods in the required quantities - moreover, the occupancy of the warehouse has only increased in recent weeks. The presence of such a large logistics center gives residents of the republic access to more than 7 million goods with fast delivery. For entrepreneurs, the presence of such a hub makes it possible to deliver goods to the marketplace even faster and deliver them to customers, saving on logistics,” said Eduard Navrotsky, head of the Ozon PSC.
Marketplaces are a convenient distribution channel with a low entry threshold for entrepreneurs. Even the smallest manufacturers can start selling their products on popular online platforms. The number of Tatarstan sellers in 2021 on the leading marketplaces exceeded 23 thousand people.