Business relocation: infrastructure and logistics aspects

Abstract

The conditions of russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Ukrainian citizens and business entities have faced an extremely acute problem related to the need to preserve their physical existence. Millions of citizens and thousands of businesses are under the potential threat of entering the area of hostilities and occupation. They faced a dilemma: to survive physically, to lose their assets, to leave their homes, or to relocate to safer places within Ukraine or abroad. Aspects that reflect the essence of the problem, certain elements of similarity with the Second World War, which took place on the territory of Ukraine in 1939–1945 are considered in this paper. Current trends that significantly affect the actions of business entities under martial law are analyzed. The «bottlenecks» of the business relocation process are identified, the threats and certain aspects of avoiding possible risks with emphasis on infrastructural and logistical mechanisms are considered. Special attention is paid to the need of careful planning and preparation of the relocation process, taking into account not only economic and social factors, but also security and geopolitical factors. Components of successful business relocation in terms of optimizing material, financial and information flows involved in the production of goods/provision of services are highlighted in this paper. The need to focus more attention on the financial component of relocation, possible sources of financing for its successful implementation is updated. The author’s attention is focused on the lack of clear legislative regulation of the use of personal income tax funds during the full-scale war. Statistical information concerning relocated enterprises for 2022–2023 has been analyzed. Attention is focused on potential relocation opportunities in different regions of Ukraine. The main stages of relocation are considered, the key points, including relocation of certain types of business outside Ukraine, are highlighted. It is emphasized that enterprises planning relocation should carefully consider all aspects of this process, first of all, from the point of view of impact on business not only in real time, but also in the future.