Nikolay Nazarov, Director of the core systems department, Nova Poshta: “We manage 3000 postomats with Corezoid“

Nikolay Nazarov, Director of the core systems department, Nova Poshta

Nikolay, how did you start working at Nova Poshta?

I was invited by CIO Andrey Pokotilov. It was necessary to develop the strategy of IT-Infrastructure growth. I would even say, to re-think the whole IT-infrastructure from scratch. The Department I’m working for didn’t even exist back then.

When was that?

In 2016. I remember that on my first working day I came to the office at Stolychne Highway 103, met the team. At that time, there were only 5 of us. We exchanged a few words and immediately went to work. Now I have 150 people in my team.

What were Your first steps working in “Nova Poshta”?

I’ve designed the strategy of IT-infrastructure growth. Back then we had a central operating system called “AVIS”, plus a lot of niche systems. All our IT systems were maintained separately. The number of point to point integrations was growing. There were problems with fault tolerance associated with the rapid growth of "Nova Poshta".

It was necessary to develop the strategy of IT-infrastructure growth, that would describe all IT systems as part of a coherent ecosystem. As a result, it became clear what IT solutions needed to be implemented in order to get a balanced ecosystem that would be reliable, and at the same time, allow you to quickly scale.

We started using Corezoid as an integration platform that business analysts could work with and quickly customize any business logic

How did Corezoid appear in Nova Poshta?

"Nova Poshta" was growing rapidly, and it was necessary to be able to build new IT solutions fast. We have implemented Kafka as a communication bus between systems. We started using Corezoid as an integration platform that business analysts could work with and quickly customize any business logic. In fact, these 2 key systems laid the foundation of the digital core of “Nova Poshta”.

Now we have product teams that include product-owners, business analysts, programmers, and testers. Cross-functional teams began to be responsible for their own products.

How has the team changed during your work at “Nova Poshta”?

Since 2016, "Nova Poshtal" changed a lot. We used to have a business analysis department and software development department. And conflicts constantly arose between them. Developers complained about poor business requirements, and business units felt that developers were bad at programming. We changed that.

Now we have product teams that include product-owners, business analysts, programmers, and testers. Cross-functional teams began to be responsible for their own products.

Also, we resolved the conflict associated with the development queue. Previously, the business threw all tasks into a common "lake". We had monthly committee meetings, where we discussed the tasks that IT would do. And then a fierce fight for the IT resources started.

Now every business has its own teams. And the product owner himself manages the tasks within the team, as he sees the value for the business.

I liked the engineering ideas behind Corezoid. And I liked Corezid much more than other platforms, where You need to struggle with BPMN notation, draw endless diagrams, be a Java expert etc.

What role did Corezoid play in the digital transformation of “Nova Poshta”? How did you first find out about Corezoid?

I learned about Corezoid even before I started working at “Nova Poshta”. I have done my own projects related to building chat bots. Customers contacted me with a request to create a chat bot for them. I studied different tools and liked Corezoid. I am impressed by the fact that business analysts can build processes on Corezoid, and You don’t need to be a hardcore programmer to use the platform.

I liked the engineering ideas behind Corezoid. And I liked Corezid much more than other platforms, where You need to struggle with BPMN notation, draw endless diagrams, be a Java expert etc.

I am a developer myself, and the approach of creating solutions based on the state machines is close to me. It is an engineering approach to solving the business problems.

I decided, that Corezoid could become a digital core for “Nova Poshta”, a foundation on the basis of which we can build our main processes. Especially those processes that evolve rapidly and change frequently.

Today 3,000 “Nova Poshta” postomats are already connected to Corezoid. Corezoid works as a middleware layer with business logic for managing parcel machines, integration with back-end systems, interaction with front-ends.

Who works with Corezoid at “Nova Poshta”?

Business analysts with basic programming knowledge work with Corezoid at Nova Poshta. The first project on which we practiced using Corezoid was the “IT Service Desk”. We described in Corezoid how agreements and service applications should be negotiated, how requests should move between CRM, workflow system, Jira, contact center, what stages there are, SLAs, responsible people, etc.

The second project, which we have done on the basis of Corezoid, is the management system of “Nova Poshta” postomats network. Today 3,000 “Nova Poshta” postomats are already connected to Corezoid. Corezoid works as a middleware layer with business logic for managing parcel machines, integration with back-end systems, interaction with front-ends.

There are also projects on Corezoid related to the mobile application, work shift management, terminals, and others.

How many people are building projects on Corezoid in “Nova Poshta”?

You don't need a lot of people to work effectively with Corezoid. We trained 6 people.

Postomats is a good example. You come at any time, press a couple of buttons, pick up the package and leave. And you don't need to interact with anyone at all. It is especially relevant now, during a pandemic.

What global trends affect the work of Nova Poshta?

Customers want mobility, autonomy, simplification and speed. Customers don't want to interact with office workers. Clients want to find the point of sending or receiving the “Nova Poshta” parcel as quickly as possible near them and to solve their problem with minimal effort.

Postomats is a good example. You come at any time, press a couple of buttons, pick up the package and leave. And you don't need to interact with anyone at all. It is especially relevant now, during a pandemic.

How do you find new talents to work in the “Nova Poshta” team?

I am interested in a person's success in previous projects where he worked. It is also important that the person is a team player. I encourage the team play in “Nova Poshta”.

Why do people like to work at “Nova Poshta”? How would you describe the corporate culture of “Nova Poshta”?

I hate the words "corporate culture". There is no soul in such words. I would say that our team has such a family-partner atmosphere. When everyone is rooting for a common cause, they are ready to bring something to the team. I like a more “humane” spirit, not "corporate".

Do you have any preferences regarding the universities, that teach programmers?

KPI, T.G. Shevchenko University. But now, in the context of the coronavirus, people have the opportunity to work from home. The likelihood of finding a good specialist who has not graduated from a Kyiv university has increased. Such people work remotely perfectly.

For over a year now, we have all been working remotely. There is no one in the office at all. We conducted a survey and only 5% of employees would like to return to the office. Productivity hasn't dropped in any way.

There are slightly other problems: how to give employees computers to work from home, how to set up VPN access, etc.

What do you do in your free time?

I like to play tennis, I am fond of photography. Also, oddly enough, I love programming.

Please recommend to our readers a few books, films, TV series?

I like the movies by Quentin Tarantino. I can recommend the “4 rooms” thriller.

“Four Rooms” by Quentin Tarantino

Recently I liked the “Narcos” series on Netflix. This series is based on a true story about how the United States fought the drug empire of Pablo Escobar in Colombia.

Narcos, Netflix series

Talking about the books, I recommend “Digital Vortex. How to beat digital innovators with their own weapons.”

“Digital Vortex. How to beat digital innovators with their own weapons.”

How do you see the “Nova Poshta” of your dream in 3, 5, 10 years?

This is a difficult question. I think we should develop towards international logistics, strengthen the “postomats” solution, study what is happening in the field of delivery using drones and robots. I believe that the future belongs to such technologies.