How the Top Courier Companies in Turkey are Leveraging Logistics Automation for Operational Excellence

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How the Top Courier Companies in Turkey are Leveraging Logistics Automation for Operational Excellence

Turkey’s CEP (Courier, Express, & Parcel) market is expected to register a growth rate of 7% till 2025. With the accepted increase of eCommerce and rising order volumes, the courier companies in Turkey have to keep pace with the evolving consumer demands. 

This presents a perfect backdrop for the rise of competition and transformation in CEP services in Turkey. The advantageous geographical position between the Middle East and Europe presents Turkey with an opportunity to be a center of business and trade. There have also been regular government interventions via the development of better and larger road networks to complement the growth of logistics capability.

In the era of super-fast deliveries, with next-day and same-day deliveries taking center stage, Turkey emerges as a growing competitive market in the CEP segment. Hence, enterprises and courier companies in Turkey are fast-adopting state-of-the-art logistics solutions to address these demands swiftly and cost-effectively.

In this blog, we explore the evolving customer expectations and the logistics challenges ailing the CEP sector in Turkey and some core insights into the market landscape for a courier company in Turkey.

Evolving Customer Needs in the Turkish CEP Market 

To stay ahead of the competition, a courier company in Turkey needs to consider emerging customer trends. The increase in Turkey’s CEP market dominance can be attributed to the boom in e-commerce in recent years. Add to that the internet penetration and increased digital adoption by the customers during the pandemic, and the opportunity is ripe enough for businesses. Statistics report in Turkey, 15 million households receive a shipment daily. 

Next, we explore the key growth drivers of CEP segment in Turkey.

Courier Company in Turkey – Key Growth Drivers

Rising eCommerce Is Changing Consumer Habits

The frequency of shipments has increased due to online services such as quick commerce. Also, customers have begun ordering a wider range of products, from car tires to furniture. eCommerce penetration in Turkey stands at 51.5% currently and is expected to be 66.9% by 2025.

With the rise of eCommerce, the market is teeming with diverse delivery demands, and that too across multiple channels. Customers are looking for more convenient options and this shift towards the “online shopping and delivery experience” is driving major growth in the courier industry.

Increasing Number of Online Marketplaces

Traditional retailers are actively looking for marketplace opportunities via e-commerce channels. The current online marketplace cluster has multiple offerings, such as Beverages, Furniture, Fashion, Media, Food, Electronics, Beauty, Health, Personal Care, Toys, DIY, Hobbies, Household Care, etc.

Electronics is exhibiting the maximum growth in the segment and the trends for each of the above-mentioned categories are rising. This increase in online marketplaces is catalyzing growth in the courier and parcel space in Turkey.

New Users from Different Segments

Reports by PwC indicate the expected shopper base to reach 45 million by 2026. This represents more than 70% of the population between 16 to 74 years. The growth in eCommerce and online marketplaces has led to an increase in the number of customers and has also created new customer segments in multiple categories. 

All in all, this is a highly exciting and opportunistic time for a courier company in Turkey; especially when it works with a smart courier management platform that reduces operational costs and optimizes every function. 

Current Market Landscape for a Courier Company in Turkey

The industry standard for the Turkish market is next-day delivery for up to 600km and two days delivery for beyond that. Therefore, courier companies in Turkey need to understand consumer expectations and identify the caveats to emerge at the top of the pack in a competitive environment. 

The various customer needs that depict the current market landscape in the CEP segment in Turkey are mentioned below:

  • Customers expect tailored, transparent, and flexible service throughout the journey from pre-sales to after-sales.
  • On-time and fast delivery are the topmost customer expectations, as they especially value deliveries within the stipulated time frames. 
  • It is critical for enterprises to have the right capacity, robust technologies, and detailed analysis of competitive performance metrics.
  • Delivery without damage is another critical factor for a majority of customer groups. Therefore, any courier company in Turkey must track its performance across different regions and compensate for any damage or loss. Having opaque or complex compensation policies pushes away customers and hurts the brand image. 
  • Delivery time window flexibility will be a key element of avant-garde services that will shape the future of the Turkish CEP industry. For example, you get to choose between home delivery in the evening, same-day delivery, or delivery redirections (e.g., to a neighbor or a parent). 
  • Affordable prices and fair payment terms are relevant to all customers. A customer might not want to pay a premium amount for CEP services but would expect top-tier services. Companies can also consider differentiated pricing policies to attract potential customers.

Customers are increasingly seeking seamless service quality from first contact to last with easy access to customer services. Greater consumer transparency and hassle-free change in delivery details are critical for quality service.

​​The sudden boom of the eCommerce sector in Turkey has left the logistics sector lagging far behind in terms of automation, digitization, and optimization. Next, we explore the top logistical challenges for courier companies in Turkey.

Top Logistics Challenges for a Courier Company in Turkey

Lack of Temperature-Controlled Logistics

Turkey’s need for temperature-controlled logistics can be narrowed to three primary reasons. Firstly, Turkey is counted among the fast-growing countries in the pharmaceutical industry. Secondly, Turkey forms a vital link between the European and Asian countries with its crucial position in the Mediterranean region. 

An increase in trade between these two continents necessitates growth in the cold chain sector in the country. And lastly, the gradual rise of supermarkets and food service establishments in the country has put pressure on cold storage capabilities. Courier companies in Turkey need to tap into opportunities and fill the rising gap in an evolving market in a versatile manner, such as insulated bags for quick deliveries, temperature-controlled carriers, and containers, etc.

Growing Customer Demands in CEP

The rapid rise in eCommerce adoption clearly indicates a mismatch between customer demand and the order fulfillment process. Simply put, as of now, the CEP companies are not able to keep up with the flow of orders, and solving the complex operational puzzle. 

There is a dearth of courier and parcel delivery management platforms that offer optimization, cost reduction, smart routing, efficient asset management, etc – all from a single interface.

Logistics challenges for courier providers in Turkey

Fluctuation of Customer Demands

Despite an overall increase in customer demand in Turkey, the level of interest is not the same throughout the year. Festivities often see a sudden surge in incoming orders, and courier companies in Turkey need to understand the fluctuating demands with predictive tools.

Hence, operational excellence also comes with a key consideration of managing these fluctuation demands and offering the right mix of dedicated and floating assets for profitability.

Lack of Logistics Infrastructure

The CEP sector in Turkey has been unable to keep up with the increased workload due to the rapid expansion of eCommerce. While the delivery sector workforce has witnessed a rise of 65%, the entire CEP sector is still riddled with staff that is not efficiently trained. There is a marked deficiency in the quality and capacity of transportation. Moreover, storage operations are hindered by incidents of high rent and a lack of specialized facilities.

Highly Competitive Landscape With Few Established Players

The conventional CEP players have a massive presence across almost all cities in Turkey. They tend to rely on capabilities and tech improvements with a strong brand name, established pricing policy, management teams, and more. Also, they have the capital to expand their services at short notice.

The Turkish government is taking crucial steps to improve the logistics scenario in the country. Be it setting up logistics centers along trade routes or the expansion of road networks; the government is actively taking part in facilitating growth in this sector. 

Similarly, disruptive players, banking on broad service scope and differentiated value propositions, are slowly entering the market. Such players include new delivery model providers and marketplaces’ delivery subsidiaries.

Why Courier Companies in Turkey Need an Advanced Courier Management System

The previous section clarified the multiple challenges a courier company in Turkey faces in the CEP sector. While the government does its part, enterprises need to step up and look for better avenues to enhance their operation. An intelligent courier management system would be the right step in this direction, as it offers a number of core competencies, such as the ones discussed below.

Ecommerce Surge

It is expected that the increased adoption of eCommerce would push the market towards 400-450 billion TRY levels in 2026. Fuelled by increasing consumer demand, the surge would be accompanied by same-day deliveries, returns, and more for customers and multiple service providers. 

This would make the race to provide optimized customer experience tougher.

Innovative courier management systems can automate and digitize all processes like logistics provider onboarding, invoicing, billing, picking, routing, and more. With AI and ML algorithms, advanced  features and customizable dashboards, businesses can significantly reduce the time, effort, and cost required to complete deliveries within pre-set parameters.

Visibility and Tracking

For businesses dealing with thousands of orders in a month, making calls or tracking each order is not feasible. Gaining real-time visibility of the logistics operations, from starting to finish line, becomes important. Similarly, delivery routes and the rider’s movements need to be planned and optimized for efficient delivery.

Courier solutions enable all stakeholders involved to easily check the order’s current status along the entire supply chain. Intelligent platforms such as Shipsy’s courier management solution have geo-fencing capabilities to track and detect any fake delivery attempts. 

Last Mile Orchestration

Poor last-mile delivery planning and coordination can significantly hamper the customer experience, resulting in losses for the company. Also, if 3PL partners handle the stage of delivery, it might also create communication roadblocks.

To stay ahead of the competition, a courier company in Turkey can leverage smart courier management systems that offer automated order allocation, real-time routing, multiple order clubbing, dynamic ETAs and many other features. The end-to-end courier management and last mile delivery solutions, like Shipsy, also provide multi-channel communication and tracking of order movement and geocoding to increase delivery success rates.

courier management software in Turkey

Communication Sync

Customers are increasingly becoming tech-savvy. This boosts their expectations regarding communication during order transit and delivery. However, it is not possible to manually update thousands of customers one at a time.

An automated courier management system allows for greater coordination in customer-centric communication as all the alerts and communication is triggered automatically once a shipment crosses a key milestone. Customers can opt for real-time communication, a self-service module for query resolution, feedback sharing, etc.

Scaling and Expansion

Traditional CEP systems fail to ensure an efficient scaling and expansion effort. The inability to holistically process tasks such as quotation, invoicing, tracking, analytics, etc., hampers its scalability.  

In contrast, an end-to-end courier management system with integrated dashboard helps businesses with automated scan-based pick-ups, label generation, and rider allocation. Several other valuable options are also available for automated alerts, such as delivery completion, missed deliveries, and electronic PoDs.

Top Five Courier Companies in Turkey 

FedEx

FedEx Corporation, popularly known as FedEx, is an American MNC focused on transportation, eCommerce, and business services. The user-friendly delivery policies have established FedEx as a market leader in the Turkish market. 

UPS

United Parcel Service, or UPS, is an American multinational package delivery and supply chain management company. Along with standard warehousing and distribution solutions, it also renders value-added services such as packaging, product customization, retail compliance, etc.
eCommerce fulfillment features like multi-site fulfillment network, multi-channel order fulfillment, etc., have enabled UPS to gain a leading preference among Turkish enterprises and customers alike.

DHL

In the CEP sector, DHL Express is the market leader for parcel services in Europe and Germany’s primary courier and parcel service. The success of DHL in Turkey can be attributed to the integrated solutions approach by gathering all essential services like transport, storage, and management in one complete, optimized package.

SafeExpress

SafeExpress is an India-based company, dominant in the supply chain and logistics industry. It offers supply chain services, including express distribution, 3PL, and more. The firm also provides value-added logistics services to 9 different business verticals ranging from healthcare, eCommerce, engineering, electrical hardware, and more. 

DSV

DSV A/S is a transport and logistics company. It is primarily involved in contract logistics, freight forwarding, and road, air, and sea transport. For eCommerce logistics solutions, the company extends services encompassing eCommerce fulfillment, last-mile management, returns handling, and other value-added services.

How Shipsy is Empowering Courier Businesses in Turkey to Enhance Courier & Parcel Management

Shipsy’s smart logistics management platform ensures operational efficiency for Courier, Express, and Parcel companies. Shipsy’s smart CEP platform comes with advanced functionalities, such as Hub Ops management, real-time customer communication, Geocoding, route optimization, finance management,etc. 

Its AI/ML algorithms and advanced data analytics ensure optimized resources, assets, and time utilization across the first, middle and last mile and help businesses achieve:

  • 45% reduction in customer onboarding time
  • 23% reduction in last-mile delivery cost
  • 12% reduction in mid-mile costs
  • 28% reduction in customer complaints
  • 18% increase in delivery NPS

For more information, please explore Shipsy’s CEP solution or get in touch with our experts for a custom demo.

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