Onur Gocmez, President of Arkas Holding Logistics Group, shared the sustainable logistics services offered by the group’s companies at the 24th International Business Management Congress.
The 24th International Business Management Congress, organized by Yasar University and the Izmir Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (IZSIAD), was held in Izmir.
Onur Gocmez, President of Arkas Holding Logistics Group, participated as a speaker in the “Circular Economy and Logistics” panel. In the first part of the panel, he emphasized, “We must pay attention to the future of the world we live in, both individually and as companies. The increase in resource usage, combined with the rise in waste and emissions, is leading to a series of challenging situations such as climate change, declining food security, water scarcity, and air pollution.”
He continued, “Today, the transportation sector accounts for 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions. By 2070, global transportation is expected to double, with passenger and freight aviation demand tripling. In this regard, great responsibilities lie ahead for us as well.”
Gocmez, in the second part of the panel, explained what Arkas Holding Logistics Group companies are doing in this context.
Onur Gocmez, President of Arkas Holding Logistics Group, stated, “In 2021, we established the ‘Arkas European Green Deal Working Group.’ We prepared our Sustainability Report. If you pay attention to the investments we’ve made recently, you’ll find green logistics solutions in all of them.”
Arkas Rail
“With our railway investments, which are an environmentally friendly transportation method, we are in a leading position in the sector. By the end of this year, we will receive our five dual-engine locomotives from Arkas Rail and begin railway operations.
As mentioned in the Türkiye Logistics Master Plan, the priority is on network improvement and development works for railways. In line with the government’s plans, we will offer our customers an eco-friendlier transportation alternative with our locomotives.”
Arlogic International Transportation
“In addition to our railway locomotive investments, we have also focused on another eco-friendly transportation method—intermodal transportation. To carry out all intermodal transportation activities, we established Arlogic International Transportation. By the end of the year, we will continue to provide eco-friendly logistics services to manufacturing companies with our 50 pieces of self-owned equipment.”
Arkas Heavy
“We established Arkas Heavy with a focus on transporting and installing wind turbines, supporting it with our owned asset investments. Our goal is to provide environmentally friendly logistics services to companies engaged in renewable energy production and to contribute to our country’s ecosystem.”
Vehicle Investments
“In road transportation, which has the most widespread logistics network in Türkiye, we prioritize renewing our self-owned vehicles with environmentally friendly technologies. We develop our vehicle investment strategy in line with our mission to be eco-friendly and sustainable. Since 2020, we have been purchasing trucks that meet the Euro 6 engine standard every year. With these investments, the average age of our fleet has also been reduced.”
Digitization
“One of the most important examples of how digitization contributes to sustainability in logistics is the Arkas Logistics Technology Monitoring Center (AR-TIM) and Ar-CELL, developed by our company.
With the Ar-CELL application, which manages our end-to-end road transportation processes, tasks are assigned to drivers through the app, and loading and delivery operations are completed via the app. Additionally, the optimal route is provided through a navigation feature we developed specifically for heavy-duty vehicles. Real-time traffic updates and road conditions are communicated to drivers via the app, ensuring that both our partner companies and the environment receive safe and sustainable logistics services.
Among the other contributions of our AR-CELL mobile application is the Digital Per Diem calculation module, which has helped reduce paper documents such as travel advance forms. We have eliminated the consumption of an average of 14,500 paper forms per month.
Thanks to our monitoring center and the AR-Cell mobile application, we have achieved a 2.57% improvement in fuel consumption across our fleet. As a result, we were able to consume approximately 618,000 liters less fuel.”
Eco-Friendly Surfaces
“Starting in 2020, the asphalt surfaces in our garages and warehouses have been gradually replaced with cobblestone. With this investment plan, we aimed to allow rainwater to meet the soil through the cobblestone-covered areas,” he said.