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Aras Kargo, a leader in the shipping sector, is aiming for 100% growth in 2023 and is set to attract new investments worth 1 billion TRY in the near future. On a globalization journey that began in Azerbaijan, Aras Kargo, whose investments in digital technology have resulted in exports to eight European countries, has included new Central Asian market countries in its roadmap.

Aras Kargo, a leading shipping company in Türkiye, has been speeding up its domestic and international investments in parallel with the rapid growth of e-commerce. In Türkiye, where one in five purchases is made online, the number of shipments has increased by 84% over the past three years, topping 1.15 billion, and Aras Kargo has successfully become a market leader in the sector. As part of its globalization strategy, which began in Azerbaijan, Aras Kargo is targeting new markets in Central Asia.

Peter Umundum: "We believe in Türkiye and Aras Kargo, and we are committed to investing more"

Austrian Post, Europe's leading logistics operator, which first acquired a 25% stake in Aras Kargo in 2013 and increased its stake to 80% in 2020, has invested more than €100 million in Aras Kargo's digitalization and automation operations.

Peter Umundum, Chairman of Aras Kargo, who highlighted that the company has made great strides in digitalization, automation, efficiency, and customer satisfaction as a result of this investment, commented: "Thanks to our ability to develop solutions that improve efficiency, Aras Kargo has been able to position itself as the R&D center of the Austrian Post. We have managed to accomplish this with Aras Digital."

Umundum said that Aras Global's journey of offering Aras Kargo's services abroad, which started in Azerbaijan, will continue to other Central Asian markets and grow into globalization: "We have full faith in the future of Türkiye and Aras Kargo. We see Aras Kargo as our center of gravity for our expansion into the Central Asian region, which stretches all the way to the Middle East and China. I am confident that Aras Kargo will continue to raise its customer service standards at home and abroad and strengthen its position as a major global player. To this end, we plan to invest 1 billion Turkish Liras in Aras Kargo's domestic operations in the near future."

Baran Aras: “Aras Kargo is ready for the future”

Baran Aras, Vice Chairman of Aras Kargo, highlighted that the company has achieved a corporate structure that is in line with global standards through its organization, strategic planning, investments, technology infrastructure, sustainability approach, and social contributions: "We have laid a solid foundation to sustain the growth momentum we have achieved in recent years. We have added a new generation of e-commerce companies to our long-standing business partnerships. We have a broad portfolio of customers in this sector, including some of the best-known brands in Türkiye. We will continue to improve our services, increase our reach, expand our markets, and enhance the customer experience. Aras Kargo is ready for the future."

Aras Kargo will end the year with 100 percent growth

Utku Ayyarkın, General Manager and Board Member of Aras Kargo, shared that Aras Kargo has reached the position of a technology company that serves not only Türkiye but also foreign countries by having its own brand, producing and exporting technology: "We have achieved double-digit revenue growth in the last three years because we have taken the right steps. According to the ICTA Turkish Postal Sector Market Data Report, we are leading the industry in the number of deliveries in the second half of 2022, carrying 22.1% of the total volume. We expect to grow almost 50% in 2022 and then 100% by the end of the year."

We reached 280 thousand pieces of parcel capacity per hour with digitalization and automation investment

Growing its e-commerce business, Aras Kargo has grown to become one of the industry's major players in terms of transaction volume, thanks to investments in digitization and automation since 2016 that have increased its hourly throughput to more than 280,000.

Ayyarkın pointed out that over the past three years, the company has made more than 18 investments to automate its data centers in different provinces of Türkiye: "At the stage, we have reached today, we are already managing our data. We have achieved full integration with our e-commerce business. The planning and management of the process from the moment a customer places a package into the system until it reaches the consumer is fully automated. We have transformed Aras Kargo from an operating company to a technology company."

Aras Kargo technology to be used in 8 countries in Europe

Aras Digital, a subsidiary of Aras Kargo, has become an exporter of technology solutions for specific industries thanks to its expertise in digitalization and the quality of talents recruited to the organization. Productive technology solutions, such as a shipment management platform that makes life easier for employees and customers in terms of time management and flexibility, have already begun to be actively used by Austrian Post subsidiaries in Croatia and Slovenia. The technology platform will be launched in a total of eight Central and Eastern European countries by 2026.

As part of the Aras Digital project, we conduct research and development activities in our technology park, produce and commercialize the technological solutions we develop, and carry out turnkey projects in eight countries for Aras Kargo and Austrian Post subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe," says Ayyarkın, adding that the goal is to make Aras Digital a global brand in terms of industrial applications.

Aras Global to increase its share in turnover to 25% as it expands abroad

As Turkish electronics exports grew 3.5 times year-on-year, Aras Kargo established a subsidiary, Aras Global, to tap into foreign markets and serve as a bridge between Turkish entrepreneurs and the rest of the world. Aras Kargo acquired a 75% stake in Star Express, one of Azerbaijan's leading shipping companies, and renamed it Aras Global Starrex.

Ayyarkın, General Manager of Aras Kargo, noted that the company was able to quickly enter Azerbaijan thanks to its partnerships with leading Turkish e-commerce brands: "Azerbaijani consumers shopping on Turkish e-commerce companies can enjoy end-to-end delivery services without intermediaries. As our business in Azerbaijan grows, we plan to double the number of branches and vehicles in the country by the end of the year. By the end of 2024, we plan to increase its share of the company's total revenue to 25%. In the long term, we aim to become the leading shipping company in Azerbaijan and also invest in neighboring markets such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan."

Aras Kargo's network will be of great benefit to all SMEs in Türkiye

Based in Vienna, the Austrian Post operates in eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Germany and Türkiye through Aras Kargo. With the growth of Aras Global, the group now has a network stretching all the way from Germany to Azerbaijan, which it serves through its subsidiaries.

Ayyarkın noted that the company is helping its e-commerce partners expand internationally by addressing their needs: "We are supportive of our partners' business scale in every possible way, including investing in the automation of shipment sorting in our delivery centers. Our network with the Austrian Post will certainly serve all SMEs very well."

No more trips to the drop-off points

Focusing on the personalization and flexibility that consumers expect from e-commerce, Aras Kargo launched Aras Burası Pop-Up Stores and Lockers to eliminate the need to visit drop-off points. More than 2,000 businesses nationwide have joined the Aras Burası Pop-Up Stores network, and the number of Aras Burası Lockers, where you can deliver your packages via 24/7 contactless transactions, is growing every day.

Ayyarkın stated: "Thanks to our technology infrastructure, our customers can now see when their shipment will be delivered and can change the delivery location and time even at the last minute. They can drop off their package at our Aras Burası Pop-Up Stores and also collect it from that location. This way, we have also eliminated the difficulties caused by return shipments in e-commerce."

We are testing four vehicle brands to expand our electric vehicle fleet.

After publishing its first report on sustainable shipping, Aras Kargo developed a sustainability strategy in the economic, social, and environmental sectors. In 2011, the company introduced the first electric vehicles in its fleet and continues to invest in this area, including developing infrastructure for charging vehicles in Türkiye.

Utku Ayyarkın, General Manager and Board Member of Aras Kargo, in a statement, said: "As a subsidiary of the Group, Aras Kargo is committed to the Austrian Post's promise to achieve zero carbon by 2040 and we are working hard to reach this goal. We are currently testing four vehicles of different brands to increase the proportion of electric vehicles in our fleet. Meanwhile, the first step will be to switch to hybrid models of our heavy-duty fleet. We are also continuing our efforts to increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity we consume. By 2025, we are committed to ensuring that 51% of the electricity consumed by our facilities comes from renewable sources."