After Russian forces destroyed Nova Poshta’s fulfillment center and sorting depot in the village of Sviatopetrivske, Kyiv region, overnight on Aug 28, the company is introducing a decentralized fulfillment model under which cargo and post offices across Ukraine will serve as local warehouses.
"This is not the first strike on Nova Poshta’s infrastructure. But this time we lost our most advanced robotic fulfillment center — the result of years of work, investment and the best engineering solutions," company CEO Yevhen Tafiychuk said on Facebook.
The attack destroyed thousands of books from publishers including A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA, Vivat and Osnovy, he said.
Nova Poshta stressed that it will compensate publishers and stores for all losses caused by the attack.
Tafiychuk explained that the company is currently in talks with every publisher and store whose books were destroyed, identifying their needs and working out individual arrangements to help partners recover their losses, print new runs and continue operating.
He also said the shift to a decentralized fulfillment model will reduce reliance on a single large center and help businesses keep operating amid further attacks.
"Nova Poshta’s fulfillment operations continue because our resilience lies in our ability to quickly restructure, spread out risk and support our partners in any circumstances — not just in buildings or equipment," Tafiychuk said.
Company co-founder Volodymyr Popereshnyuk said on Facebook that distributed storage services across dozens and hundreds of locations throughout Ukraine will also be offered to retailers and other clients.
"Today it’s important to keep minimal inventory that is spread out and can move quickly. Logistics needs to work flawlessly, especially amid the war and drone and missile strikes," Popereshnyuk said.
Anton Martynov, founder of the Laboratoriya publishing house, separately confirmed on Facebook that his company is shifting to distributed inventory, including spreading books across different locations and handing part of its logistics to partners.
"Don’t create a single point whose loss could stop the whole company. It’s more expensive, harder to manage, and goes against classic economies of scale. But wartime economics are different," Martynov said.
He stressed the importance of building a system that keeps working even if one of its elements disappears — through decentralized inventory, multiple logistics points and partner warehouses.
Other elements of such a system, according to Martynov, include digital tracking of stock, faster movement of books from printer to bookstore to reader, and reduced reliance on any single building. He said the publishing house is already restructuring, though book shipments will be disrupted in the coming weeks.
"For years we optimized our business for efficiency, and now we’ll also have to optimize it for survival," Martynov added.
