KITA Logistics
is one of the leading logistics companies within Turkey,
providing services across air,
land and sea. Now,
with
its 30th anniversary
just
around the corner, the company has been busy laying out its plans
for the next
30 years. CEO Sevdil Yıldırım
shared more, du
ring
an in-depth
interview with Imogen Ward.
192
INSIDE SUSTAINABILITY
KITA LOGISTICS
I
PROFILE
(
inside
SUSTAINABILITY
i
S
ON
E PLANET O
NE
CHA
NCE
ON
E VOIC
E
IS14
n
NOV/DEC 2024
SPECIMEN
E
stablished in 1996, KITA Logistics has
a holistic a
pproach to the heavy goods
transportation sector – covering air,
land and sea.
“Thanks to our focus on inter
national
solutions, we grew s
ignificantly within a short
period of time,” said CEO
Sevdil Yıldırım. “And
by 1997
, we had become the first logistics
company in Turkey to gain ISO 90
01.”
From there, the company’s succ
e
s
s
soared, and in 2
0
0
1, it took a major leap
into the inter
national market when it
a
cq
uired more than 75% of G
e
rm
a
n
company
Bi
r
kart Globistics.
KITA has continued to increase its presenc
e
internationally ever since, and today has ei
g
ht
of
f
i
c
es dotted across the globe (in Turkey,
Ge
r
many, Kaza
khstan and Uzb
ekistan).
“We have nearly
20,000 square metres
of indoor stora
g
e facilities at our disposal,”
explained Ms Yıldırım. “Additionally,
thanks
to our fleet of
44 trucks and global
transportation solutions, we ha
ve shipped
over 10,000
fr
ei
g
ht tonnes by air, 45,000TEUs
in sea fre
igh
t and 7,889 road shipments. As
a result, we expect to close this year with
a
t
urnover of approximately €110 million,
representing a grow
th of over 40 per cent
compared to
2
023.
”
W
ith such strong results on the horizo
n
,
KITA is poised to enter 2
0
25 on a high
note. Coupled with the company’s 30t
h
a
n
niversary, the year promises to be
a
milestone worth c
elebrating.
An anniversary to remember
For KITA, the past 30
years have been
marked with one succ
ess after another.
As the company prepares to c
elebrate this
milestone, it intends to not only honour the
INSIDE SUSTAINABILITY 193
194
INSIDE SUSTAINABILITY
KITA LOGISTICS
I
PROFILE
past, but also pave the way for an even more
promising future. This anniversary se
rves as a
valuable opportunity to lay the groundwork for
the next 30 years of growth and in
novation.
“We envision becoming a brand that fully
e
mbraces sustainability, and to achieve this,
we are making it the core focus of our goa
ls
for the nex
t 30
years,” revealed Ms Yıldırım.
“To kickstart this, we will re
main aligned with
the United Nations’
Sustainable Development
Goals, focusing on f
our specific goals:
Decent Work, E
conomic Grow
th, Partnerships
for the Goals and Lif
e on Land.”
In line with these commitments, the
company is supporting the work of Yol
Açık Yola Çık Assoc
iation. Following the
devastation caused by a 7.7 magnit
ude
earthquake in Turkey on 6th February
20
2
3, Yol Açık Yola Çık Association began
delivering humanit
arian aid to Hatay City
Centre. These ef
forts were then ramped
up onc
e m
ore, following a sec
ond maj
or
earthquake only two wee
ks later.
Through Yol Açık Yola Çık Asso
ciation’s
entrepreneurship programme, KITA aim
s
to contribute to the revitalisation of the
earthquake region, w
hile also br
eaking new
ground in the field of entrepreneurship in the
logistic
s sector.
Having previously contributed to the op
en-
ing of Hatay’s first earthquake Psycho-So
cial
Thera
py Centre and children’s activity house,
KITA already has a strong relationship with
Yol Açık Yola Çık Asso
ciation.
The company also launched its Yuv
aloji
project, with the intention of
helping stray
and abandoned animals within the region.
“We launched the Yuvaloji project to
provide these animals with shelter, n
utrition,
sterilisation and opport
unities for adoption,”
said Ms Yıldı
rım. “So far, through our
cooperation with sensitive muni
cipalities and
shelters, we have established several Pa
w
Clinics w
here these animals a
re given all the
care and treatment they need.”
KITA established the first of these shelters
in Göktürk, in partnership with Istanbul Eyüp-
sultan Municipality
, and is now preparing to
open another one in Aydın Söke.
INSIDE SUSTAINABILITY 195
Green growth:
KITA sponsors several sports teams, including Yozgat Girls Handball Team and
the Altınboynuz Rowing Team.
The company also regularly protects, improves and su
pports the sustainable
use of terrestrial ecosystems, and currently plants one tree for every 1,000km
its vehicles travel on international r
oads.
KITA also supports the education of young people who are new to the sector,
through the courses offered by ÜTİKAD.
196
INSIDE SUSTAINABILITY
KITA LOGISTICS
I
PROFILE
Embracing digitalisation
While KITA’s fut
ure plans e
m
p
hasise
a
strong commitment to social
responsibility, the company is equall
y
focused on inter
nal investments in ord
e
r
t
o
elevate its ESG stand
a
rd
s
.
Fully aware that progress d
e
mands
e
volution, KITA is currently e
mbracing a digita
l
transfor
mation to better prepare for the future.
“We always take care to c
ooperate with
world-class brands, especially in r
elation
to
developing and supporting technology,”
explained Ms Yıldırım. “While we fully support
the digital transfor
mation of our sector, we
understand that the first steps have to come
f
rom within.”
As part of this digital transfor
mati
on, KITA
has already enhanc
ed the digital footprint
of its Accounting and Financ
e departments
.
The nex
t
phase will be focused on
a
dvancing business intellig
e
n
c
e and
digitising operations across Sales,
Brand
and Human Resource
s.
At the same time,
KITA expects to increase the trac
eability of
its operational pro
c
esses by imple
menting
global ERP software SAP and Sa
lesforc
e.
Additionally, the c
ompany is closely
assessing the prog
ression of AI
and its
usefulness within the industry
. This software
is expected to save the industry around
$1.5
trillion by
2030 and could be crucial to KITA’s
own develop
ment.
“I rec
ently had the honour of joining
a
panel at Vision 100, one of Turkey’s
p
r
emier symposiu
m
s on digitisation and
artificial intellig
e
n
c
e,” shared Ms Yıldırım.
“While there, I highligh
ted the critical
need for multiple competencies in a
r
ap
i
dl
y digitalising world and em
phasised
the profound impact that AI and digita
l
transfor
mation will inevitably have
.
“To elevate KITA to the nex
t level in
logistics, a compr
ehensive digital and green
transfor
mation is essentia
l. That’s w
hy we’r
e
taking bo
l
d
, strategic steps to drive this
chang
e forw
a
r
d
.
”
Streamlined for success
While AI
is set to greatly enhanc
e ef
ficiency
across the logistics sector, KITA is not relyi
ng
solely on this technology to impro
ve its
operations
. In March, KITA was granted the
European Authorised Economic
Operator
(A
E
O) licence,
w
hich it believes will bring
significant benefits to its customers
.
INSIDE SUSTAINABILITY 197
Designed to improve the ef
ficiency of its
customs process,
w
hile of
f
ering faster tran-
sit times and ser
ving clients more efficiently,
the AEO lice
n
ce is hugely beneficial for the
logistics compan
y.
“The AEO lice
n
ce is a valuable gain for
b
oth us and our customers,” explained
M
s
Yıldırım. “It greatly accelerates the
customs process – saving time and
m
oney
for our exporters
.
“
With the AEO lice
n
ce, transportation
t
o
E
urope is car
ried out with an electric
declaration instead of a TIR
Ca
r
net. This
means that the round-trip is reduced f
r
o
m
an average of 12
d
ays to nine. We hope
that
o
btaining this certificate will contribute
to the agility of our trade v
olume and the
development of our national economy.
”
With a new CEO at the helm and a greener
vision for the fut
ure, KITA’s path seems
brigh
ter than ever.
“KITA is a high
l
y
valuable brand within the
logistics industry,” commented Ms Yıldırım
.
“Despite 2
0
24 be
ing a difficult year, I
a
m
pleased to have
jo
ined when I did. We have
undertaken significant initiatives to identi
fy
the most effective, strategic steps for
w
a
rd,
guided by rational policies to navigate thi
s
challenging landsc
ape efficiently
.
“Achieving sustainable profitability and
grow
th is challenging with short-t
e
rm,
sales-d
riven approaches; that is wh
y
we are so focused on implementing
long-t
e
rm improvements.
“KITA Logistics is a brand that offe
r
s
t
h
e most suitable bespoke solutions to
its stake
holders with the best human
resourc
es and technical inf
rastruct
ure.
However, in the near fut
ure, we aim to
become a leading and pioneering brand
within our region by em
p
hasising the
e
l
ements that will differentiate
u
s.” n
198
INSIDE SUSTAINABILITY
KITA LOGISTICS
I
PROFILE
1 / 1
100%