AVS is on its way to becoming a world-class brand
Abdülvahit Şimşek, Chairman of AVS Global Supply, one of Turkey's leading ship supply companies, says that AVS is taking firm steps toward becoming a World-class brand.
Abdülvahit Şimşek, Chairman of AVS Global Supply, one of Turkey's leading ship supply companies, says that AVS is taking firm steps toward becoming a World-class brand. Announcing that there will be new surprises soon, Şimşek states that AVS is rapidly advancing towards its goal of exceeding its limits, and says: "We are a company that constantly renews its vision, tries to read the needs of the sector, and aims to meet these needs as quickly as possible with the means at its disposal."
Stating that AVS has a goal of becoming a world brand, AVS Global Supply Chairman of the Board Abdülvahit Şimşek noted that they have accelerated their work on branching abroad. Şimşek said, “As AVS, we are taking firm steps towards our goal. In doing so, our strategy is to work primarily with local suppliers. We start to serve our customers closer by branching out at critical points. We do this within the scope of the concept of "Turquality, the project of creating national brands" provided by our state. The state of the Republic of Turkey gives a vision and says, I support globalization and branding. We will do whatever it takes for our companies to become global actors. At this point, what we do is to match our vision of our structure with the vision determined by our state.
We are able to serve in all ports in the World
Noting that they offer a global service, Şimşek said, “Our structure was established to serve in all ports in the world. Our customers stay within our service area no matter where they are in the world. As such, the warehouses of all the suppliers we work with become our warehouses. All shipowners and ship management companies in the world are becoming our potential customers. To better manage this reality, we are restructuring at strategic points. Since we are a Turkish brand, we make our vision overlap with the strategies and visions determined by our state. Our examples from Greece and the Netherlands are steps taken in this context. In the next few years, you will see that AVS is structured with the same strategy at 10 different points. When choosing these regions, which are included in our five-year strategic plan, we prioritize companies that are ready to cooperate with us. There will be different surprises shortly".
A branch in Greece
Stating that they opened a branch in the Netherlands before, Şimşek said, “We have a team that is in close contact with our customers there. Greece is the first country that comes to mind when it comes to world shipping. Because the owner of the world's largest fleet is the Greek shipowners. We made such a move to be closer to them. I wouldn't say it's easy, Greece is a critical move. It is a fact that the policies between countries are also reflected in the private sector. We witnessed decision-makers who did not want to work with a Turkish company, but we did not give up on our direct and commercial plans, and the goodness of the course supports the correctness of our decision.”
First of all, we aim to exceed our own limits
Şimşek, who said that there are many companies in the sector doing the same job as them, stated that they see them not as competitors but as sector stakeholders with whom they cooperate. Şimşek continued as follows; “We aim primarily to exceed our limits. I want it to be known that this is what we mean when we say we have no competitors. If competition eliminates the harmonious working of institutions, it is not possible to talk about an efficient commercial stance. We see companies that do the same job as us in the sector as our friends. We continue to trade with them. We receive services from many suppliers in Turkey. We are potential customers of these suppliers. I think that seeing the structures in the commercial environment as competitors only hinders their growth. However, working based on cooperation and mutual benefit makes everyone strong in their structure. When you look at it, our job is supply, but at the same time we work with different suppliers in 1500 different parts of the world. We are a company that constantly renews its vision, tries to read the needs of the sector, and aims to meet these needs as quickly as possible with the means at its disposal. The sector in Turkey is small and this approach is appreciated. It would not be wrong to say that it is accepted in the world because we are doing a global trade.”
Potential is not fully utilized
Şimşek, who said that the potential of the sector cannot be fully utilized, said, “The suppliers in the maritime sector are not in the place they deserve and I think they are not fully understood. It is obvious that they started to be noticed more with the actions of President Tamer. After he took office, we knocked on the doors of the necessary authorities in Ankara to raise the awareness of the sector, with our Chairman of the Food Traders Union, the 11th and 21st Professional Committee Presidents, and Vice-Presidents under his leadership. What I am trying to say is this: The market is at the level of 1.5 billion dollars. If you add up the turnover of all the storekeepers, the level you will reach will not reach 150 million dollars, which indicates that the share received remains at 10%.
Everyone in the industry has some problems for themselves
If the sector is followed well and read correctly, it is possible to say that the developments are good, but still not at the point they deserve. At this point, all stakeholders have some problems for themselves. While talking about the troubles of the storekeepers in the field of supply, we should not forget the shipowner. Of course, the situation of the ship's personnel should also be considered. Today, while the Philippines receives 8-9 billion dollars of input from the ship workers they send abroad, the fact that the number of seamen in our country is only 150 thousand is an issue that needs to be considered. At this point, while Ukraine and Russia were taking a large share of the market, they lost momentum due to the war and this situation created a deficit in the market. As I said at the beginning of my words, the sector and the general conjuncture should be followed and read well. An opportunity has arisen for Turkish personnel due to the points I have mentioned. However, it would not be wrong to say that we are stuck on two issues; foreign language problems and regulatory barriers in our staff. Not as the owner of a supply company, but as the investor of a school, Ekol Maritime Training Center, which provides trained personnel for the sector, I would like to say that if both the Chamber of Shipping and the Shipowners' Association support this field, our current position can be turned into an opportunity. When the legislative and language problems are resolved, there is no obstacle for Turkish personnel to work on ships in world waters. Today, in the light of both our investments in different areas of the sector and the situation we have witnessed within Ekol Shipping, it is possible to say that Turkish personnel is preferred and sought today more than ever before. We are structuring our strategies on these issues," he said.
Catering service to offshore vessels
“Thanks to the investments of our state, the sector met a new field, and employment for many people was created. We are grateful for the preference of domestic companies in these projects and for opening the way for us at this point. Turkish Petroleum's offshore investments have opened the door to the onshore field as well, and nearly 200 of our cooks and cabin crew are involved in the projects. Because of this acceleration, our shipowner found it plausible that the local cook and cabin crew would enter his ship. Today, companies such as Arkas and Kıran support our field. We left behind a heavy agenda like the pandemic. Much skilled personnel working on cruise ships lost their jobs. At this point, the employment created in our fields of activity created opportunities for those working in this field, and raised the bar in the fields we serve," said Şimşek and explained the reflection of the war between Russia and Ukraine:
The Ukraine-Russia war did not affect us much
“Of course, we are experiencing supply problems due to the results of the war between Russia and Ukraine, but this does not affect our entire operation. Because the whole world is our market. As a company, we have determined our concept accordingly. We are not worried about what will happen if we can't serve the ships coming to Ukraine or Russia. When your project is global, a regional problem will not affect you much. Ukraine's location today, a different area of the world tomorrow, this does not affect our business or our processes deeply, because the way we do business is completely flexible and based on forethought. On the other hand, we also told our customers in that region that our door is open, and as AVS, we opened our office to our customers in Ukraine. We host. They will remain here as our guests until the war is over.”
Olşen Gözübüyük, Country Manager of AVS Greece Global Supply, Greece Representative:
We increase our business volume in Greece every month
As AVS Greece Global Supply, we started operations in Greece in 2018. The pandemic period has been especially difficult for new companies like us. However, in addition to the support of the center, we have attracted the attention of companies in the tough competitive environment here with the right steps we have taken, and we continue to increase our business volume here every month.
There is a lot of competition here. The business relationships of companies with each other go back many years. While our activities continue with our good relations here, we started to do business in other points in Europe. We carry out our activities in Europe from Greece. With our wide product range and flexible maneuverability, we have satisfied our customers during this challenging period and enabled them to continue working with us. Here, we offer quality and customer-oriented service with a 24/7 service capacity. As a Turkish company, we encounter some prejudices, but in general, we have witnessed many times that the people of the two countries approach each other with love. We have become competitive in a short time in this high-volume market by breaking prejudices with the quality of service we provide and our approach to solving problems.
