In my presentation, I want to focus mainly on the processes that accompany us from the operational side, and not from the political side or the regulations integrating Poland with the European Union.
The changes that took place in our part of Europe at the turn of the eighties and nineties significantly influenced the so-called “Polish transport industry”, considered as a whole as well as its individual branches or even individual enterprises. The situation that we currently perceive as natural and normal looked completely different a dozen or so years ago. Analyzing current and future market requirements today, it seems appropriate to also look back to realize how much has changed in this regard.
Before 1989, in the conditions of central planning and a socialist economy, also known as an economy of constant shortages and temporary difficulties, it was not possible to plan deliveries. It was more than certain that the subcontractor would not fulfill the obligation of timely delivery and it would be necessary to stop production due to the lack of stocks of materials or sub-assemblies. For these reasons, every manufacturer maintained large warehouse facilities, located as close as possible to the place of production. There was no talk of using outsourcing, not only in terms of storage, but even more so in terms of more advanced logistics services. As a result of the lack of demand for logistics services, there were no companies providing them, and freight forwarding and transport companies did not see the need to present offers in this area. The concept of civil logistics did not exist. The term logistics during the PRL period functioned only in the armed forces. According to the four-volume PWN Universal Encyclopedia (volume 2 from 1974), this term was defined as: in military theory, a definition of the theory and practice of military activity in the field of supply, transport and communication, administration, maintenance, repair, evacuation of the wounded and sick, use of local resources, implementation of construction projects and military investments; logistics examines the entirety of the state’s possibilities and capabilities in terms of securing war operations, plans and implements related projects. Although if some modifications were made to this definition, consisting, among other things, of removing the words military and war, it could be used for civilian applications. But who in the conditions of “real socialism” thought about the efficiency of the economy?
The period before 1989 was also a time of state interference and strong influence on the economy, including the field of transport and freight forwarding. The numerous private road freight transport and forwarding companies that exist today did not exist. In 1984, there were 108,500 private carriers registered, but these were mainly companies providing services to passengers (private taxis). They played a small role in cargo transport, usually having one or several cars with a load capacity of up to 3 tons. Road transport in the PRL was dominated by state and cooperative enterprises. In addition, a significant amount of rolling stock was maintained by non-transport enterprises, seeing this as an opportunity to better meet their own transport needs. This was often a necessary action in the conditions of that time, but not very efficient. These sub-enterprises (regardless of their organizational form) did not sell their service capabilities externally, but were focused only on serving the parent company. An example of such an organization was Hortex, whose transport company, equipped with refrigerated semi-trailer sets, was the second largest fleet of trucks in Poland, and provided services only for other organizational units of this enterprise. Both domestic and European transport were carried out with its own fleet of vehicles. Transports to the former Soviet Union were carried out by its own trains. Some of them remain on sidings to this day – unfortunately already overgrown with grass. Transport planes exported strawberries in quantities equal to the current production of our entire country.