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Interview with Julia Miszustina – How to overcome the bumpy roads to Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

Pharmaceutical expedition: How to overcome bumpy roads to Kazakhstan and MongoliaTransporting pharmaceuticals to Central Asia poses unique challenges. In conversation with Julia Miszustina, we present the challenges and successes associated with organizing pharmaceutical transport to countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, taking into account all operational, cultural, and legal nuances.
How did your adventure with organizing pharmaceutical transport to Central Asia begin?
During my stay in Belarus, I worked with a manufacturer in the pharmaceutical sector who needed raw materials from Central Asia. That was my first contact with those markets. Later in my professional life, already in Poland, I began organizing pharmaceutical transports to Mongolia and Kazakhstan, not only from Poland, but also from Germany, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. My previous experience with customs procedures certainly came in handy.
How did your adventure with organizing pharmaceutical transports to Central Asia begin?
During my stay in Belarus, I worked with a manufacturer from the pharmaceutical sector who needed raw materials from Central Asia. That was my first contact with those markets. Later in my professional life, already in Poland, I started organizing pharmaceutical transports to Mongolia and Kazakhstan, not only from Poland, but also from Germany, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. My previous experience with customs procedures certainly came in handy.
What specific challenges does your work with these countries present?
Crisis situations – knowledge of local conditions and the ability to anticipate threats
A different culture and style of communication requires getting used to a slightly more relaxed approach, while at the same time ensuring that everything complies with pharmaceutical transport procedures (GDP). Crossing border crossings, difficult road conditions, possible military escalations, roadblocks, as well as problems with parking infrastructure – there are many threats that pose challenges when organizing this type of transport.
What is the typical process of organizing pharmaceutical transport to these regions?
Someone goes on vacation, comes back, and our delivery is still on its way!
Organizing deliveries to Kazakhstan or Mongolia is a real test of stress resistance.
Over 5,000 kilometers, several border crossings, delivery from 14 to 21 days to Kazakhstan, and over 18 days to Mongolia. It is essential to plan the route in detail and give the driver the appropriate instructions, taking into account sensitive points. There is also the aspect of dramatic temperature fluctuations – they can be as low as -40 or as high as +40 degrees – continuous online temperature monitoring and the implementation of appropriate solutions in the event of possible failures or deviations are required.
We monitor the status of loading, clearance, and delivery, providing ongoing information to the client.
Working in different time zones also means that we need to be in contact with the driver 24hours a day.
What difficulties do you encounter when delivering pharmaceuticals to such remote and hard-to-reach places?
Change is the most constant thing.

Customs regulations can be quite a headache, as they change frequently or are interpreted differently. And then there are the recent sanctions – they do not directly affect the pharmaceutical industry, but they do have an impact on the speed and method of transport.
In addition, we often deliver to 5-6 unloading points in several Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan – which is a challenge due to controls at several border crossings and the requirement for appropriate permits.
Can you tell us about a situation that was particularly stressful or demanding? How did you deal with it?
It was winter in Almaty, -30°C, but in our Warsaw office it was as hot as Miami!
During one of our deliveries to Kazakhstan, riots broke out in the country, resulting in martial law being declared. In Almaty, crowds of people were demolishing government buildings and overturning trucks. Our truck was carrying cargo worth over €2 million.
The goods were delivered safely.
How do you ensure that pharmaceuticals are transported under the right conditions, e.g., at the right temperature?
Just as a mother watches over her child, we watch over our deliveries!
We monitor the temperature, route, and condition of the vehicle, and we are in constant contact with the driver. Everyone on the team is trained, and the equipment is regularly calibrated, mapped, and qualified.
How do you manage risk in such a complex environment? What are the most important steps you take to prevent potential problems?
VIGILANCE!
It is crucial to stay in touch with the driver 24 hours a day and react quickly if problems arise. I always have a plan B ready and try to inform the customer about the situation as soon as possible so that we can make decisions together.
We plan the supply chain in such a way as to minimize risk.
What is your experience of working with local partners in Mongolia and Kazakhstan?
Was it cheap? Yes, it was cheap. Was it good? It was cheap!
Cooperation can be interesting, but also stressful. Interesting because I always get to know a new culture, but stressful because, unfortunately, not every carrier meets the requirements for transporting pharmaceuticals. At the beginning of our cooperation with local carriers, when asked about the GDP procedure, 80 percent of the answers were: “What’s that?”
Example: a truck with goods requiring a temperature of +2°C to +8°C arrived for unloading. On site, it turned out that the cold store did not have a ramp and the goods could only be unloaded in the yard. The outside temperature was +30°C. At this point, the shipper’s quality department would certainly have made critical observations, but for the local carrier it was a normal situation and, from his point of view, everything was fine.
What happens at our company?
Our driver refuses to unload and passes the information on to us. We inform our shipper and patiently wait for his decision. Only after receiving written consent from our client does the driver open the trailer door.
Have you encountered any cultural differences that have affected your work? How did you deal with them?
A smile and language are the keys to success!
I am a native speaker of Russian, which is widely spoken in Central Asian countries. This greatly facilitates communication and allows me to solve day-to-day problems.
Working with drivers and recipients of goods from the East and Asia certainly differs from the standards of business transport culture in Western countries.
Could you share an interesting or surprising story related to your work?
The weather conditions don’t help!
We had a situation where a truck skidded off the road in Kazakhstan. The roads there are terrible, and the situation was made worse by flooding, so the driver lost control of the vehicle. Following procedure, he called us immediately, and our local team quickly organized technical support.
The goods were delivered later than planned, but the customer appreciated our ongoing and continuous flow of information and our methodology for dealing with crisis situations.
What was the most unusual load you had to deliver? Did anything surprise you?
Around the bend, bend!
Every shipment is unusual and unique. In this line of work, you never know what’s waiting for you around the corner.
These “turns” and other factors affect my adrenaline level… and this adrenaline is addictive, making it difficult to return to driving on German highways, where most random events and human behavior are predictable.