Deutsche Post DHL enters innovations partnership with BT

Deutsche Post DHL has signed a Global Innovation Partnership agreement with telecommunications business BT. The deal will see BT support the DHL Solutions & Innovations (DSI) unit in the development of research projects, to foster innovations and develop new logistic service offerings and technical solutions, the company said.

Petra Kiwitt, executive vice president, DHL Solutions & Innovations, said: “BT has a well deserved reputation of being a great source of innovation and thought leadership. Like us, BT operates globally, addressing the needs of many of the best known brands in the world. We are confident that both companies will identify great new opportunities that will help us push the logistics industry further at the forefront of innovation.”

The two partners have identified a number of areas for joint research and development, including RFID and security solutions for the supply chain and green and sustainable logistics. As part of the programme, BT will have access to the DHL Innovation Center to develop, test and showcase new solutions.

DHL said one of the first priorities will be to provide RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) solutions that enable the end-to-end visibility of information required by their customers to manage the movement of goods through today’s lean, globalised and increasingly complex supply chains. A special focus will be on supporting customers in the emerging markets of Asia Pacific, where BT is currently investing to provide next-generation infrastructure and supply chain capabilities and recently signed a contract to supply DHL with communications services across the region.

Bas Burger, president global commerce, BT Global Services added: “BT delivers solutions that are tailored to the needs of the global logistics industry. Efficient supply chain operations are the cornerstone of that industry and visibility of information is the lifeblood of the supply chain. We enable this by providing customers the ability to access data, to reach people – via voice and video services –  and to track the movement of goods from one location to another, using BT’s bar code and RFID solutions. We invest and partner with our customers to develop and implement such innovative services and are now looking forward to working closely together with DHL Solutions & Innovations on new developments.” 

 BT’s Global Commerce sector team, covers the logistics, manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries.