photo: RAILTARGET/Jana Mlkvá
ČD Cargo Logistics, a subsidiary of ČD Cargo, offers comprehensive logistics services with a focus on rail transport and sees the future in young people, which is why it is dealing with a high influx of applicants.
One of the latest projects of ČD Cargo Logistics is the combined transport terminal in Mošnov. However, during the preparations, no one anticipated a period of recession and such a massive decrease in container transport. Nevertheless, despite the challenging situation, the terminal has been satisfactorily full a year after opening, providing terminal services in full scope and excellent quality. Jana Mlkvá, Chairwoman of the Board of ČD Cargo Logistics, also notes that it complements the other terminals in Lovosice and Brno well. ČD Cargo Logistics thus offers good coverage of the whole country, and the services they offer are increasingly interesting for customers.
"Of course, I would like to see the Silk Road start up again at its pre-war volume, but the current rates of sea transport are also a deterrent. We assume that the Silk Road will not fully revive until after the war, and possibly not for a long time. We have customers who today do not want to transit through Russia and Belarus with certain types of goods, even though the line is still functional and, I dare say, works relatively without problems. And the middle corridor, offered as an alternative, is currently at least twice as expensive," commented Mlkvá on the changes in the flow of goods, affected not only by the pandemic but also by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Despite the unfavorable market situation, ČD Cargo Logistics does not face a shortage of job applicants. "I am convinced that it is the atmosphere and the range of activities that ČD Cargo Logistics offers. We can choose from a large portfolio of people educated in the fields we need. We cooperate with secondary and higher vocational schools and universities. Their students come to us for internships, and then we support them with their bachelor's and diploma theses," comments Mlkvá. According to her, dissemination among classmates and obtaining good references is also important. "Most of the time, they come to us with a motivational monologue, expressing what they would like to do with us. For me, this is the best proof that our work is meaningful and interesting for young people."
In contrast to the competition, the company is in a better position as they are familiar with the interested parties and do not need to ensure their basic knowledge. "We focus more on how they fit into our team. ČD Cargo Logistics functions as one big team, and we all want the company to prosper and develop. We use individual evaluation and motivational setting of KPI indicators for this," explained Mlkvá, who experienced a similar process herself.
"I recognized it myself. All my professional steps were influenced by the fact that the director, at that time of the department of railway freight transport, and the head of our department thought that I would be a good fit at ČD. I initially didn't want to go to the tracks, but after talking with Oldřich Mazánek, even though I took time to think, I viewed it as my personal social responsibility to join the industry," she commented. This was due to the positive motivation that without young people, nothing will change, and the best time to start is now. She communicates in the same way with future graduates of transport and logistics schools, emphasizing that they must enjoy their work for there to be progress, which will be recognized by their colleagues and superiors. This way, they will continue to grow professionally.