We had the opportunity to talk with Andriy Valeriyovych, an entrepreneur and our first business partner. He shared his vision of business development, talked about new strategies and innovative approaches to the production of agricultural machinery.
Tetyana: Good afternoon, Andriy! Thank you for finding the time to talk. Tell us what you do and what areas are your priorities?
Andriy: Good afternoon! Our journey in the field of auto parts began back in 2004. We supply a wide range of spare parts for different categories of customers.
We have been cooperating with Omega // since 2006. When your Odessa branch opened, and I accidentally got to you, met the director and realized that you have a good range and excellent working conditions. From that moment on, our joint work began. Both then and now, you remain the best on the market.
Tetyana: What exactly impresses you most about cooperation with us?
Andriy: Your level of logistics is something unique for the auto parts market. If you order a product today at 5:00 PM, we will have it at 11:00 AM tomorrow. This is very convenient and allows our customers to receive the product quickly. We even accustom them to this level of service, and they are no longer willing to wait any longer. Therefore, I can say with confidence that there is no better logistics than yours.
Tetyana: What is your strategic vision for the development of the company, given today's realities?
Andriy: By 2022, we had a clear understanding of where we were going. We invested in online sales, automation, and a dropshipping system. But after the war began, a lot changed. The market became less predictable, demand fell, and many new challenges appeared. The most difficult thing is instability. It is impossible to predict how the situation will change in a month or even a week. This makes decision-making difficult. Our main strategy now is to maintain the business at least at the level we have today. In wartime, this can already be considered a success. And after the war, we will build further plans and define new strategic directions.
Tetyana: What are the priority areas in your work now?
Andriy: We cover a wide range of auto parts - from cars to trucks and agricultural vehicles. The main thing is to cover the needs of our customers as much as possible. Even if we don’t have something in stock, we look for and supply the necessary goods in order to provide our customers with everything they need and make the process of purchasing auto parts as convenient as possible.
At some point, we even considered the possibility of opening our own service station, but did not do so due to the unstable situation, which created high risks for such a business. Over time, when circumstances allow, perhaps we will return to this idea and implement the opening of a service station. As practice shows, those who have their own service station feel much more confident. They not only sell spare parts, but also provide repair services, which guarantees a constant flow of customers
Tetyana: What can you say about our cooperation, what do you value in the interaction of our companies?
Andriy: Actually, I like your logistics the most. When I order a product for a client, it doesn’t matter to me how much it costs. If the product is needed urgently, then no one else can organize such logistics except you. Thanks to coordinated logistics, we can always quickly resolve the issue - just call, and everything falls into place.
Tetyana: What should we pay attention to in order to improve our work in your opinion?
Andriy: It would be good to expand the range and speed up delivery through partner bridges. Sometimes it happens that the product is delayed for a day or two, and this creates certain difficulties. But I will note that there have been fewer of them recently. There are certain working moments, but they are minor and easily resolved through your managers. In any case, you should treat such situations calmly and continue working.
Tetyana: I would like to talk in more detail about the convenience of Omega services // for your company. Which services do you think work well for us? And which ones need to be improved?
Andriy: Thanks to web access, we form applications ourselves, select the necessary positions and work with programs at the same level as your managers. Selection by codes works great, but catalogs are not always convenient to use due to the large number of car models that do not always match. It would be very useful if you could configure the selection program so that partners could quickly select spare parts, even if the model is not quite "matching".
Andriy: For example, the "My Garage" program remains raw and does not work properly. It would be great if you finalized it, because this would significantly increase the efficiency of customers' work. This will make cooperation even more convenient and effective.
Tetyana: What can you say about our people? Who did you collaborate with?
Andriy: if there are serious questions, I contact the manager of Salagor Valentyn and the issue is quickly closed. If necessary, we can also contact the support line, which always responds promptly. But in the case of such acute issues that would require additional intervention, we do not have one.
Tetyana: Have you encountered problems that our managers helped to solve?
Andriy: Small issues always arise - sometimes there are errors with the delivery, something can get lost or arrive in the wrong form. For example, in your database, certain parts are marked as analogues, although in reality this is not always the case. As a result, we sometimes receive a product that does not meet expectations, which, in turn, leads to returns. However, we understand that we work with a large volume of sales, and isolated cases of non-conformity are not critical. But the most important thing is that all issues are resolved quickly through your managers.
Tetyana: What achievements of your company over the past year are you most proud of?
Andriy: The most important thing is that we continue to work. We have kept the team, we support the business, although every year the market becomes more difficult. Finding good specialists in the field of auto parts is not easy. We need people with experience who understand the technical part well. We invest in training staff, because qualified personnel is the key to success. For now, the main thing is to stay afloat, adapt to new realities and maintain the quality of service.
Tetyana: Thank you for such a frank conversation! I wish the situation to stabilize, and your business not only survives, but also grows.