DHL Supply Chain is a division of

Deutsche Post DHL Deutsche Post AG (), trade name, trading as DHL Group, is a German multinational corporation, multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies ...

and is affiliated with

DHL DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

. Headquartered in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, Deutsche Post has 510,000 employees. In 2016, DHL Supply Chain was primarily competing in strategic life sciences and healthcare, automotive and technology sectors of the market. The automotive sector, with its Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) service, has been shifting to China, India and Mexico as those countries become significant vehicle and parts manufacturers. In Canadian and USA markets DHL Supply Chain operated under the name

Exel Exel was a supply chain and logistics company operating in North America and Europe, which became a subsidiary of the German firm Deutsche Post in 2005. It reported annual revenues of about $4.2 billion in February 2012. History The company ...

until January 2016. In 2016, the DHL Supply Chain division's revenue decreased by 11.6% to €14.0 billion versus 2015, but operating profit improved by 27.4% to €572 million.

History

* 1969 –

founded by

Adrian Dalsey Adrian Dalsey (October 14, 1914 – October 10, 1994) was a co-founder of shipping company, DHL Express. Early life Dalsey was born in Illinois on October 14, 1914. He attended Wheaton College there, but later dropped out. DHL In 1969, he ...

Larry Hillblom Larry Lee Hillblom (May 12, 1943 – May 21, 1995) was an American businessman and, alongside Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn, co-founded the shipping company DHL. After his disappearance in 1995, his estate paid $360 million to four impoverished ...

and Robert Lynn in San Francisco. * 1971 – DHL expands its Express network. Expansion into the Far East and

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...

. * 1972 – Services introduced in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. * 1974 – The first UK office is opened in London. Globally, DHL now has 3,052 customers and 314 staff. * 1976–1978 – Expansion in three major regions as DHL launches in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. * 1977 – The first German DHL office is opened in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. * 1979 – DHL extends its services to delivering packages. Only document services had been available until now. * 1983 – DHL is the first air express forwarder to serve

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

an countries. An international distribution center (hub) is opened in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, USA. * 1985 – A hub is opened in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. More than 165,000

shipment Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been exte ...

s are handled each night. * 1986 – DHL enters into a joint venture with the People's Republic of China and becomes the first express company active in China. * 1990 – DHL enters into strategic alliances with

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

and Nissho Iwai. * 1991 – DHL becomes the first international express company to restart service to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

after the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. * 1993 – DHL invests 60 million dollars in a new hub facility in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. * 1998 –

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

becomes a shareholder in DHL. * 2002 –

Deutsche Post World Net Deutsche Post AG (), trade name, trading as DHL Group, is a German multinational corporation, multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies ...

becomes the major shareholder in DHL from 1 January. By the end of the year, the company owns 100 percent of the DHL shares. * 2003 –

, DHL and

Postbank Post Office Savings Bank, or very briefly PostBank (trading name of Post Office Bank Limited), was a bank owned by the New Zealand Government as the government's postal savings system. The bank was established in 1867. It became PostBank in ...

make up the Group's current brand architecture. DHL now serves as the exclusive brand for all express and logistics activities. DHL changes its

corporate colors A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public. The corporate identity is typically visualized by branding and with the use of trademarks, but it can also i ...

from red and white to yellow and red. In April, the worldwide visual transformation of all vehicles,

packing materials Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...

and buildings begins. * 2004/2005 – Directly after the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

in South Asia, DHL, with over 40 offices throughout the

disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...

region, responds immediately to requests from government and aid organizations. The Group helps with free

charter flights Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

carrying

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

supplies,

land transport Land transport is the transport or movement of people, animals or goods from one location to another location on land. This is in contrast with other main types of transport such as maritime transport and aviation. The two main forms of land tr ...

as well as monetary donations. DHL employees from around the world launch

donation A donation is a gift for Charity (practice), charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, Service (economics), services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donati ...

campaigns. DHL Disaster Response Teams (DRT) are established, supporting the UN and the international community's

disaster response Disaster response refers to the actions taken directly before, during, or immediately after a disaster. The objective is to save lives, ensure health and safety, and meet the subsistence needs of the people affected.UNGA (2016)Report of the open- ...

efforts in the aftermath of major sudden-onset

natural disasters A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...

. * 2005 –

acquires

, a British logistics corporation, in December for 5.5 billion euros. * 2007 – The DHL Innovation Center opens near

. * 2008 – DHL opens its new European air hub at

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is a state-owned enterprise and allows 24 hour take off and landing for cargo flights. In ...

in Germany. * 2009 – The Group presents its Strategy 2015 and is renamed as

.http://www.dhl.com/en/about_us/company_portrait.html#key_dates , DHL Website-Company Portrait

Headquarters

DHL Supply Chain is incorporated in

, Germany as a part of

global headquarters. The main building is

Post Tower Post Tower is the headquarters of the logistic company DHL Group with the two brands: the Deutsche Post postal services and the DHL logistics service, located in Bonn, Germany. Standing at and 41 storeys, it is the sixteenth tallest skyscr ...

. Located in the former government quarter and built using large quantities of glass, it is impressive because of its

modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...

. The tower is high, long and wide.http://www.dp-dhl.com/en/about_us/history.html , DPDHL Website – History

Mergers and acquisitions

The acquisition of the Swiss logistics provider

Danzas DHL Global Forwarding, formerly known as DHL Danzas Air & Ocean, is a division of Deutsche Post DHL providing air and ocean freight forwarding services. It also plans and undertakes major logistics projects under the brand name DHL Industrial P ...

and the largest American service provider in the field of international

airfreight Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline cargo t ...

, Air Express International (AEI), by

, happened in 1999. Founded in 1815, the prestigious Danzas group was regarded as one of the world's leading logistics companies. With approximately 29,000 employees at the time of acquisition, Danzas had a strong logistics network on all

continents A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of As ...

. The acquisition of AEI was similar. AEI had a network of branches in 135 countries. In addition to integrated logistics and

multi-modal transport Multimodal transport (also known as combined transport) is the transportation of goods under a single contract, but performed with at least two different modes of transport; the carrier is liable (in a legal sense) for the entire carriage, even th ...

, it was offering

warehousing A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

, customs processing and IT-based logistics services. AEI was integrated into the Intercontinental division of Danzas. As a full-service provider, the merged companies provided Deutsche Post with a dense

transport network A transport network, or transportation network, is a network or graph in geographic space, describing an infrastructure that permits and constrains movement or flow. Examples include but are not limited to road networks, railways, air routes ...

as well as an impressive

portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...

value-added services A value-added service (VAS) is a popular telecommunications industry{{cite web, url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/global_mobile_value_added_services_vas_market_worldwide_industry_share_investment_trends_growth_size_strategy_and_forecast_research_ ...

. The partnership with

DHL International DHL International Aviation ME (legally incorporated as DHL Aviation EEMEA B.S.C. (C) and sometimes branded as SNAS/DHL) is a cargo airline based in Bahrain. It employs 265 workers to dispatch, fly and maintain a fleet of Boeing 767 freighters op ...

, which began with the acquisition of a

minority interest In accounting, minority interest (or non-controlling interest) is the portion of a subsidiary corporation's stock that is not owned by the parent corporation. The magnitude of the minority interest in the subsidiary company is generally less than ...

in 1998, was expanded and intensified in 2000. Negotiations were then concluded, allowing Deutsche Post to establish a

majority interest A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting Share capital, stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds les ...

from 1 January 2002. In July 2002, Deutsche Post acquired a 25-percent share in DHL from

Lufthansa Cargo Lufthansa Cargo AG is a German cargo airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa. It operates worldwide air freight and logistics services and is headquartered at Frankfurt Airport, Lufthansa's main hub. Besides operating dedicated cargo ...

and increased its

majority stake A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the maj ...

to 75 percent. At the time,

DHL Worldwide Express DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

had more than 71,000 employees worldwide. A pioneer in global express shipping, DHL's international network linked over 220 countries and territories. DHL became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group in December 2002 after Deutsche Post acquired the remaining

shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...

from two

investment funds An investment fund is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These advantages inc ...

and

. In December 2005, Deutsche Post acquired the British logistics company

for 5.5 billion euros. At that time, approximately 111,000 employees worked for Exel in 135 countries. The company concluded the first half of 2005 with a 55 percent leap in profits to 172 million pounds (251 million euros). In 2006 Deutsche Post took a majority stake in Williams Lea, a business process outsourcing (BPO) provider specializing in

document management A document management system (DMS) is usually a computerized system used to store, share, track and manage files or documents. Some systems include history tracking where a log of the various versions created and modified by different users is r ...

and mail services.DPDHL Website – Press Release 2006
In July 2011, DHL acquired Tag Worldwide, an international provider of marketing execution and production services. In 2017, DHL sold the combined Williams Lea Tag business to Advent International. In May 2018, DHL Supply Chain strengthened its presence in Latin America by acquiring Colombian logistics company Suppla Group. At the time of the acquisition, Suppla employed over 4,500 employees in 25 cities of Colombia.

Regions and sectors

DHL Supply Chain is organized into five regions: North America, South America, APAC (Asia Pacific), EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and UK&I (United Kingdom and Ireland). The Exel brand was retained for North America (USA and Canada), with the headquarters for the region in Westerville, Ohio. In 2016, the Exel brand transitioned DHL Supply Chain for the North America region. DHL Supply Chain trades in six focus sectors: AEMCE (Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing, Chemical and Energy) Consumer, Retail, Technology, Service Logistics, Life Sciences and Healthcare.

Consumer and retail

Consumer and Retail are two of DHL Supply Chain's largest sectors. Both of these offer major growth potential for the division, since DHL manages the

supply chains A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distr ...

all the way from the source of supply to the end customer. Services in these sectors range from international inbound logistics and

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

and transport services, to

packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...

and other

Technology

In the Technology sector, DHL Supply Chain's

of offerings ranges from inbound-to-manufacturing services and

and transport services to integrated

, returns management and technical services.

Life sciences and healthcare

In 2011, DHL Supply Chain acquired Eurodifarm, a specialist in the controlled-temperature distribution of

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

and diagnostic products. The purchase was made to strengthen DHL Supply Chain's market leadership in Italy in this sector. In England, DHL Supply Chain operated the

NHS Supply Chain NHS Supply Chain supports the National Health Service (NHS) in England, and other healthcare organisations in England and Wales, by providing procurement and logistics services. History In February 2016, Lord Carter's report into efficiency and ...

for the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

until April 2019. It has a contract for

patient transport Patient transport is a service that transfers patients to and from medical facilities in non-emergency situations. In emergency situations, patients are transported by the emergency medical services. Non-emergency patient transport is sometim ...

services in North London and has been criticised for poor response times to patients wanting to book a service and for refusing disabled people permission to bring an escort. The

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (formerly the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust) is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises Royal Free Hospital, Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital and North Middlesex Uni ...

oversees the call centre.

Automotive

The Automotive industry is one of DHL Supply Chain's global sectors. The company has a strong presence in

emerging markets An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or we ...

such as China, India and Brazil.

Energy

The fast-growing Energy sector is another market in which the DHL divisions provide logistics for both the build and run phases of major projects.

Public Sector

In the UK, DHL Supply Chain first won the Prison Retail Service contract in 2008; in 2022 it was reported that the company had won the contract again and that it would run until at least 2025. The contract involves supplying prisoners with their weekly 'canteen' purchases of toiletries and groceries, as well as employing and training prisoners to work in prison workshops that deliver the service.

Products

In the Supply Chain business, DHL Supply Chain provides customers in many industry sectors with logistics services along the entire

supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...

– from

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the cap ...

, sourcing,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, storage and

delivery Delivery may refer to: Biology and medicine *Childbirth *Drug delivery *Gene delivery Business and law *Delivery (commerce), of goods, e.g.: **Pizza delivery ** Milk delivery ** Food delivery ** Online grocer *Deed ("delivery" in contract law), a ...

to returns logistics and

– in order to ensure logistics flow. DHL Supply Chain offers

, managed transport and

as well as business process outsourcing,

supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) deals with a system of procurement (purchasing raw materials/components), operations management, logistics and marketing channels, through which raw materials can be developed into finished produc ...

and consulting. DHL Supply Chain's goal is to ensure that their customers' products and information reach their markets quickly and efficiently, thus securing them

competitive advantage In business, a competitive advantage is an attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors. A competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skille ...

s. Some of the key DHL Supply Chain products include: Lead Logistics Provider, Packaging Services, Integrated Logistics Procurement, Technical Services, Service Parts Logistics, e-Fulfillment, Airline Business.

Market position

DHL Supply Chain was the global market leader in contract logistics with a market share of 8.3% (2010). In this highly fragmented market, the top ten players account for only about 23% of the overall market, the size of which is estimated to be €147 billion. DHL Supply Chain is the regional market leader in the regions of North America, Europe and Asia Pacific and also has a very strong position in rapidly growing markets such as Brazil, India, China and Mexico.

Financial results

DHL Supply Chain, as the contract logistics business of

, generated profitable growth in year 2011.

Revenues In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

and

earnings {{Short description, Financial term Earnings are the net benefits of a corporation's operation. Earnings is also the amount on which corporate tax is due. For an analysis of specific aspects of corporate operations several more specific terms are u ...

were well above the previous year's level. The division reported a

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

increase of 1.2 percent to EUR 13.2 billion (2010: EUR 13.1 billion). As a result of

adjustments made during 2011 – such as the

divestment In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...

of a subsidiary in the United States that was not part of the division's

core business Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...

– this result only partially reflects the division's operating performance. Adjusted for these consolidation and

exchange-rate In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...

effects, SUPPLY CHAIN's

revenues In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

rose by nearly 6 percent, or more than EUR 700 million, in 2011.DPDHL Annual Earnings 2011 Press Release
This increase was fueled in particular by strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region as well as in the

Life Sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

& Healthcare and Automotive sectors. Additional contracts worth EUR 1.3 billion were concluded in 2011, an increase of around EUR 200 million versus the previous year. Combined with additional operating improvements and strict

cost management Cost accounting is defined by the Institute of Management Accountants as "a systematic set of procedures for recording and reporting measurements of the cost of manufacturing goods and performing services in the aggregate and in detail. It includ ...

, increased business activity drove up the division's

in 2011. At EUR 362 million, the operating

were 56.7 percent above the previous year's level of EUR 231 million.

References

{{Deutsche Post Logistics companies of Germany Transport operators of the United Kingdom Transport companies established in 2005 DHL Private providers of NHS services