Digitalizing Companies One Step Ahead in the Pandemic Process
The coronavirus epidemic revealed the importance of digitalization in logistics, as in many other sectors. Experts emphasize that companies that have completed their digitalization infrastructure, even though there is a contraction in the sector, are ahead and predict that technology investments will accelerate.
The Mediterranean Business Unit of DFDS, which provides transportation and forwarding services in Europe, brought together the female leaders of the logistics industry, which has been significantly affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, through the digital DFDS Academy Platform. International Forwarding and Logistics Service Providers Association (UTIKAD) Board Member Berna Akyıldız, Ekol Logistics Country General Manager Arzu Akyol Ekiz and Tur Transit Logistics Chief Executive Officer Şebnem Atabek Zeybek discussed the definition of ‘new normal’ in the logistics industry.
At the meeting moderated by Özlem Dalga, DFDS Mediterranean Business Unit Corporate Communications Manager, the speakers made important evaluations on how the epidemic process affected the logistics sector, the opportunities they envisioned and the change in the sector. In the panel, it was emphasized that those who survived this process best were companies that had already completed their digital transformation processes. Berna Akyıldız, a member of the Board of Directors of UTIKAD, pointed out that they saw the importance of the technological infrastructure more clearly in this process and said, “Even though there was a contraction in the sector, companies that completed their digitalization infrastructure came to the fore. Of course, there was a decrease in productivity, but we accelerated the methods of working together. We have found uninterrupted service ways by taking the necessary precautions and precautions.”
“Sustainability should also be considered for the supply chain”
Ekol Logistics Country General Manager Arzu Akyol Ekiz made evaluations about the supply chain and said, “We saw that the supply chain can be broken easily with the epidemic. Companies have realized that the concept of sustainability, which they have only associated with climate change and environmental issues, should also be addressed for the continuity of their supply chains. Accelerating digital solutions has become important for everyone in the industry.”
Efficiency will be at the forefront, not global competition
Tur Transit Logistics Chief Executive Officer, Şebnem Atabek Zeybek, who mentioned that purchasing habits, production and consumption trends started to change in her evaluation, said, “I think that with this process, global competition will change shape and competition will be pushed into the background. New joint solutions will be found on how to increase efficiency for the supply chain. Technology investments will increase and sustainability projects will be accelerated.
Turkey will seize new opportunities in Africa
In the evaluations, it was also discussed that investment in technology will increase, Turkey’s young population will become more active with digital transformation and that it will seize new opportunities with its geopolitical value at a key point. It was underlined that it would take time for China to re-address its target markets in this process, and that Turkey, as a proactive and producing country, would find new opportunities, especially in the African market.
Mobility expected in automotive and textile
Speakers also stated that they expect movement in the automotive and textile industries, and that local trade and intermodal supply chain will gain importance.
ONLINE APPLICATIONS RISE
FRACHTBOX SPEED 8X
Frachtbox, the internet portal that makes online marketing of logistics and customs companies, announced that it experienced an 8-fold increase in site traffic during the epidemic period. Emphasizing that they caught all the traffic in the first three months, as many companies could not carry out sales and marketing activities in the field, Frachtbox Founder Mehmet Can said, “We support the sales and marketing of companies in this challenging process, we contribute to the fastest and most efficient logistics.” He also stated that they are trying to fulfill their corporate responsibilities. Saying, “Digitalization will be the most important part of the new world order,” Can said: “A customer from Germany with Turkey-England freight can reach a transporter who enters our site via Turkey-England route. Under normal marketing conditions, it is very difficult for that carrier to reach that customer in Germany, but this is possible through us. Because, thanks to digitalization, the world is even smaller now. The forwarder can offer freight in seconds in the digital environment, providing the opportunity to reach many customers that they cannot reach.”
TIRPORT INCREASED ITS BUSINESS VOLUME 30 PERCENT
Noting that they have digitized logistics management from end to end with a business model supported by artificial intelligence algorithms, TIRPORT Board Member in Charge of Marketing Burcu Kale pointed out that they increased their business volume by more than 30 percent in the period between March 15 and April 15 due to the high demand from SMEs, especially in the spot market. Kale said, “When SMEs could not reach suitable trucks with the classical methods they were accustomed to due to the Coronavirus, they started to explore the digital platform TIRPORT. Likewise, truckers quickly become members of TIRPORT and there are nearly 35,000 active truckers in our system. As TIRPORT, we aim to manage nearly 5 thousand transports per day by the end of this year. This figure means that it has reached a volume that is twice that of Turkey’s largest logistics company. The 2023 target of TIRPORT is to reach a market share of 7 percent in the market, to be able to manage 30 thousand transports per day, to find cargo from 250 thousand truckers in Turkey and to be number 1 for return cargo,” he said.
KARGOMKOLAY OPENS SMEs ABROAD
DRN Logistics Chairman of the Board Dr. Önder Türker pointed out that there are hundreds of thousands of e-commerce sites that provide boutique services, as well as very big players operating in Turkey, in the field of e-commerce, which has risen during the epidemic process, and should leave the demands unanswered because the vast majority of these sites cannot serve abroad. He said he stayed. Türker announced that e-commerce sites, which do not want to reject sales such as clothes, home textiles and accessories, have started to sell their products to 219+ countries with the free e-export integration of KargomKolay. With KargomKolay -export Integration, online stores instantly and automatically calculate the door-to-door international shipping fee according to the cargo country and tell the visitor the delivery time. It automatically updates according to the weight and desi of the products in the basket. While the visitor of the online store pays the price of the products he wants to buy, he can also pay the shipping cost in advance. After the order, KargomKolay handles the delivery to the door.