DHL Supply Chain

The overview

DHL is a division of the international post and logistics company Deutsche Post-DHL. It employs around 470,000 staff in 220 countries and had revenues of €51 billion in 2010.

The company comprises four main divisions. These are:

• Express: this division transports and delivers goods and documents, often with a guarantee of delivery time.
• Global forwarding, freight: the ‘global forwarding’ part of the division covers air and sea freight, while ‘freight’ refers to land travel (goods transported by road and rail).
• Supply chain: offers contracted logistics products and services.
• Global mail: delivers mail internationally.

Locations

The company has an international reach, delivering to just about any location. DHL famously works in countries and with governments that many businesses don’t; the express business even has an office in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.

European hubs include East Midlands airport in the UK and Leipzig/Halle airport in Germany.

‘DHL even has an office in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.’

Logistics: from A to B

Logistics and supply chain planning are key areas of expertise for a company like DHL. The ability to transport goods or products efficiently from one location to another is necessary, whether it be in the delivery of packages in the express business, or in the consultancy work it does as part of the supply chain division.

Logistics companies must make use of engineering and business expertise to plan out supply chain to work as efficiently as possible. For example, in the moving of goods from one place to another, a logistics company may have to assess whether speed is more important than cost. This will affect the mode of transport used, and will depend on factors such as the type of goods being transported and the expectations of the client.

Clients and partnerships

The company has a variety of clients and partners in a range of industries. Its clients include:

• Jaguar Land Rover: DHL provides manufacturing staff for the Halewood plant.
• Morrisons: the supermarket recently awarded the company the contract for Morrisons’ stock distribution for the south west of England.
• NHS: DHL operates the NHS Supply Chain, providing a range of products and goods, including medical supplies and food.

A logistics company may have to assess whether speed is more important than cost.

The company also works with a number of different organisations in partnership and collaboration agreements:

• British Chambers of Commerce (BCC): DHL publishes a quarterly report with the BCC, assessing the British export industry.
• National Offender Management Service: the company runs workshops in prisons, providing training for prisoners in skills such as storage and distribution.
• The UN: DHL works with the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, supplying disaster response teams. Pools of workers based in Singapore, Florida and Dubai attend natural disasters and work with local DHL staff in the immediate aftermath, until bigger international aid efforts can be initiated.
• University Hospitals Birmingham: DHL provided advice to University Hospitals Birmingham to help it plan the recent move of Queen Elizabeth Hospital from an old building to a new one, under a ‘learning arrangement’ between the two organisations.

Awards and rankings

DHL has been commended with the following awards:

• The British Safety Council’s international safety awards in 2011.
• Winner in the ‘recycling performance of the year’ category at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management’s environmental excellence awards in 2010.
• Winner in the ‘procurement initiative of the year’ category at the Health Service Journal awards in 2010.
• Winner in the ‘innovation’ category at the Motor Transport awards in 2011.
• DHL is ranked in the top 50 employers for women 2011 by The Times.

Salary and benefits

Salaries for the three graduate schemes are as follows:

• HR: £24,000
• Finance: £25,000
• Operations: £24,000

DHL does not disclose its benefits package to candidates until its assessment centres.