Tag: DHL

DHL extends Avendra contract (U.S.)

Posted by | Feb 4, 2008 | |

DHL said its USD 80 million contract with Avendra has been extended five years.

The company said the agreement covers overnight, ground and international delivery. Avendra is a Rockville, Md.-based hospitality procurement services company.

As part of the agreement, Avendra and its clients will use DHL for expedited delivery services — including shipping to and from hotels and resorts, corporate and regional offices, sales conferences, management companies — and the delivery of payroll.

“The hospitality industry is one of the most demanding from a service standpoint, and Avendra and its clients seek partners like DHL that help them maintain their reputation for service excellence,” said Charles Brewer, DHL executive vice president of sales, in a news release. “Through this new agreement, DHL will help the largest and most respected hospitality brands stay competitive by providing reliable, expedited shipping services that enhance their business and their guests’ experience.”

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DHL Express Netherlands offers online shipment bookings

Posted by | Feb 4, 2008 | |

DHL Express Netherlands has expanded its online services with the launch of DHL Ship Now enabling business and private customers to book a shipment without needing a DHL account number.

DHL Ship Now is an online programme offering a fast and seamless method for sending parcels to any destination inside or outside the country, the company said. Customers can get a quote, check transit times, select their preferred service and start the pick-up and delivery process. The shipment is pre-paid online by credit card or via the iDeal system. After collection, the parcel’s status can be monitored through DHL’s track & trace system.

Jan Engels, Managing Director for Marketing & Sales with DHL Express Benelux, said: “Both businesses and private individuals are making more and more purchases over the Internet, which is also an increasingly important sales channel for DHL. Thanks to DHL Ship Now, we are catering as effectively as possible for the online shopper’s growing need for ease and flexibility.”

The main customer benefits are the ability to send a parcel without needing a DHL account number, transparent information about transit times and prices, and simple payment, the company said.

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DHL Leipzig hub to go into full operation end-March

Posted by | Feb 4, 2008 | |

The new EUR 300 million DHL Express European air hub at Leipzig/Halle airport will go into full operation at the end of March at the start of the summer 2008 flight schedule. The express operator is also planning to launch rail cargo feeder services between Leipzig and Frankfurt in the summer.

DHL has built up its intra-European flights to and from Leipzig over the last two years, and transferred its intercontinental flights from Cologne to Leipzig last October. In the final step, most of the Brussels hub flights will be moved there, leaving just a small number of services at the Belgian capital.

Once the Leipzig hub is fully operating, more than 60 DHL own or contracted planes will take off and land at the airport every night, and up to 2,000 tonnes of cargo will be handled daily. At present, about 1,800 staff handle some 35 flights and up to 800 tonnes of cargo daily.

Reinboth also disclosed that DHL Express plans to run daily cargo trains with up to 16 container wagons between Leipzig and Frankfurt Airport from the summer to transfer shipments between DHL-controlled flights at Leipzig and commercial flights at Frankfurt.

Leipzig will be the third intercontinental hub in the DHL Express worldwide air network alongside Wilmington (USA) and Hong Kong.

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FedEx + DHL Isn't Necessarily Bad for UPS

Posted by | Feb 4, 2008 | |

Rumors have been flying that DHL’s United States operations are up for sale. With the recent announcement that Deutsche Post’s DHL business unit lost 600 million Euros (USD 879 million) last year, the company is seeking strategic alternatives.

The leading candidate to purchase DHL is thought to be FedEx. While some may think that a FedEx acquisition of DHL could spell trouble for UPS, the new FedEx/DHL could actually provide some much-needed relief for both of these transportation companies.

Airborne no more

DHL hasn’t been a player in the American express delivery business for very long (that is, if it ever really was one). Deutsche Post’s DHL Worldwide Express purchased express carrier Airborne Inc. for USD 1.12 billion in 2003. Airborne Express was the low-cost carrier in the express shipping marketplace, often undercutting FedEx and UPS prices without the service guarantees that the bigger shippers provide.

DHL decided to rebrand the Airborne operations using the DHL name while keeping the low-price shipping position. DHL also scrapped the previous Airborne logo and colors, moving to bright yellow trucks and uniforms that couldn’t be missed even in one of those blinding snowstorms hitting the West Coast lately.

Considering that Deutsche Post paid USD 1.12 billion for an investment in the U.S. express shipping marketplace, last year’s loss of USD 879 million is significant, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they were looking to offload the U.S. DHL operations ASAP. But what does this say for the marketplace if the “low-price carrier” can’t compete in an economy that continues to echo “recession?” Wouldn’t you think that consumers would be looking to cut costs wherever possible in this economic climate?

The price is right

The answer may lie in the fourth-quarter earnings report that UPS delivered last week. Beyond the losses that it took because of pension write-offs, UPS stated that revenue per piece was up 2.3pct on “firm” pricing. UPS’ 2007 increase in list rates was 4.9pct (not including the additional increases in individual surcharge amounts), so growth in discounts given to corporate and individual customers must have made up the difference between increase in base shipping rates and realized revenue per package (assuming that weight per package stayed the same).

As background, to keep up in a competitive transportation marketplace, UPS, FedEx, and DHL give special incentive pricing programs to key clients. Actually, everyone seems to qualify as a “key” client today, and customers can gain discounts for simple tasks like using FedEx Ship Manager or by belonging to an organization such as the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

So, even though UPS raised base rates by 4.9pct in 2007, they gave clients increased discounts such that the average actual rate increases only came out to 2.3pct. UPS and FedEx price competition means trouble for DHL since low-price is DHL’s key claim to fame. Combine this with a recent USPS advertising campaign touting no surcharges and low rates, and it’s easy to see how DHL could run into serious issues.

Yellow and blue make green

If FedEx does buy DHL’s U.S. operations, it wouldn’t be to boost its express or ground network. After all, those gaudy bright yellow trucks and planes aren’t necessarily an asset to anyone. No, FedEx’s potential purchase of DHL would be an easy way to stave off price pressures in a competitive shipping marketplace. In effect, FedEx would be taking one for the team: getting rid of the public competitor who fought on price alone.

That’s not to say that FedEx is going to buy DHL, or that the government would OK such a move. But if the yellow DHL trucks were to move on, that could mean green for both FedEx and those brown guys at UPS.

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ProLogis signs new leases with DHL in Europe

Posted by | Feb 4, 2008 | |

ProLogis announced today that it has signed new lease agreements for more than 858,000 square feet (79,700 square meters) of distribution space in Europe with DHL Exel Supply Chain, a leading global provider of third-party logistics services and subsidiary of the Deutsche Post World Net group.

“DHL is ProLogis’ largest global customer, and we are pleased to be further expanding our relationship with the company in Europe,” said Gary E. Anderson, president for ProLogis in Europe. “At the end of 2007, ProLogis had agreements in place for more than 7.8 million square feet (725,000 square meters) of space with DHL in 10 European countries. We believe today’s announcement is a strong indication of the depth of our customer relationships and unmatched ability to serve their unique supply chain requirements.”

Among the new transactions include:

— 420,000 square feet (39,000 square meters) leased in a facility under
construction at ProLogis Park Tarancon near Madrid, Spain.

— 247,500 square feet (23,000 square meters) leased in a new,
915,000-square-foot (85,000-square-meter) industrial park ProLogis is
developing near the city of Jonkoping, a major distribution hub in
Sweden.

— 190,500 square feet (17,700 square meters) leased at ProLogis Park
Venlo III, a new 484,000-square-foot (45,000-square-meter) industrial
park located in the city of Venlo, less than five kilometers from the
German border.

ProLogis is currently one of the largest providers of distribution space in Europe with more than 101 million square feet owned, managed or under development, as of September 30, 2007.

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