Tüpraş's İzmit refinery cut average truck loading time 75%, WEF says

İZMIT, Türkiye, Sept. 16, 2025 — Tüpraş's İzmit refinery shortened average truck loading times by 75% and raised delivery reliability from 85% to 95% after integrating planning, inventory and logistics with AI-driven forecasting and optimization, the World Economic Forum said. Here's what happened, what it cost, and what went wrong.

Cost and outcome (as of Sept. 18, 2025)

Outcome: The site "improved delivery reliability from 85% to 95%, shortened average truck loading times by 75%, increased forecasting labour productivity by 48%, reduced CO₂ emissions by 8% and water consumption by 31%." (World Economic Forum, Sept. 16, 2025)
Cost: No investment or savings figures were published by WEF or Tüpraş. (World Economic Forum, Sept. 16, 2025; Tüpraş, Sept. 18, 2025, in Turkish)
Recognition: One of four new Supply-Chain Resilience Lighthouses in a cohort of 12. (World Economic Forum, Sept. 16, 2025)

The congestion

After its Resid Upgrade Plant started in 2014, WEF said, Tüpraş İzmit "faced rising crude oil type diversity, product complexity and pressure from port-based sales that increased jetty congestion." (WEF case study, Tüpraş İzmit)

In response, the refinery "launched a digital transformation, integrating planning, inventory and logistics across the value chain" and deployed "AI-driven forecasting and optimization solutions." (World Economic Forum, Sept. 16, 2025)

What changed

Tüpraş said its end-to-end supply-chain program covers the whole chain from refinery to customer. Digital tools raised the accuracy of demand forecasts, and advanced planning and optimization improved logistics accuracy and operational flexibility, the company said (our translation). (Tüpraş, Sept. 18, 2025, in Turkish)

Tüpraş said it carried out many of the digital projects as part of a Fuel Oil Conversion Project at İzmit, which turns fuel oil into higher-value products, and that cash-flow management was prioritized at every stage of the chain (our translation). (Tüpraş, Sept. 18, 2025, in Turkish)

It said the 8% cut in carbon emissions and 31% cut in water use compare 2024 with 2022. (Tüpraş, Sept. 18, 2025, in Turkish)

The loading gains build on a system Tüpraş described a year earlier. In June 2024 it completed an appointment system, contactless sales and a driver portal across all its refineries. License-plate recognition and digital kiosks manage trucks' entry to the loading area, and appointments mean drivers no longer need "early arrivals and long waits at the refinery," it said. (Tüpraş, Sept. 11, 2024)

At its Izmir, Izmit, Batman and Kırıkkale refineries, "the entire journey—from initial customer order to on-site tanker truck loading—now operates without human intervention," the company said then. (Tüpraş, Sept. 11, 2024)

Atilla Ulusu, Tüpraş deputy general manager for sales and marketing, said then that the project "reduces congestion at refinery sites during Tüpraş's product deliveries." The company said it planned to extend contactless sales to rail, pipeline and ship loading. (Tüpraş, Sept. 11, 2024)

Who's involved

Tüpraş is part of Koç Group. Koç Holding CEO Levent Çakıroğlu said İzmit is the group's fifth Lighthouse, after three Beko plants and Ford Otosan's Kocaeli factory (our translation). (Tüpraş, Sept. 18, 2025, in Turkish)

WEF says Lighthouses "are designated by an independent panel of experts." Koç Holding is one of five members of the network's advisory board, with Foxconn Industrial Internet, McKinsey, Schneider Electric and Siemens. (World Economic Forum, Sept. 16, 2025)

The Sept. 16 cohort took the network to 201 sites. WEF said the new sites averaged a 48% cut in lead time. (World Economic Forum, Sept. 16, 2025)

What went wrong

Trucks waited. Drivers arrived early and waited, Tüpraş said, before appointments were introduced. (Tüpraş, Sept. 11, 2024)
Jetty congestion. Port-based sales "increased jetty congestion." (WEF case study, Tüpraş İzmit)
Growing complexity. More crude types and products after the 2014 upgrade plant. (WEF case study, Tüpraş İzmit)
What we don't know yet: loading times in minutes, the program's cost, and how much of the gain came from the 2024 appointment system.

Our follow-up question for Tüpraş

What was average truck loading time before and after, and over what period was the 75% measured?

Sources

World Economic Forum, “Global Lighthouse Network 2025: World Economic Forum Recognizes 12 New Sites Driving Holistic Transformation in Manufacturing,” Sept. 16, 2025. weforum.org
World Economic Forum, Global Lighthouse Network case study, “Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.Ş. (Tüpraş) - Izmit - Supply Chain Resilience,” Sept. 16, 2025. initiatives.weforum.org
Tüpraş, “Tüpraş İzmit Rafinerisi, Dünyanın En Gelişmiş Sanayi 4.0 Üretim Tesisleri Arasına Seçildi” (Turkish), Sept. 18, 2025. tupras.com.tr
Tüpraş, “Tüpraş Launches Appointment System and Contactless Sales Across All Refineries,” Sept. 11, 2024. tupras.com.tr

Disclosure: [not in copy] Editor placeholder