How did the logistics industry spend the last year? What were the effects of the pandemic on the industry?

Despite the uncertainty in the first period of the pandemic and the restrictions faced by vehicles carrying import and export loads, especially in the Middle East, Central Asia and European Union markets, with the closing of borders, the logistics industry managed to enter a recovery process quickly. It was pleasing to see that the Logistics Confidence Index, which is an important indicator, has increased positively. The last quarter of the year also made us look at 2021 with hope.

With what targets did the sector enter 2021? What are your expectations for the end of the year?

We think that 2021 will be a year of recovery for the logistics industry. In 2021, the volume of e-commerce will increase even more. We think that consumer habits will not change in a short time, on the contrary, the increase will continue in this direction and companies that are correctly positioned in the field of e-commerce will increase their market shares. As OMSAN, we plan to further expand our e-commerce-oriented customer network in the future.

What will be the growth dynamics of the sector in the new period? What are your expectations?

Digital transformation becomes more important in order to effectively monitor and manage logistics processes. Being able to monitor the entire supply chain from end to end is among the increasing demands and expectations of customers who receive logistics services. In the new period we are in, we see the digital transformation of existing business processes as inevitable in order to move operational efficiency to higher levels. For this purpose, as OMSAN Logistics, we follow the developments in technology very closely. We can be part of more than one supply chain at the same time through our customers in different sectors we serve. Acting with the mission of a solution partner, we offer our customers who have supply chains with sustainable technological transformation projects that will profit, differentiate them from their competitors, and implement them quickly. In our digitalization processes, we are among the companies that adapt the fastest to the transformation in the sector, taking into account the cyber security elements.

Where is the way to improve performance in the global logistics ranking? Do you have any work on this?

As OMSAN, we have companies in France, Romania, Russia, Morocco and Kazakhstan, apart from our General Directorate in Istanbul and our regional offices in Izmir, Ankara, Mersin and Zonguldak. These assets, which we have realized with the vision of carrying our logistics services to a global dimension and which are among our important investments; It gives us the advantage of having a say in a much larger geography, closely following sector trends and acting with the right strategies. Within the framework of global logistics approaches, we are working to popularize green logistics practices, which are increasingly important and are as important as the financial performance of companies.

One way to improve performance in the global logistics ranking is to take unprecedented steps. As OMSAN, we broke new ground in the world with our automobile transportation project from Europe to Asia via Marmaray, which we started to work on in 2020. With our 550-meter-long auto transport train, we transported more than 200 cars loaded from Romania through Marmaray, which has the world’s deepest immersed tube tunnel used by rail systems with a depth of 60 meters, to Izmit Köseköy. Thus, we became the owner of the title of the first company in the world to transport automobiles under the sea at this depth. We are planning to accelerate international rail transportation by using this advantage of Marmaray, which ensures that the cargoes are delivered to their destinations safely without transferring or changing vehicles in intercontinental rail transportation.

How did you spend 2020 as a company?

As OMSAN Logistics, we have focused on new business models, sustainability, efficiency and customer needs more than ever, with our customer-oriented approach. As an OYAK company; We are a leading company in the sector, acting with the principles of transparency, accountability and reliability, and closely following the technological developments in the world. We increased our synergy by undertaking the logistics processes in the fields in which we operate under the same roof with OYAK companies. We quickly adapted to both the pandemic period and the post-pandemic period with our technological infrastructure investments, regulations and measures brought by our state, and differentiated ourselves from our competitors in this sense. We redefined our methods by creating an end-to-end contactless processes strategy to reduce or completely remove all existing contact points throughout the supply chain. We have managed an uninterrupted process in terms of customer relations, we are always accessible, we can provide service and we have designed new processes that do not require contact. In addition, we created new kiosk and automation points in warehouses and fields. We continue to work on the integration of image processing systems to control the distances between the personnel in the field.

What were the effects of the pandemic on your company?

As OMSAN Logistics, technology and digital transformation became our focus during this period. We quickly brought forward our plans to bring our business processes to a technological infrastructure. As a result of our data analytics studies, we have achieved business results that create value for our customers. With our technological infrastructure investments, we were able to quickly respond to the expectations of our customers, who experienced fluctuations of different sizes. Since we can provide integrated services, we have taken a position according to the opportunities that occur in road, sea, and rail transport modes.

What is on your agenda as a company this year?

Nowadays, the expectation of the logistics sector and our stakeholders from us is that we provide integrated, digital, environmentally friendly, sustainable, customer-oriented logistics services. We do not consider these concepts sustainable without our qualified, experienced human resources, which we believe will take us further. That’s why we invest in our employees. We create coaching programs in order to keep up with the changing business world requirements as a company and to make our employees ready for change. In this context, we are starting studies that will trigger new business models not only from the top down, but also from the bottom up by creating “Change Ambassadors” teams within the company. We enable our employees to gain agile approaches with coaching programs and trainings.

Another important topic is our customers. We believe that choosing OMSAN is the right decision for our customers to move their business forward with the values we add. We will continue to be with them in the coming period by analyzing the needs together with them and with efficiency-enhancing results.

What about your investments?

Digitalization will be the focus of our investments this year. Adhering to the medium- and long-term strategy plans of our company, we will continue to be the pioneer of innovative practices in the sector and contribute to the development of our sector. By expanding our service range, we will continue our sustainable growth with the goal of becoming a global logistics service provider, not missing out on digitalization in all our business processes, customer satisfaction and investments we will make in our employees.