Tag: DHL

DHL Germany delivers 88pct of parcels next-day

Posted by | Jul 7, 2008 | |

DHL Parcel Germany delivers 88 pct of its domestic parcels next-day, according to a new certification of its parcel transit times.

DHL said that it is the first parcel delivery company in Germany to have its transit times certified by one of the country’s main technical inspection organisations, TÜV Rheinland. The new measurement process is similar to that already used for letters for many years.

The certified transit time starts with the collection of the shipment from the customer and ends with delivery to the recipient. As well as the national averages, individual transit times are also calculated for routes and regions.

The current ratio of next-day parcel deliveries is 88 pct, DHL said. “This puts us among the market leaders, but that’s not enough. Our target is 90 pct+,” declared Uwe Brinks, Head of DHL Parcel Germany. “In contrast to competitors, we now have a reliable instrument with which we can guarantee the accuracy of transit times to our customers,” he added.

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Indian carriers get ready to launch cargo flights abroad

Posted by | Jul 7, 2008 | |

With competition hotting up from big-time players such as FedEx and UPS as well as the established international cargo airlines, two of India’s top express players have chalked out plans to go overseas.

Over the past few years, the number of cargo carriers has gone up significantly. From the lone Blue Dart, the only Indian cargo carrier, there are today at least half a dozen more players.

Blue Dart Aviation, a subsidiary of express cargo carrier Blue Dart Express, has drafted a plan to start flying abroad. The plan, said Tulsi Mirchandaney, formerly senior vice-president, marketing and projects, and now managing director of Blue Dart Aviation, is in
the initial stage.

Mirchandaney should know because she was not only instrumental in marketing air cargo products but also involved in route planning and space allocation.

The decision to fly abroad has been prompted by the under-utilisation of Blue Dart’s fleet. Blue Dart has seven planes – four Boeing 737s and three Boeing 757s – that fly around the country for only eight hours at night.

In 2005, DHL Express completed the acquisition of 81.03 per cent of the equity capital of Blue Dart Express. Under the deal, Blue Dart continues to operate as an independent brand and provides a complete spectrum of domestic services through synergies with DHL.

The company is currently in talks with its parent DHL to find out ways in which the two could work together and ensure that Blue Dart planes can be used for international operations.

While Blue Dart firms up its plan, GATI, an express cargo delivery major with experience in distribution and supply chain management solutions, has started its foreign air cargo operations with Air India.

GATI’s managing director and chief executive officer Mahendra Agarwal said that his company had an agreement with Air India to take cargo overseas. This would be a follow-up to GATI’s tie-up late last year with the national carrier.

According to that tie-up, three of AI’s Boeing 727-200 freighters operate with the GATI logo within the country.

Keen to establish its presence globally, GATI has set up offices in China, Japan, Dubai, Hong Kong Thailand, Nepal and Sri Lanka and has plans to foray into other markets. The express major’s revenues have grown from USD 1 46 million to USD 7.04 million over the past three years.

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DHL boosts operations by appointing senior marketing professional

Posted by | Jul 6, 2008 | |

DHL Express Saudi Arabia announced the appointment of a National Marketing Manager for The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), further consolidating the company’s position as the region’s leading express freight provider.

Ali Thabet will lead a specialised, KSA focused marketing team, to develop and implement a strategy aimed at enhancing DHL’s unique position as a one stop, multi-modal transportation network across the Middle East.

Prior to this appointment, Ali Thabet has spent 15 years in the industry and has operated in many business roles, and within culturally diverse environments. Having developed strategies for several well known global brands, Thabet is well placed to drive the KSA marketing effort for the global express freight leader.

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TNT on course for growth

Posted by | Jul 4, 2008 | |

TNT says it is well-placed to ride out the effects of any global economic downturn thanks to minimal exposure to the US domestic market.

Last week, rival FedEx reported a fourth-quarter net loss of USD 241m (GBP 121m) and full-year net income of USD 1.13bn (GBP 568.3m), down some 44 pct on the previous year, mainly caused by the weak US economy.

And fellow US-based operator UPShas already warned of falling domestic demand.

However, Marie-Christine Lombard, group MD for TNT’s Express division, says: “We are not affected by the US slowdown – we have no exposure in the US, in some ways to our great regret and in others not.”

In a reference to DHL, which has recently announced large-scale cutbacks in its US operation, she adds: “[DHL] has paid for it – and now you see what the result is. When you have very strong operators in very mature markets it is very hard to enter the market late.”

Despite the sell-off of its logistics arm in 2006, TNT is still targeting growth in the plus-30kg consignment sector, such as pallets and other oversized express freight, says Lombard.

“What we have found is that clients trading on express flows have other flows that they would like to use TNT for. We want to capture those and arrange solutions for our clients.”

Marketing and Sales Director Jan-Willem Breen says that a broad product offering, particularly what it describes as “Economy Express”, is also helping the firm to survive the downward economic pressure by allowing its customers to switch traffic to cheaper ground-based options.

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ABX Air aims for smaller but more profitable post-DHL future

Posted by | Jul 3, 2008 | |

ABX Air is planning for a post-DHL future based on a smaller but more profitable business with other customers.
Joe Hete, President of the airline’s parent company Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), told analysts and investors in a conference call that the company still believed it could offer DHL a competitive model compared to the planned DHL-UPS cooperation, and warned that the connection of the two global air express networks could prove “expensive and challenging”.
Admitting that the transition from DHL operations would not be easy, Hete commented: “We expect ABX to grow and prosper without DHL.” DHL currently accounts for about 74 pct of ABX Air revenues.
ABX Air had already been diversifying its customer base for several years and was well-positioned to place the B767 fleet with other customers on a wet-lease or dry-lease basis, Hete said. About half of the DHL-dedicated B767s could be placed with other customers, he added. Key customers include USPS, the US military and freight forwarder Schenker BAX.
CFO Quint Turner noted that ABX’s activities for DHL had been “low-margin business” and stressed that the company believed it could generate a higher return on capital from other customers. Although ABX has a ‘put’ option to return aircraft to DHL, the planes have a low book value, and higher prices might be achievable if the planes were sold on the open market, executives noted.
ATSG is also talking with DHL about severance packages for ABX pilots and aircraft mechanics.

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