Unimar brand was established by Mr.Cihan Yusufi and Mr. Ugurhan Kicki in 1994 in Istanbul, Turkey , and is now part of the logistics giant CWT Globelink PTE LTD a leading Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) operator in Asia. CWT Globelink is a wholly owned subsdiary of CWT LTD and is ranked amonst the 50 companies in Forbes Asia.
Ms. Didem, can you tell us more about yourself and your experience within the Turkish aircargo industry over the years?
I have been working in the air cargo industry for 14 years. I joined GU 5 years ago as a sales executive and moved to the air freight sales manager position in 2013. Last year, I was promoted to air freight manager. I oversee the air freight products and procurement of the group , business development, relationships with agencies and airlines and all sales activities. It has always been my primary goal to increase the share of air freight volumes within the company’s total sales volume and also the company’s share in the total Turkish air freight market. So far, I have been able to achieve this goal at all of my positions and I believe this is because I love my job; it is the primary source of my motivation in life. I feel great happiness when I am successful at work.
The company ranks among the top 20 IATA cargo agents in Turkey, and you have also have a very strong air import division. How did you manage to grow that fast over the years taking into consideration that the company comes from strong ocean freight expertise and background?
In the past 2 years we moved from 41st to 19th in the IATA air cargo rankings. That was a huge success. I believe the most important factor is the motivation. In order we become successful I , as a manager have to motivate my team to sell higher volumes of air freight. They should love what they do and feel part of a team that works together to achieve the same goal. I worked on team building and cultivating harmonious relationships among team members. Of course, monetary return is a significant factor as well. By increasing the company’s sales volumes they also increase their own income. Another thing I did was to focus on certain industries rather than trying to serve all customers. This allowed us to gain expertise in selected industries. In return with this experience we were able to increase the number of clients in these specific industries.
GU is experienced and high-ranked in sea freight over the years. My goal was to bring GU to a similar position in air freight as well. In order to do this, I engaged team members from other divisions who assisted the air freight team. I reviewed our sea freight portfolio and looked for potentials in air freight.
Can you tell us more of the company’s airfreight achievements over the years?
Our two biggest achievements in air freight were: being ranked 19th out of 154 IATA agents, with rankings as high as 12th in some months, and receiving an award from Qatar Airways for being the top agent with the highest volume departing Sabiha Gokcen Airport in 2016. In addition to these, volume-wise we increased our export air freight from 2.000.000 kgs in 2015 to 3.500.000 kg in 2016.
Can you describe any aircargo products or services that makes your GU very special within the turkish market?
I believe GU is unique because we provide tailor-made services. We first analyze the needs of the customer and then provide efficient solutions based on their demands and preferences. We differ from other companies also in terms of speed. We are always pleased to hear that GU is the fastest agent in obtaining import documentations. For example, in order to maximize profits, many agents in the Far East consolidate shipments which makes the customer wait for other companies’ shipments. But because GU has high volumes and frequent shipments, we do not hold our customers’ shipments. This translates to increased speed which is very important in our industry. From selected airports in Asia we consolidate three times a week, whereas our competitors generally consolidate once a week (on the weekends).
What are the company’s goals over the next 5 years?
For the next 5 years, our goal in air freight is to obtain a higher share in Far Eastern import traffic and becoming a more powerful player in Americas and Europe. We are also extending our domestic distribution to reach more customers in Turkey , and develop new verticals including pharma, automotive and hi-tech. We will gain more expertise in these sectors and serve more customers at higher quality.
Globelink Unimar Airfreight is founding member of Neutral Air Partner. Can you describe NAP in a few words
We have been a member of NAP since its foundation. Neutral Air Partner is a premier global network that brings together only well-established air cargo specialists . With contrast to other networks, NAP focuses on providing benefits to its members, such as airline incentives and innvative aircargo community tools /Within GU, we have a definition for NAP’s acronyms: N is for new spirit, A is for attractive business partner and P is for place of growth. It is a new network with a young spirit; it has already proven itself as an attractive business partner that agencies can greatly benefit from which will allow them to grow their businesses.
Can you outline the benefits you have so far being a part of Neutral Air Partner, and what are your expectations from the group in the years to come?
Through NAP, GU was able to established business relationships with leading air cargo partners worldwide . We were able to obtain competitive pricing and we plan to launch new consol trade lanes with several members by increasing our procurement power and service performance .
Visit us at www.globelink-unimar.com
