Turkey Will be the Industrial Logistics Center of Europe

Mustafa İmrak, General Manager of IMS Logistics,

“WHAT WE NEED IS TO MAKE THE PROFESSION MORE QUALIFIED WITH DRIVER SCHOOLS”

“WE WISH TO BE ABLE TO USE AZERBAIJAN AS A TRANSPORT CORRIDOR WITH THE EASE OF MIND”

Drawing attention to the visa and driver problems, Imrak states that the sector's need is to make the profession more qualified with driver schools. Touching on the Middle Corridor, which is one of the important issues of the logistics sector, Imrak said; "We want to be able to use Azerbaijan as a transport corridor with peace of mind." Details are here.

“IMS Logistics is a branch of us that organizes freight forwarding with TIO in the freight forwarder section, and mainly; İmsan Group is a group company that has its own vehicles, focuses on Europe in export and transit transportation on return and works directly to destinations such as Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia, providing both complete and partial services. At the same time, we are able to both secure our own activities and offer this service to our stakeholders and suppliers by taking 4 big agencies with IMS Insurance, which we established in 2018.”

“The Visa Problem Makes Us Constantly Change Our Current Chauffeur Staff”

“When we evaluate Turkey in the current global driver shortage, we can see that we do not have a problem in terms of manpower, but other problems cause us to have problems with drivers as well. If we evaluate the problems we are experiencing on the basis of Europe, the first of these is the visa problem we are experiencing. Our drivers, who were able to obtain their visa regularly until today, can no longer get visas, and their second and third applications are constantly rejected and no reason is given. Our current staff is constantly changing. The second is the lack of drivers who can meet our needs in terms of quality, who can both master the document documentation and keep up with the system in Europe.”

“What We Need Is To Make The Profession More Qualified With Driver Schools”

“What we need right now is to make the driving profession seriously more qualified. Being a driver is a really important and demanded profession. We also need to make this profession more qualified with driver schools, departments opened in universities or similar studies. We, transporters, can only provide the right service when we have a good driver staff. We need to make driving a profession that is both more attractive and made up of professional people now. Driving should no longer be the profession of people who cannot find a job, it should continue as a qualified and high-quality profession. We should not forget that our exports are on the back of the driver. Our associations, such as UND and Utikad, are also very sensitive to this issue and we know that much better work will be done in this framework as the pandemic loses its effect. After all, this is a common problem for all of us. We must learn from the globalized driver crisis and take our precautions. We also never avoid voicing the problems and taking part in the solutions of the problems.”

“We Wish To be Able to Use Azerbaijan as a Transport Corridor with the Ease of Mind”

“When we evaluate Azerbaijan on a regional basis, we should state that we have expectations from Azerbaijan. As we always say, 'We are two countries, one nation!' Therefore, while we should feel a privilege, on the contrary, we are paying the cost of all these experiences. The additional costs paid for many items are a burden not only on the shipper but also on their importer. We have to reflect the additional costs imposed on us on the shipping. We hope that we will get good news on this subject together with the negotiations. We want to minimize our costs and be able to use Azerbaijan as a transportation corridor in our transportation to Central Asia with peace of mind.”

“I Believe That We Should Act Coercively And With Good Will Against Turkmenistan”

“We have a very serious problem in Turkmenistan; our transporter is dying there. The fact that the gates are closed increases both our transit times and our costs. In addition, there may be damage to our rotating trailers. We are entering an unclaimed cycle where our losses cannot be covered. This needs to be resolved as soon as possible. In Turkmenistan, where Turkey has the power and we are close to each other politically, we need flexibility and support. In this situation, which is currently ongoing, our transporter is now forced to go to other regions. He is in a hurry to enter Europe, which he has never known, or enters the Middle East market, which causes the prices of the transportation market to decrease in the countries he enters. As a result of all this, we all hurt each other. I believe that we should act coercively and with good will against Turkmenistan to provide the necessary flexibility at this point.”

“We Will Do Whatever Is Necessary For Green Logistics And We Will Be The Pioneer In This Matter”

“We see with our own eyes how much nature has been destroyed and how its balance has changed recently. We all have a burden and responsibilities for a green world. We are currently building our logistics center in Mersin within this framework. We have some projects that we are carrying out in this regard. At the beginning of these, there is the use of solar energy completely in our facility to be established. We want to produce our own energy and make it available to the state. Secondly, in the name of green logistics, we pay attention to the fact that the batteries of our Euro 6 vehicles we use are charged with solar energy. We are a very careful group in this regard and especially meticulous about the rules. We prepared ourselves for this transition before green logistics came to the fore. Therefore, in the future, we will take part in whatever is necessary for this, as a company, and we will even pioneer it.”

“Turkey Will Be The Indispensable Logistics Center of Europe”

“As Turkey, we are in a very serious region, we are a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, a gateway to Central Asia. We are surrounded by seas on three sides. Our geographical location is quite suitable for both land, sea and rail transports. In addition, we have once again seen the importance of our industry, especially after the pandemic and finally the driver problems in Europe that disrupted logistics. Turkey is also a very strong player in this sector. Especially with the container crisis and the loss of China's advantage over the regions, I think that Turkey will come to a serious place in the world logistics center in the future, our exports will increase and it will become an indispensable logistics center or an indispensable export market for Europe."