DHL Express (India) to expand capacity by 50% in 2 years
The Ministry of communications’ proposal to bring down FDI in courier services to 49% from 100% does not seem to be having much impact on foreign companies in the sector. DHL Express, the leading courier and logistics company in India, plans to expand its capacity by more than 50% in the next 2-3 years.
In the last 3-4 years, the company has invested around USD 250 million in India. Craig Grossgart, country manager, DHL Express India, told ET, “We don’t think there’s much need to panic. The proposal has been discussed in various quarters and we are confident that the interest of the industry will be taken care of. As of now, we are all set to go ahead with our expansion plans.”
In the next 3 months, the company is looking at adding a fresh 19 outlets to its existing retail network of 55 outlets, spread in 12 cities. The new outlets will be set up in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.
DHL Express is also high on setting up new service centres in the NCR, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. At present, it has only one centre in Gurgaon, which just got functional. This centre will cater to the adjoining catchment area, comprising industrial belts such as Manesar and Dharuhera, apart from main Gurgaon.
The company, which handled 6.4 million shipments in the year 2005, has a capacity for handling 30,000 shipments daily.
