Founded in 2011, SIBEL GLOBAL LOGISTICS is a member of The COOP in Istanbul. Although a young company, the experience of their team is vast. We recently sat down with Kemal Kisbet to find out what makes the company a success and its plan for the future.
Q. When did you get into the freight forwarding industry?
A. The Freight forwarding adventure of Sibel Global Logistics started when Miss. Sibel, one of the co-founders of the company, got involved in the sea freight forwarding sector in 1996. Later, her brother Mr. Erhan joined her with his private sector experience.
Q. What distinguishes SIBEL GLOBAL LOGISTICS from other freight forwarders in Turkey?
A. We are specialized in Middle-East land freight forwarding. Regular and fast full and partial shipments are handled by us for this area. We also offer excellent medical carriage service by air. Operations and documentation procedures are very smooth and communication is very healthy. Safety is among our leading priorities. The damage rate for our shipments was a mere 1/5000 in 2014. Labeling and inspection are also within our service scope.
Q. How different is SIBEL GLOBAL LOGISTICS now compared to when it was founded?
A. We only shipped over land when the company was founded. But, within just a few years, IATA certification, network relations, getting legal authorization for forwarding organizations to name a few have opened new horizons for our company. Our employee number has also gone up. Now, we can handle air, land and sea leads with great efficiency.
Q. What are the main challenges facing freight forwarders in Turkey at the moment?
A.Turkey, with its location serving as a bridge between East and West, has become a logistics hub. A lot of people have swarmed into the freight forwarding market. One man companies without accreditations, knowledge and experience are causing delivery problems and fraud is rife. Getting qualified staff is another issue. Technical infrastructure, bureaucracy and cost increasing moves are still large scale problems.
Q. What are your immediate plans for SIBEL GLOBAL LOGISTICS?
A. In parallel with our constant growth, we plan to increase our number of employees, and turn some of our outsourcing to in-house.
Q. What are your longer term ambitions for SIBEL GLOBAL LOGISTICS?
A. Our ambition in the long run is a global marriage with one of the growing international forwarding companies that goes along well with our values such as hard work, training, respect and reliance. Getting a more strategic and effective position at the COOP as a member is one of the most important steps for actualizing our future plans. Helping the members with information, support, communication to have win-win situations is a must as well as a pleasure.
We invite all agents with shipments in Istanbul to get in touch with the team.
network@sibel.com.tr