DHL inaugurates new Country Office and Service Center in Colombo
DHL inaugurated its new state-of-the-art Country Office and Service Center at 148, Vauxhall Street in Colombo. The event was officiated by Scott Price, CEO, DHL Express – Asia Pacific, and Romesh David, President – Transportation and IT Groups, John Keells Holdings.
The purpose-built Euro 2 million (LKR 260 million), 40,000-square-feet facility houses 130 staff for both the administration and operations arms of DHL Express in Sri Lanka, as well as a 24/7 call centre. The Service Center features state-of-the-art shipment-handling and security systems, including digital surveillance systems, access control, a Quality Control Center, and a larger shipment-processing area – enabling more efficient shipment handling. The new drive-in facility is strategically located in the central business district of Colombo, and brings DHL and its key customers physically closer together as it allows customers easy access to drop off shipments – and at the same time it allows DHL to offer later cut-off times and earlier deliveries.
Addressing the distinguished guests at the official opening ceremony, Mr. Price said the opening of the new DHL Express Country Office underlines DHL’s commitment to Sri Lanka and reinforces its market leadership position.
“My visit to Colombo today and the inauguration of this purpose-built Office and Service Center underscores DHL’s sincere and unwavering commitment to its expanding clientele in Sri Lanka, which is an important market for us,” Mr. Price said. “We are undoubtedly ahead of the competition in terms of capabilities and market share, through our skilful combination of global expertise, local knowledge and the deployment of latest innovations, all of which are being channelled to continuously improve our customers’ efficiency.”
Martin Dudek, Country Manager, DHL Express – Sri Lanka said, “With the inauguration of this new state-of-the-art facility in Colombo, DHL enters a vibrant new phase of its operations in Sri Lanka. With this significant investment, DHL aims to capture the continued anticipated growth in Sri Lanka and further strengthen our industry leadership position as our customers’ first choice. We are very confident about the Sri Lankan market and our performance, having recorded double-digit growth in the last couple of years”.
During his one-day visit to Colombo, Mr. Price also met with Chairman Mr. Susantha Ratnayake and the rest of the board members of John Keells Holdings, who are the joint venture partners of DHL Keells, and discussed future business opportunities in Sri Lanka.
During the last few years, DHL Express has made significant investments of close to EUR 2.5 million towards the development und upgrading of its network infrastructure in Sri Lanka, including DHL’s Gateway/Customs Bonded Warehouse in Ja-Ela with its innovative Quality Control Center (QCC). The first of its kind in Sri Lanka, the QCC serves as the nerve centre for all DHL Express Sri Lanka’s shipment movement control, providing real-time visibility and proactive operational crisis management 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
With the QCC, DHL has also introduced the Quality Shipment Monitoring System (QSMS), which is the latest addition to DHL’s monitoring tools. QSMS allows shipment monitoring to be done real time for the whole process, from pickup until uplift for outbound shipments and after arrival and until final delivery for inbound shipments. This has allowed DHL a more proactive approach in managing possible shipment delays, e.g. caused by flight delays or bad weather, including activating contingency plans and notifying customers.
With six service locations across the country and best-in-class service offerings, DHL is the clear market leader in the industry in terms of infrastructure, service and market share.
