Campaign pays off for DHL in us operations

"We have seen a positive trend of outbound shipments to the US since early in the year especially in electronics and textiles, which grew year-on-year by 24.5 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively," Chananyarak Phetcharat, managing director of DHL Express Thailand and Indochina, said last week.

The campaign is aimed at not only boosting exports to the US but also helping local exporters by giving them a well-managed supply chain so they can compete with rivals, she said.

The world's leading express carrier would help local exporters by laying out their logistics and supply-chain plan, including warehousing and inventory storage, with its best-in-class express and logistics solutions to shipping goods and products for them.

Exporters will then be able to manage their logistics costs more efficiently with faster deliveries.

Under the "Amazing But True" campaign, DHL Express is now offering competitive rates to customers, mainly exporters, on international express door-to-door services ranging from light documents to shipments weighing up to 10,000 kilograms by the end of this year.

"We can reduce service rates more. What we do is help our customers manage lower logistics costs while we can provide services at the same rates but the quality standard remains," she said.

The campaign was developed from the "Amazing But True - Reward" programme launched from April to June. The programme received more than 6,000 registered participations from existing and new customers during the period.

Thanks to the programme, DHL Thailand witnessed growth in both the number of shipments and the weight of exports to the US against a sharp drop in total exports to the US year-on-year.

Bank of Thailand data show two-way trade with the US in the first quarter experiencing a 30-per-cent decline. Exports slipped 27 per cent while imports slumped 36 per cent.

DHL also marked a drop in shipments of exports to the US in the first quarter but less than the industry.

The company has launched the programme to close the gap in its growth amidst the global economic downturn.

DHL Express can provide door-to-door domestic and global delivery for documents and non-documents within one to two business days.

Now it can also send international parcels to the US within three business days, using chartered flights on six freighter aircraft belonging to Polar Air Cargo, in which it holds a 49-per-cent interest. They can carry a total of 116 tonnes.

DHL has more than 10,000 service points in outlets, retailers and postal services across the US.

The DHL Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky facility handles up to 255,000 shipments per night.

DHL Express Bangkok's centre at Suvarnabhumi Airport costing Bt825 million has the capacity of handling 23,000 pieces per hour or six million shipments per year, while DHL Express Central Asia Hub in Hong Kong can handle 75,000 shipments per hour.

After DHL Express closed down its express business in the US market last year, it has refocused from the domestic to international express business, she added.