DHL Express sees double-digit growth
DHL Express is expecting a “strong double-digit” growth in its service in India, where annual economic growth is projected to average 7.5 per cent to 8+ per cent in the coming years as the liberalized economy becomes a global manufacturing hub with growing presence of international corporations.
India-led South Asian markets accounted for 30 per cent growth in express cargo deliveries for DHL between 2012-15, said its executives at the opening of DHL Express’s S$140 million (€85 million) South Asia Hub (SAH) in Singapore on Oct 18, 2016.
Currently, DHL Express serves India with two dedicated daily flights to Bangalore and Delhi six times a week with capacity to carry 195 tonnes to both cities per flight.
DHL Express also uses commercial flights for express cargo deliveries to Mumbai.
“India is a double-digit growth market for DHL Express,” said Sean Wall, Executive Vice President, Network Operations and Aviation, DHL Express Asia Pacific.
“We continuously expand and upgrade our service,” he said of future expansion in India, acknowledging the increasing presence of international corporations which are setting up bases in India.
DHL Express has been serving the Indian market since 1979.
The 23,600-sq m SAH is located within Changi Airfreight Centre (CAC) at Singapore Changi Airport and is outfitted with the industry’s first fully
automated express parcel sorting and processing system in South Asia, and is set to boost its operational capacity and efficiency at DHL Express.
“The hub allows us to meet customer needs more effectively in this age of an on-demand economy. With our fully automated system, the facility processes up to 24,000 shipments and documents per hour and can handle over 628 tonnes of cargo during the peak processing window – tripling our cargo handling capacity and processing shipments six times faster as compared to the manual operations in the previous hub,” said Frank-Uwe Ungerer, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DHL Express Singapore.
The SAH facility is 33 percent larger than the previous hub. Coupled with the enhanced operational efficiency, the new hub provides DHL with additional capacity. Besides allowing it to handle the growing shipment volumes, some export shipments can now be sent directly to the hub, bypassing the service center.
This streamlines its overall operations by reducing travel and shipment handling time. With the hub located within the CAC, a 24-hour Free Trade Zone managed by Changi Airport Group (CAG), it also improves the flow of goods between aircraft and the facility and allows consignments to be shipped or transshipped within an hour.
Ken Allen, CEO, DHL Express, said, “Over the years, we’ve invested significantly to bolster our network and services in Asia Pacific. Our investment in the DHL South Asia Hub is the most recent in a series of global network investments made, and is the largest infrastructural investment made in Singapore to date. The country’s strategic location not only boosts our operational network capabilities, but also supports growing trade in the region aided by a stronger global economy.”
Ken Lee, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific, said, “The DHL South Asia Hub is a significant milestone in further enhancing our multi-hub strategy in the region. With four hubs in Asia Pacific – Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Bangkok – this links over 70 DHL Express Gateways located throughout the region. Together, these facilities reinforce our customer commitment to provide the most efficient international express connectivity between key markets in the region. This will also allow us to add more network flights in and out of Singapore, such as the recent introduction of the Phnom Penh-Bangkok flight that adds to our existing Bangkok-Singapore service, as regional trade continues to grow.” fii-news.com
