DHL prepares for delivery of a record 10 million flowers for Valentine's Day
DHL, the world’s leading global express delivery and logistics company, is preparing to deliver record numbers of fresh flowers across the U.S. for cupid’s visit this Valentine’s Day. DHL this year anticipates delivery of over 10 million individual flower stems for delivery direct to retailers and consumers nationwide on or before February 14 th, with the majority of this volume from popular floral e-tailers and retailers, including 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, American Rainbow Floral, FTD, Galleria Farms, Queens Floral and USA Bouquet. In addition to working with the world’s largest floral companies, DHL is filling the tallest order ever from a florist.
DHL will deliver the first U.S. shipments of the World’s Tallest Roses from OrganicBouquet.com. The eco-flower pioneer will introduce roses up to six feet tall to the U.S. market this Valentine’s Day with the help of DHL, its exclusive shipping partner. Grown at an Ecuadorian farm, each stem boasts a large head which opens to an astonishing 3-4 inches in diameter.
“We’re seeing powerhouses in the floral industry as well as niche floral companies like OrganicBouquet.com rely more on DHL as an important part of their floral distribution network,” said John Cameron, Executive Vice President of operations for DHL. “DHL provides these businesses with the operational flexibility, capacity and special handling required to make this special Valentine’s Day holiday a success,” added Cameron.
The majority of DHL’s expedited floral shipments are imported from growers in Colombia and Ecuador. DHL Global Forwarding, part of the logistics arm of DHL, will be exporting from Latin America four times the volume of flowers during the Valentine’s Day season. DHL consolidates floral parcels from growers, and protects the life of the flowers by using bonded cold storage facilities to keep product cool prior to air transport and immediately chilled upon arrival. Eighty percent of these floral shipments are destined for Miami where they undergo agricultural inspection right at the terminal at Miami International Airport.
At the Miami gateway, DHL will leverage an expanded fleet of refrigerated trucks this year to transport flower shipments to its air and ground hub in Wilmington, Ohio, for the days leading up to February 14 th. Floral shipments routed through Wilmington are sorted overnight and flown out to their final destinations nationwide just in time for presentation by loved ones on February 14 th. Additional DHL flights out of Miami on February 13 th will also be dedicated exclusively for DHL’s floral customers and their shipments.
