India bucks the trend for DHL
The financial meltdown has hurt the global supply chain industry, especially in the auto and technology sectors. But DHL, the world’s largest supply chain player, says India has bucked the trend in these two sectors.
The financial meltdown has hurt the global supply chain industry, especially in the auto and technology sectors. But DHL, the world’s largest supply chain player, says India has bucked the trend in these two sectors.
The global slowdown has picked another victim — the supply chain industry. As the auto and technology space reel, so have aspects of the supply chain business related to these sectors. DHL, the world leader in the industry, says business related to these sectors has fallen by 35-40% especially in Western Europe, USA and Canada. And even though more and more companies are outsourcing their logistics operations, margin pressure is high, as is pressure from clients to reduce rates.
Bruce Edwards, global CEO of Supply Chain, DHL, said: “We are seeing some price pressure. Not sure if there is any time when there is no price pressure. But, it is a bit stronger right now. One thing that we’ve been able to do is work that back into a broader opportunity with customers.”
DHL is happy with its operations in India. Volumes in the warehousing and distribution of auto spare parts has risen 4-5% from year-ago levels. But that’s mainly because of new customers.
Edwards said: “I think, if you are just talking about India, some of our volume growth is because we’ve got new customers. And we are growing our business with new firms. The volumes with our existing customers are pretty flat.”
DHL reads this addition of clients as a sign that there is a lot of headroom for growth in the region. It says India has managed to escape serious injury from the global turmoil and that’s adding to the country’s attractiveness as a growth opportunity.
