This interview features insights from Alexey\u00a0Souslau, COO at ASBIS Group, exploring how operational excellence, local\u00a0expertise, and\u00a0people-first leadership enable ASBIS to scale secure, high-speed IT distribution across highly diverse international markets. The discussion highlights the company\u2019s approach to infrastructure resilience, operational agility, automation, security, and the evolving role of human\u00a0expertise\u00a0in an increasingly AI-driven supply chain environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q: <\/strong>ASBIS operates across a highly diverse EMEA region. What makes managing such\u202fscale\u202fpossible?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: <\/strong>Scale at this level\u202fdoesn’t\u202fhappen by accident. We carefully\u202fengineer,\u202fmaintain, and\u202fimprove\u202fit every single day.\u202fWhat makes it work at ASBIS is the combination of\u202fstrategically positioned\u202fphysical infrastructure, sophisticated systems,\u202fand\u202fthe daily dedication of our people.\u202fWe’ve\u202fbuilt strategically located distribution hubs and warehouses across EMEA, not just for coverage but for resilience\u202fas well. When one corridor is disrupted, the network absorbs the impact, and we go on.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, infrastructure alone\u202fisn’t\u202fenough. The real differentiator is how\u202fwe’ve\u202fsynchronized people, processes, and technology across markets with fundamentally different dynamics. That synchronization turns a collection of regional operations into a single, scalable mechanism. We stay focused on this synchronization, bringing uniformity to processes and\u202fsystems\u202fand encouraging the sharing of knowledge among teams and subsidiaries.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: <\/strong>What differentiates ASBIS operationally from a traditional distributor?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: We have\u202fvery little\u202fhierarchy between management and the people doing\u202fthe physical\u202fwork. I walk the floors\u202ftogether with the warehouse men when visiting the DCs and local warehouses.\u202fWe go through the processes and take immediate actions to improve the operations that can be confirmed there and then, not following endless meetings and hierarchical\u202fapprovals. When we open new subsidiaries, warehouses, or shops, we go there to support them firsthand. We meet our service providers regularly,\u202fin person,\u202freviewing the operational KPIs,\u202fdiscussing the\u202fdrawbacks, and making sure that the dialogue\u202fgoes\u202fboth ways; in turn, they\u202fprovide us with cost-effective solutions and\u202foffer full-scale support for our new projects.\u202fThe\u202fhands-on culture\u202fin ASBIS\u202fis something\u202fthat\u202fwe\u202fprotect deliberately.\u202fIt’s\u202fwhat keeps people here for many years, and\u202fit’s\u202fwhat\u202fallows us to take on new challenges and move fast.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: <\/strong>Why is geography such an important advantage in modern IT distribution?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: In this industry, the biggest opportunities are often in places where there is no proper infrastructure yet, the market is still developing, and competition\u202fhasn’t\u202farrived.\u202fThat’s\u202fexactly where we go. We engineer the way in, we build what\u202fdoesn’t\u202fexist, we bring the people who stay, and we make it work.\u202fThat’s\u202fnot a strategy you can copy overnight. It takes years to\u202fbuild and\u202fcompounds every single day.\u202fThe local relationships, the compliance frameworks\u202fwe’ve\u202fbuilt market by market,\u202ftake years to\u202festablish\u202fand are\u202fnearly impossible\u202fto shortcut. By the time a competitor decides\u202fthat a certain\u202fmarket is worth entering,\u202fwe’re\u202falready there\u202fand already own the operational trust.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> How important is operational speed in the current EMEA market?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong>\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: Consumer expectations are rising when it comes to the speed of delivery of goods. The count now goes in hours and no longer in days. The same can be said about B2B sales\u202facross EMEA,\u202fwhere our\u202fpartners and vendors have fundamentally reset their expectations. Meeting that expectation across 50+ markets simultaneously requires infrastructure that\u202fASBIS has built, and\u202fmost\u202fof the other companies simply\u202fdon\u2019t\u202fhave.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n I must add that speed matters,\u202fbut not at the expense of security and accuracy, especially with the products we handle.\u202fWe know how to move fast and\u202festablish\u202fsignificant\u202finfrastructural\u202fprojects within days. But speed must be\u202fpaired with rigorous processes\u202fand security policies.\u202fWe deal with high-value electronics, and our teams are trained to treat security as non-negotiable, from how goods are received to how\u202fthey’re\u202fstored, to how\u202fthey’re\u202fhanded over to our\u202fsecure\u202ffreight\u202fforwarders.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: <\/strong>What role does technology play in ASBIS operations today?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: What\u202fI’ve\u202flearned over the years is that the best operational systems are the ones your teams\u202ftrust,\u202funderstand, and\u202fmost importantly\u202fuse. Most of our developments are directly catering to business needs,\u202fas\u202fdescribed\u202fto us\u202fby our people. When the system addresses a certain need or automates a certain process,\u202fbrings\u202faccuracy\u202fand saves a significant amount of time, there is a much higher probability that the person will\u202fuse\u202fthe functionality, and hence,\u202fthe productivity\u202fgrows. We\u202fcontinuously work on\u202funifying\u202fprocesses\u202facross the group, and\u202ftechnology\u202fis\u202fthere to help. We use both vendor-developed solutions and our own developments, making sure every aspect of business is covered.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> What makes building operations across EMEA especially challenging?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: What makes EMEA genuinely complex\u202fisn’t\u202fjust regulation or\u202flogistics\u202finfrastructure;\u202fit\u2019s\u202fdifferent working cultures, different expectations,\u202fand\u202fdifferent relationships with\u202fthe authorities. What works in Prague\u202fdoesn’t\u202fautomatically work in Dubai,\u202fAccra,\u202for\u202fAbidjan.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our approach has always been to hire people who understand their local context deeply, give them real ownership of their work, and keep the hierarchy flat enough that they can act without waiting for permission from three layers above. That autonomy,\u202fcombined with a shared operational culture\u202fwe’ve\u202fbuilt over many years,\u202fis what holds the whole network together.\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> How do you see the future of IT distribution evolving?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: More automated\u202fand robotized for sure, and very AI-dependent. Technology will be there to help, but the industry will still\u202fbe\u202fdependent on exceptional people.\u202fThe complexity of what we do is\u202fincreasing:\u202fhigher-value products, more demanding security requirements, more\u202fsophisticated\u202fsupply chains.\u202fEver-changing geopolitical situations\u202fare\u202fdisrupting everything,\u202ffrom\u202flogistics\u202fto\u202fbusinesses, the whole industry.\u202fYou can automate the repetitive; you cannot automate the judgment calls that come with moving critical IT infrastructure across diverse markets\u202fand force majeure situations. Those calls require experienced people who have genuine ownership of their work.\u202fThe companies that will lead this industry are those\u202fthat\u202finvest in automation\u202fand in\u202fthe people working alongside it. At ASBIS,\u202fthat’s\u202fexactly the balance\u202fwe’re\u202ffocused on.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> What are you personally most proud of in ASBIS operations?<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A. S.: In this industry,\u202fhigh\u202fturnover\u202fof people\u202fon the warehouse floor\u202fand wider operations department\u202fis just\u202fviewed\u202fas normal.\u202fWe’ve\u202fnever accepted that.\u202fWe’ve\u202fbuilt an environment where people come in, develop real skills, take ownership of their work, and\u202fmost\u202fstay for many years.\u202fThat’s\u202fnot an accident. It comes from treating the shop floor with the same seriousness as\u202fany other department.\u202fRevenue growth, geographic expansion,\u202fand\u202fautomation investments none of it delivers without the people underneath it who\u202fmake\u202fit work every day.\u202fI believe our people\u202fare our best\u202faccomplishment.\u202f <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This interview features insights from Alexey\u00a0Souslau, COO at ASBIS Group, exploring how operational excellence, local\u00a0expertise, and\u00a0people-first leadership enable ASBIS to scale secure, high-speed IT distribution across highly diverse international markets. The discussion highlights the company\u2019s approach to infrastructure resilience, operational agility, automation, security, and the evolving role of human\u00a0expertise\u00a0in an increasingly AI-driven supply chain environment.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-10219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press","tag-asbis"],"yoast_head":"\n