Today, as opposed to artificial intelligence, edge computing, blockchain, AR/VR, and similar technologies, these technologies or those that have not yet reached the market are anticipated to add value to businesses, conduct trials, address current processes, and resolve a commercial issue in the sector. President of Yıldız Holding Information Technologies Gül Erol stated that there should be excellent practice examples and added, “I can identify Yıldız Holding as an organization with a very high level of adaption in this regard.”
Gül Erol, who received her education at the Middle East Technical University, and who spent many years in a variety of roles at Sabanc Holding firms like BMSA and Enerjisa, switched to Yıldız Holding in December 2019. Since around a year ago, Erol has continued to work as President of Yıldız Holding Information Technologies.
The seasoned professional stressed that the epidemic generated substantial changes in both personal and professional life. He began to encounter the pandemic process at the outset of his duties. “One of the topics on which Yıldız Holding spent the most time during this time was digitization. The holding was an organization that had invested in the field of digital transformation before, and as a result, from the first days of the pandemic, said Erol. We have had a significant experience supporting our holding in its digital transformation journey, moving it forward and enabling it to use the opportunities of the digital age in the sectors in which it operates. She said that since then, their services have been provided continuously.
As the first guest of the new year, we spoke with Gül Erol, President of Yıldız Holding Information Technologies, about the pandemic process, the company’s journey toward digitization, and of course, the ambitions for 2021.
Which issues with the epidemic were more prominent on your side? Has this procedure affected how you invest?
We believe that some of the ailments people have been dealing with since the pandemic started will endure long after it is over. We prioritize boosting our investments in areas that we believe will be permanent as a result. The most important of these expenditures is infrastructure. Advanced analytics, corporate intelligence, cloud technology, the Internet of Things, and task management systems in particular came to the forefront. We now understand the value of more adaptable and scalable cloud solutions. Data warehouse was one of our other investment goals for this year. To centralize our data warehouses, we have put in a lot of effort. Finally, we have made investments in advanced analytics, modeling, prediction, optimization, and cloud technology services.
I’m aware that Yıldız Holding is working hard to adapt itself digitally. How are they now? Do you still operate a separate IT business within your company? Are your efforts in this field still ongoing, and if so, how far along are they employing newer technologies like RPA and IoT?
Undoubtedly, one of the most crucial subjects for Yıldız Holding is technology. In this sense, the information technology department at Yıldız Holding plays a strategic role. Through the management of Yıldız Holding’s IT and digital strategy, we decide on the technological direction, preferences, corporate architecture, and operational models of our companies, as well as oversee important projects and initiatives. At the same time, we support the CEOs and CIOs of the Yıldız Holding firms as they go through their digital transformation processes by being in continual contact with them.
We also wear the MostDX cap. We also have competence centers in this area that offer the Holding services. Our goal is to maintain alignment between our core strengths and our talent pool with the demands of the moment. I’ll give a few of our competency areas here as examples, including corporate business applications, data warehousing, and reporting, information security, and master data management. We also have recently developed competency centers for new technologies, such as Industry 4.0, RPA, and Data Analytics. Rather than being the ones executing the task, these resources are people who understand, evaluate, and manage the technology. Likewise, we forge close links with the startup ecosystem in order to develop fresh technological experiences and provide value to our business units in tandem with these innovations.
Let’s add another question to this one: Did the pandemic process benefit from modern technologies for you? Or what modifications have you made to procedures that use current technologies?
I can confidently state that, given the global transformation and “new normal” brought on by the epidemic, technology is being used effectively. We have quickly adopted the infrastructure and collaborative working environments needed for remote working as a result of the pandemic. Here, our cloud-based products were of great assistance. We created a chatbot with the “How are you” application at the start of the pandemic to inquire about the well-being of our staff and any issues they may be experiencing. With the help of our bot, we have implemented a proactive study that alerts the appropriate units whenever someone reports a concern with themselves or their relatives. Once more, when we began working remotely, we began to track how productivity changed significantly and quickly report in different data sources to see whether there had been a change in business continuity. The socialization of our personnel while they are working remotely also entered our agenda at the same time. We have put in place the “Digital Corridor” application for this. As a result, we recorded the five-minute talks that participants had while chatting in a hallway on our campus. Today, we have prioritized new generation performance management and feedback under the direction of our human resources department. We came up with our answers. In the following first quarter, we will also activate the pilot units. My group and I will serve as internal customers for these pilot projects.
So, what do you do with the data?
Today, there are many options for individuals with data. We create models to predict how the data stored by Yıldız Holding firms will generate value in the short, medium, and long terms in both B2C and B2B domains. Our working groups, which are made up of several departments such as business development, marketing, sales, technology, and personal data security, concentrate on business prospects that have the potential to add value. We develop numerous academic programs focused on data, especially with our HR teams, and work to improve all organizational competencies in this area. For a holding with numerous facilities and great production capabilities like ours, industrial IoT will be one of the key sectors. We want to use cutting-edge analytical applications to help our Holding companies maximize operational efficiency as we transition from manufacturing execution systems (MES) to the Internet of Things. In addition to all of these, we are trying to provide “self-service” structures on the data analytics side so that our users may now fulfill all of their reporting demands.
The retail food industry, in particular, has been crucial to the pandemic process. What has been incorporated into your brands’ tactics in this regard? We are curious about how your businesses, like ŞOK Markets, Bizim Market, and Ülker, have handled and fared from the start of the pandemic until the present.
During the pandemic, our chain of ŞOK Markets began delivering to homes using Cepte ŞOK. Particularly because of this service, we were able to offer our services throughout Turkey. Along with ŞOK Markets, Bizim Wholesale is going through a significant technological shift. All merchandising and back office procedures will be redesigned in order to develop a new end-to-end experience area. Customer-focused procedures like CRM, marketing optimization and best offer, end-to-end order management and optimization are all included in this change. On the other hand, at Pladis, we carry out a lot of cutting-edge analytical initiatives for the improvement of field and warehouse operations.
You oversee technology for a significant holding company. What technological gaps do you perceive that need to be filled when you examine it, particularly from the perspective of your industry?
I’d like to approach this query a little bit differently. In contrast to artificial intelligence, edge computing, blockchain, augmented reality, and similar technologies, I see flaws in these technologies—or in those that haven’t even hit the market yet but are anticipated to add value to businesses, conduct trials, address current processes, and resolve problems—and shortcomings in other, unproven technologies. In this sense, I would characterize Yıldız Holding as having a very high level of adaptability. We have strong, capable leaders and staff at Yıldız Holding who think creatively and analytically about how to make the most of emerging technologies while also integrating them into existing business processes.
What about your plans for 2021 has changed? What do you expect to change in Turkey’s technological sector and industry in the coming year?
For a very long time, advanced analytics will be a crucial area of study for us. We continue to make significant financial, technological, procedural, and cultural investments in this area. At the same time, we are testing out new technologies and creating studies on their viability. We concentrate on initiatives in the “sustainable using blockchain technologies” sector because we believe they will continue to be important, particularly in the wake of the epidemic. The agility and productivity of start-ups are extremely important to me as an advocate of open innovation. While we continue to endeavor to fully utilize this ecosystem as part of our digitization journey, we will soon introduce additional initiatives.
In Summary with the CIO…
Can you describe the mindset of your team?
We are a team that is adaptable, hardworking, and enjoyable.
Can you summarize the key to your company’s success in one sentence?
Choosing the proper aim, working hard to achieve it, and remaining nimble while doing so.
What, in your opinion, is the secret of technological businesses and their CEOs who are regarded as world giants?
To have good communication and vision.
Which technology event throughout the world do you enjoy the most?
I appreciate keeping up with the activity of research firms such as Gartner and IDC.
What technology did you employ to address your most difficult problem to date? Was it a success?
In general, a single technology is insufficient to address the issues we face. But first and foremost, I believe communication is the most important tool.
