DHL opens new centre in Fiji
THE opening of DHL’s Suva freight centre and headquarters in Raiwaqa last Wednesday marked its consistent growth in the Pacific market for the last five years.
The relocation of its Suva headquarters has now put the company in a strong position to consolidate and add new dimension to its courier and distribution services.
After being holed up in a converted residential lot for more than ten years, DHL Pacific has begun its one stop shop strategy for what it terms as a growing Pacific and Oceania courier and distribution market.
The multi purpose facility at Raiwaqa is targeted by DHL to help increase freight traffic between Fiji and the Pacific.
Its strong growth in the last five years is punctuated with Fiji’s growing textile, banking, tourism and pharmaceuticals and this demanded a more modern facility.
DHL initially took over the operations of the facility from Air Pacific cargo handling and the move is seen as a strong investment choice and belief the company has for its Pacific and Oceania operations.
DHL Oceania director Gary Edstein said this marks an important step forward in DHL’s long-term regional growth strategy, which had been recording double digit growth for the last five years.
The company had so far invested US$1.4billion ($F2.4billion) in the Oceania and Asia Pacific including a A$20million ($F25.6million) state of the art freight centre in Sydney, Australia and now the Suva centre.
Mr Edstein said this expansion had been concentrated on building infrastructure, enhancement of existing hubs and gateways, updating technology and expanding air network. “The centre will now offer a total transport solution and on the whole this is considered an investment for the company and the confidence it has for the region,” Mr Edstein said.
“Recognising the potential for further growth, DHL has implemented a business strategy that has focussed on the capacity building within the Oceania region. The opening of this facility is very much an extension of this strategy,” Mr Edstein said. The Freight Centre will house DHL Express, DHL Danzas Air and Ocean and its newly introduced service, the Express Logistics Centre (ELC) and warehouse.
The Express Logistics Centre (ELC) was also launched on Wednesday and this service will provide temperature-controlled warehousing, pick-and-pack and distribution services domestically and internationally for a New Zealand-based pharmaceutical company.
Orders will be emailed to the DHL team in Suva each day and these will be picked, packed and dispatched to their customers throughout the South Pacific.
DHL is looking to expand the logistics centre so that more customers may capitalise on this new capability.
The DHL Suva Freight Centre has secured a license to operate a ‘bond’ at the Freight Centre, allowing the movement of uncleared shipments to Suva under bond from the international gateway in Nadi.
The Suva freight centre will service 12 islands in the South Pacific, including Tahiti, New Caledonia and Samoa.
