Development of transport logistics in the chelyabinsk region: problems and the prospects of using information technologies

When searching for alternative ways of development of the Chelyabinsk region it’s reasonable to take the economic and geographic location of the region, namely the location on one of the China-Europe routes as a basis. The Chelyabinsk region has a great potential to carve out its niche in the way of goods from China to the European Union. Transit is one of the golden opportunities of economic growth for a particular region and the country as a whole. The main reasons which force transport carriers to go around Russia are: 1) insufficient level of the infrastructure development; 2) problems with cargo tracking, loss of products; 3) dishonesty of intermediaries, nontransparent cargo traffic system. The introduction of advanced information technologies adapted to the peculiarities of a particular region allows improving the quality of logistics services. The authors suggest the project on simulation of interregional goods turnover based on the Leontief’s multifactor model of international trade using a gravity model for transport expenses. The functional requirements and the software features are given. The introduction of this software to enterprises of the Chelyabinsk region is aimed at the development of external trade, improvement of transport infrastructure, assistance in decision making not only on the scale of a certain enterprise, but on the scale of the regional policy of the region’s development. It facilitates sustainable development of the region and as a result, attraction of new partners and investors.