Alışan Grup leads the way with its comprehensive digital transformation vision

Alışan Lojistik A.Ş. is a well-established and prominent name in the business with a robust portfolio of customers, some of which have received 35 years of uninterrupted service. Originally set up as an international transport company, it has expanded over the years and now has a wide range services including warehousing services, liquid energy transport and integrated logistics services. Also known as the “contract logistics” in the business, Alışan`s integrated logistics services incorporate an A-to-Z approach to meeting customer demands, with tailor made solutions and predominantly project-based workflow, servicing leading names and manufacturers in the chemicals and FMCG industries. 

A service provider locally and internationally using its 260 thd pallet warehousing and 450 slab carrier equipment capacity, Alışan also stands out as the sole bearer of certain international certifications in Türkiye. Donned by the European Chemical Industrialists` Occupational Safety, Quality Assessment and Sustainability (SQAS 3 module) document and British Safety Council Merit, it is also proudly certified for quality assurances such as ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems and ISO 10002:2018 Customer Satisfaction, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System, ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management and ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System.

Let’s explore the details of Alışan Grup’s  digital transformation leap from database and application services transition, server project and document management to SharePoint security enhancement. 

Cost benefit, innovation and security

Alışan Grup`s decision to transition was based on a few factors including high costs of database update, maintenance and management as well as insufficient capacity to ensure efficient management of business continuity. 

With support from Microsoft consultants, Alışan went on to create a pioneer  project, test and confirm compliance with expected performance outcomes and accordingly transition to a fully managed, smart and scalable Azure database for PostgreSQL, which effectively serves as the new open code database basis for all operations. Taking a long-term approach to transition, the Group manages its workflows in a way that will allow all transition stages to be complete by 2022, proceeding with the new database for all its new steps in operations and system updates. 

For its switch to cloud-based application services, Alışan opted for Azure Cloud benefits in resolving challenges previously faced in access, document management, security, integration and development as well as continuous innovation of its local applications. Moving to Azure Cloud meant that workforce can be efficiently managed as existing services have now attained a structure that is much easier to comprehend and practical to run, without having to be rewritten from scratch. Azure`s security features provide the business with the ability to mitigate and minimize risks that could arise in local protection.

With support from Microsoft consultants, Alışan Grup software and development teams finalized their testing and transition stage in line with the pioneer project approach they had adopted. Running all applications on Microsoft cloud, the company no longer needs to have local servers or develop applications locally and now enjoys all benefits of Azure cloud. 

This means that Alışan Grup benefits from the Azure features and methods for cloud-based operations for all documents, integration services, security services, applications, and access in a secure, cost efficient and practical way.

Thanks to its pace enhancing capabilities through hardware and technical efficiency, the new structure avails testing and manufacturing without having to run target scenarios. Alışan also enjoys peace of mind of assured business continuity by way of hosting its live systems in Western Europe and disaster recovery scenarios in Northern Europe. Highlighting enhanced security features through server hosting, company teams collaborated with Microsoft engineers to simulate their applications as per an ideal road map and transformed the process to adapt to cloud via new generation software technologies. 

Choosing Azure DevOps for software and development processes, the company makes effective use of container configuration through Azure Kubernetes Service. DevOps teams offer ease of performance monitoring by way of software code quality measurement. Hence, it is much more agile to configure micro service applications as well as to scale, monitor and manage the Kubernetes environment thanks to this productivity-focused digitalization initiative that is flexible all the way from distribution to management.

An efficient document management system that enables true mobility

Having previously hosted SharePoint internally, Alışan was well aware of the challenges it posed in terms of both business continuity and practical hurdles for database scenario and application layer creation. It was thus that the company moved on to include the document management in the transition by way of the new configuration that Microsoft 365`s SharePoint Online provided. This secured an efficient intranet to store documents, which offers human resources optimization and enhances awareness through access that is up to date, remote and convenient for all users. 

Highlighting the significant progress made in moving business processes to the digital environment since the start of the pandemics, the teams now focus on reaping all possible benefits of SharePoint’s extensive range of features. 25+ applications, now on intranet, means that critical processes can be accessed and managed anywhere, anytime. Securing mobile-friendly application services for its transport operations, the company now enjoys the convenience of accessing these applications from all mobile devices.

Added value through Microsoft, locally and globally

For Alışan Grup, the core of the added value Microsoft provides for the business lies in its ability to secure global confidence across its operations. Despite being a 100% locally owned business, share of international customers in Alışan’s portfolio corresponds to 30% in warehousing and 10% in transport. It is at this point that Microsoft secures uninterrupted flow of business by assuring compliance of business processes to internationally prescribed norms. Agile business processes such as open access for customers to all Power BI reporting and ability to share insight globally enhance productivity.  For Alışan Grup, the structure of Microsoft`s applications and services, the satisfactory outcome of the preliminary work undertaken, and the comprehensiveness of the  services provided by Microsoft are some of the many strengths of this robust collaboration. 

Alışan Grup will continue to consolidate its strong position through carefully designed digital strategies and shape the way forward for the rest of the industry.