R&D, Digitalization
and Innovation

While recent technological advancements and global trends have changed the way we do business, they have also made certain business models applicable that have not been possible until today.  Hence, keeping up with the advancing technologies has become the prerequisite for being a competitive industry leader with a proactive and innovative approach. Aware of this fact, Borusan has set aside a budget of $200 million which it will invest into the fields of innovation, R&D and digital transformation until 2020. As part of this initiative, intense efforts are being made at all Borusan Group companies for the digitalization of the entire business process, development of innovative business models and creation of products and services with higher added value.

With the Borusan understanding, Borusan Lojistik also aims to transform itself into a company which creates high added value, is sustainable and increasingly competitive, offers products and services directly and primarily to developed markets with an R&D and technological capacity and which is focused on innovation. Borusan Lojistik is well aware of the significance of having sustainable technology and R&D competency in order to achieve this goal.

The primary goal of our R&D activities is to improve our logistics service performance, create cost-effective, productive and high-level operational processes, an develop new logistics processes, services and technologies which will result in competitiveness.

Our R&D Center was certified in 2016 as an “On-Site R&D Center” by the Supreme Council of the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology and is Turkey’s second R&D Center focused on logistics. Having unveiled a great many projects up until now, Borusan Lojistik R&D Center has 49 research specialists at its disposal, 65% of which have a bachelor’s degree, 12% have a post graduate degree and most of which have computer technology training. Borusan Lojistik R&D Center is currently conducting joint works with leading companies in the industrial sector, such as Vestel, Tofaş, Ford, BSH, and Arçelik, in addition to scientific institutions such as universities and TUBITAK.

Our company also stands out as the one and only Turkish member of ALICE (Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe), a technological platform formed within the European Union by logistics companies with R&D centers. Through this platform which aims to conduct research activities and develop innovative strategies for European logistics and supply chain management, Borusan Lojistik aims to share knowledge and technologies and develop joint research and innovation activities.

Our R&D projects which we’ve developed so far and those we plan to develop in the future all have two dimensions to them. The first dimension is about reinforcing the optimization of our own business processes on the basis of productivity, and the second dimension involves making a contribution to the overall quality management of our customers in the service and manufacturing industries and creating logistics cost advantages by improving their competitiveness in the market. R&D activities mainly include projects developed for the improvement of operational systems, projects developed in the field of digitalization, and innovative business solutions.  

In addition to designing systems which run in a faster and more productive manner to improve operational systems and by which system users can take quicker actions, we are also working on optimization solutions. With the positive outcomes of these optimization solutions, we are planning not only to respond to customer needs in a timely and desirable way, but also to reduce our costs. In our storehouses, we are automating all our projects to the extent possible. Thus we are intending to minimize our error rate.

As a company providing storehouse services in addition to land, railroad, air and marine transportation, we are pursuing innovation and digitalization in all of our service fields. To that end, trailers and truck beds are also among the fields which we work on in addition to port optimization projects.  

Our company is producing the knowledge, technology and software used in transportation and warehousing activities at its own R&D Center. Projects such as Bukoli and ETN that are digitalizing all run document tracking, operational data tracking, processing and storing so that they can be fully conducted in the electronic environment, and projects like the vehicle tracking system are all conducted by our R&D Center.

2017 hails the beginning of an extensive R&D initiative for Borusan Lojistik. So far in this field we have carried out high-profile projects using our own resources. From now on, we will be taking more powerful and quicker steps by utilizing resources provided by public incentives. Thus, we will be able to digitalize all business processes, improve customer experiences and ensure mobilization.

Under this project we are planning to complete 27 projects before the end of 2019 aimed at analyzing, optimizing and improving the end-to-end supply chain needs of our customers. To do this we have allocated an investment budget of 13 million TL from our own equity.