DHL seeks European B2C partners
DHL is planning to increase its European B2C activities in cooperation with other companies to target the growing e-commerce market. This would put it into direct competition with German-based Hermes which is building up its own European B2C network.
“We will be the first provider in Europe to introduce a harmonised B2C product for the mail-order sector, and will rely on partnerships alongside the expansion of our own networks,” Uwe Brinks, head of DHL Parcel Germany, told German transport newspaper DVZ.
Brinks explained that shippers such as Amazon or German mail-order company Quelle increasingly had cross-border parcels for private customers. DHL was responding to this trend by developing a new EU delivery product for mail-order firms and internet retailers, he said. DHL was currently in talks with possible partners to create a European B2C delivery network, he said.
In Germany, DHL Parcel expected its volume of 753 million items in 2007 to grow about 3% this year, Brinks said. In the B2B parcel segment, DHL aimed to regain the market leadership from DPD, he added. In the B2C segment, usage of the Packstation pick-up machines, was growing and could reach a double-digit percentage, he said.
