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Issue 1 2020 - Freight Business Journal


inve stments continue at the


same pace, Ekiz continues. “In the second quarter of 2018, we brought the Lotus terminal into service, Turkey’s largest facility with 220,000sq m.” It is in fact the largest indoor space in Turkey, with a storage space equivalent to 30 soccer fields. This LEED- certified facility, with Turkey’s largest indoor space under one roof, also breaks new ground in terms of design and technology. Also certified to ISO 9001,


ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, Lotus has recently reinforced its credentials by obtaining the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) Freight Security Requirements (FSR) certificate. (See piece below). Ekol is also planning a major


investment in 34,000sq m of solar panels allowing Lotus to meet half of its electricity needs itself. Elsewhere in the country, Ekol


aims to increase the capacity of its distribution centres from 1 million to over 1.5 million sq m. Aside from Turkey,


the


company operates DCs in Germany, Italy, Greece, France, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Sweden. Its agency network covers over 150 countries, at more than 900 different locations.


Industry 4.0


Meanwhile, the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (Industry 4.0) is one of the important items on the logistics agenda and will lead to fundamental changes in business. The Turkish government and Industry and business associations are running several shcemes under the Industry 4.0 banner. Ekiz says: “Industry 4.0 offers significant opportunities for


innovation, added value and sustainability in our industry. It will allow communication- driven management of suppliers, warehouses, market shelves, and vehicles on the road, as well as production processes at smart plants. Intelligent devices will constantly


feed information


on stock levels, supply chain disruptions, damaged goods, and order and supply level changes. As a consequence, processes will be reshaped to ensure efficiency and productivity. Ekol has been a pioneer Industry 4.0,


of into meaningful


“turning data information


by making objects detectable, performing studies on self- determining technologies through the data gathered from sensors. We meet customers’ changing needs quickly with a flexibility provided by our in- house-developed soſtware. We can provide real-time flow of information to our clients thanks to our portal application while also minimizing our error rate with the automation technologies in our warehouses. We have an automated warehousing and shipment process for clothes.” Digital


technology, artificial


intelligence and big data are beginning to offer solutions to many industry issues and Ekol plans to use technology to stay ahead of the competition. It will continue to offer tailor-


made, integrated logistics solutions to a variety of industries, including automotive, fast- moving consumer goods (FMCG),


To meet FSR A, Ekol needed


certification. One of the biggest challenges the


was meeting


One of the latest and biggest facilities to be awarded FSR A certification by the Transported Assets Protection Association (TAPA) is Ekol’s 225,000sq m Lotus warehouse operation and cross-dock centre at Kocaeli, a few kilometres east of Istanbul in Turkey, where clients include retailers, healthcare and electrical companies. Ekol, one of the country’s largest


logistics firms, already held TAPA Freight Security Requirements) FSR B-certification for its 65,000sq m Orkide facility. When it moved from there to its new 245-dock


‘Lotus’ facility in the Marmara region two years ago, it again used the TAPA FSR standards as the heart of its security programme and at the same time stepped up to the security body’s Level A


security


requirements for a facility with so many cargo doors. Lotus has 245 docks, which made it challenging to control and test changes relating to doors and openings, as did the sheer size of the building.


to make specific modifications to the building, such as changing the locations of some doors and covering opening windows. As part of its preparations, Ekol


carried out a pre-audit with the TAPA auditor, Scott Swanson of Bureau Veritas, a year before the main audit. Ekol says that the Level A


certificate for Lotus puts it one step ahead of many competitors, helping it to win more business. Moreover, existing clients served at Lotus don’t need to conduct their own individual security audits. Ekol is now planning to


meet TAPA’s Trucking Security Requirements (TSR) within the next couple of years to support its large transport fleet too.


The Davies Turner infrastructure in Turkey (in close co-operation with our local partner Ekol Logistics) is in many ways a mirror image to what that in the UK, says chairman of the Davies Turner Group, Philip Stephenson. He explains: “We both have


strategically placed offices and warehouses throughout our respective countries, and we share joint responsibility for the Anglo- Turkish trade lane.” Both companies have set up specialist departments in


either country to concentrate on developing the business as managing international movements by road, rail, ro-ro, sea freight or air freight. A total of 35 people work daily on this trade lane between Ekol and Davies Turner. Stephenson adds: “Our


experienced Davies Turner delegate based in Istanbul, at Ekol Logistics’ headquarters, manages this unique and special relationship between our two companies, a partnership that already spans at


least 30 years. This enables us to ensure not only that our UK clients are given careful personal service but also our clients’ suppliers benefit from the same attention to detail, ensuring that contact is maintained and that online communication flow is real time, enabling our clients and ourselves to make any urgent decisions that are required immediately. Add to this, our contract departments in each main hub within the UK, dealing with named accounts daily, and a central planning department


looking aſter the service levels, communication flow re goods ordered or in transit. This gives us exceptional coverage of every international, multimodal and local delivery or collection movement between our two companies.” In fact, Turkish developments


have over recent years provided Davies Turner with a template to roll out to other point of origin markets where it majors in retail and the textile business; in many other producer nations, processes and procedures can be tailor-made for all types of business. Value added services in Turkey


include Accepted Quality Level checking, Quality Control and Pick & Pack, giving clients not only the safe knowledge that what they receive in their UK DC or


///TURKEY


food, healthcare, retail, textiles, manufacturing, and technology. Ekiz adds: “Logistics is an


industry which is directly affected by economic and political developments.” Thanks to continued growth in manufacturing and foreign trade, Turkey maintained its current business volume in 2019. “However, we anticipate growth of 25% in our foreign businesses, from which we generate approximately 20% of our turnover.” Turkey and logistics have


though gone through difficult times in 2019. Both the decline and the imbalance in foreign trade figures adversely affected the industry. Ekiz’s assessment is that this imbalance will not change rapidly in 2020, which will be a year of recovery. However, as a fast growing and


dynamic industry, logistics has significant potential in the long-


term and Ekol will continue to develop its technology, allocating around 2% of sales revenue to R&D. In fact, says Ekiz: “We lead Europe in terms of percentage of sales invested in research and development. We direct these resources to employment and to the operation in which young minds develop logistics-related technologies and processes at our R&D centre. To date, we have implemented more than 150 projects containing advanced technology with high added value and competitive power. We continue to implement technological developments by acting on the principle of Logistics 4.0.” Moreover: “In 2020 we will


continue on our path with more efficient and faster ways of doing business by continuously renewing our processes in line with developing and changing environments.”


Flying start for cargo-partner


Austria-based forwarder cargo- partner says it has increased its sea cargo volumes to 23,000teu and has also become an important player in air and road transport, all within the first year of opening its Istanbul office in June 2018. A second office in Mersin


followed the same year, and in 2019, cargo-partner opened further offices in Izmir, Bursa and Gaziantep. It also has offices at the two most important airports: Istanbul and Izmir. Cargo-partner currently has 60


employees in Turkey, made up of a strong core team with many years of logistics experience as well as some colleagues who are new to the industry. Istanbul Airport is


conveniently located for all major warehousing and customs areas, says managing director Turkey,


distribution centre is commercially acceptable, but also allows them to despatch direct


from origin


to either their international franchisers


or international


stores as well as direct to their international wholesalers – all of which reduces lead times and overall costs across all channels. Davies Turner can also despatch


all over the world from Turkey, not just to the UK on behalf of its UK clients and services are no longer


just restricted to direct overland. Developments in recent


Kursad Tanriverdi. The location is also advantageous for industry sectors such as automotive, machinery spare parts (mainly for export) as well as for fabrics, fur and electronic equipment (imports and exports). In Izmir, the most important sectors for cargo-partner are foodstuffs and perishables, mining, textiles and furniture. Tanriverdi adds: “Turkey is


also an important gateway to the African market.


Since its


establishment in Turkey, cargo- partner has achieved a significant market share. As a result of this success, an experienced team in Turkey has been assigned to handle business development and agency network activities in West Africa.” Cargo-partner’s office in Mersin


also provides an ideal gateway to and from Syria and Iran.


years include “ro-ro services, the European train network (which could be better it has to be said) and sailings from near EU to the UK result in many different routes and modes taken.” Ekol operates its own port on


the outskirts of Istanbul, Yalova which has developed daily ro- ro services to Trieste and Sete, Southern France. The most recent development announced between partners Ekol and the rail operator, DFDS, was that of a three times


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