DHL GROUP HAS
600,000 EMPLOYEES ACROSS 220 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
and utilise the right data and analytical insights ”.
He adds : “ Digitalisation doesn ’ t work without IT , and nor does it work if the IT is not adopted by operations . We have 2,000 warehouses and transportation services around the globe , and my job over the past couple of years has been to ensure they all work strongly handin-hand , and in the same way .”
Voss says the needs of DHL Supply Chain customers vary not just by sector , but also size .
For smaller customers , he says the company is able to leverage its infrastructure to help them grow faster and get into new markets more quickly .
He explains : “ If they operate in one part of a single country and want to expand into another country , it ’ s always a burden to have to get to know the market , build relationships , set up warehouses and stock them with inventory .
“ By fast-tracking this process and setting up these facilities we can take out the risk – it ’ s all ready-made , digital , reliable and proven , because we do this 400 to 500 times a year for our customers .”
For multinational customers , Voss says digitalisation is especially important “ because it gives them the resilience and the supply chain orchestration they ’ re interested in ”. He adds : “ They don ’ t just look at one warehouse or a single process ; end-toend supply chain management is where we can have a material impact on their business .”
On the subject of digitalisation Voss says he is “ proud ” that the company has around 5,500 assisted picking robots across its sites .
“ It ’ s almost no longer an innovation for us ,” he says , “ because wherever we do piece-picking we look to introduce robotic solutions .”
He adds that the company also has more than 8,000 digital-solution deployments , including wearable digital solutions .
“ Now we ’ re examining all the other elements of the supply chain to see where robotics can help us . There is a lot more that we can do , especially when it comes to ensuring our different solutions work well hand-in-hand , and support the people who are working on those sites .”
ESG is another core area of DHL Supply Chain ’ s DNA , says Voss .
“ This has been a priority of ours for the past 15 years , when we first launched our GoGreen program ,” he explains . “ Long before everyone started talking about the impact of global warming , our commitment to the planet was a
14 January 2024