Anton Kurasov works as an international sales & business development manager at Ultimate Maritime Logistics since August 2022. In this blog he starts to talk about his work background, which is summarized because of his broad experience, the role he fulfills exactly within the company and what he likes about working at Ultimate Maritime Logistics.
Strategic business opportunities
Anton begins: “In business development roles I use my affinity with the maritime industry where I identify strategic business opportunities, develop, and deliver business strategies and results based on market intelligence and key industry relationships. In my recent role at Ultimate Maritime Logistics, I try to get a good understanding of IT and digitization trends in the real sectors of economy with special focus on supply chain and the logistics sector as well as gained business analytical skills to determine scope of work and high-level solution architecture necessary to make offer estimation and proper pre-sales stage into actual deal closure”.
“I’ve worked for several companies all over the world. It takes some hours to tell exactly where I’ve been and what my role for each company was, but I can try to summarize it”, Anton smiles. “I’m actually an accomplished transport and global logistics professional with many years of experience in various roles across the industry. From initial focus in export and import operations logistics, ocean freight and maritime shipping to broad specialization in the transport of project and break-bulk cargoes for major players in the industry. I try to deliver control tower level service for management and coordination of global industrial supply chains’ intermodal transport logistics”.
“In business development roles I use my affinity with the maritime industry where I identify strategic business opportunities, develop and deliver business strategies and results based on market intelligence and key industry relationships. The last few years, from 2020 till August this year, I worked as a business development manager for different companies all over the world. Like: Global Logistics Alliance in China, CHI Software in the Benelux and Western Europe and FPT Software Europe in the Netherlands”.
Expand the business
“In August 2022 I started at Ultimate Maritime Logistics. I was approached by a recruiting agency. At the moment I joined Ultimate, the company was working to expand their business to an international level. Now they have a lot of contracts here in the Netherlands and in Belgium, but they also have contracts with international enterprises, multi-entity enterprises. They wanted to look even broader and to approach these companies really global. My role is to bring Ultimate Maritime Logistics there. That's quite challenging! Right now there are many developments in the field of the software they use. At this stage the management arrived at the point they really want to position it for the multi-entity global groups of organizations and really see how it works. My job is to bring it and open the doors to this kind of opportunities”.
“I am actually the key between the IT-team of Ultimate Maritime Logistics and the clients. I know what the processes in the logistics industry are like. I advise the clients how they can reach their goals. That’s a challenge now, because I am not an expert in Flex Maritime Logistics. Our solution for this business is new for me, but I am learning and I am open to learn more”.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
“Ultimate Maritime Logistics is a very nice place for me to work, because there is a lot of room to grow. I like the ambition they have: Global dominance in Maritime Logistics. They have everything within their reach to make that happen. They are partners with Microsoft and developed a unique ERP-solution integrated in the software, Microsoft Dynamics 365, tailored to the customer”.
A day at the office
“I already met my colleagues and discussed some tasks with them. Very nice guys! I usually come into the office on Friday. In the morning I’m there for meetings with Arne and Dirk. Sometimes I meet the marketing people. And then I just work at the office. Talk to people. It's nice Ultimate Maritime Logistics has this tradition to have a drink at the end of the working week! At that moment we can just talk and exchange what’s going on in the business”.
“I mostly work from home. That saves electricity at the office”, Anton laughs. “I’m very excited to work for Ultimate Maritime Logistics. I hope to stay here for a long period. To bring results. In other cities I was really living for the companies. I did it all. Now I feel more comfortable, more in balance. I like this kind of approach. Every time I come to the office I think: ‘It's so nice to be here!’ That's the feeling I have so far”.
After work…
“There are quite a lot of things I like to do when I’m not working. I like to collect books and sometimes read them. The topics of the most interesting books? History and international relations. Some books are written in other languages. I also like to learn languages. Most of my books are in English. I always say: ‘Maybe I can learn more languages’. Now I speak ‘only’ six languages: Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, English 'en een beetje Nederlands'. Don’t worry, I also have books in Dutch. My next project is to get to understand more German. It appears I can already read German. Now I have to learn to speak it fluently. That would be practical, because Ultimate Maritime Logistics also has a lot of opportunities in Germany and Switzerland”.
Want to know more about how Ultimate Maritime Logistics works? Then read on here.
