DHL Express is predicting a massive 50% volume surge during the forthcoming peak season as the corona pandemic drives strong e-commerce growth and has increased capacity with new facilities, more flights and 10,000 additional workers to handle the volumes.
The international express market leader said today that it expects “unprecedented” online shopping and shipping volumes during the upcoming peak season 2020. “Having already experienced around 35% e-commerce volume growth in 2020 in the network, the upcoming peak season will further accelerate this trend and result in higher shipment quantities of above 50% compared to last year’s peak season”, it forecast.
CEO John Pearson declared: “At DHL Express it is our mission to enable global trade and support our customers during the most important days for their business. We make sure that goods are delivered as fast as possible – and Christmas gifts are being delivered to households all over the globe in time.”
Covid-19 effects speed up e-commerce
The coronavirus pandemic has led to more and more merchants selling online while consumers are shifting their shopping activities to the online world like never before. This will particularly apply to the upcoming popular mega shopping days such as ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ as well as to the whole Christmas shopping season, DHL Express underlined.
“Covid-19 and its impacts such as curfews or distancing led to massive changes in the retail sector all over the world,” explained Michiel Greeven, EVP Global Sales. “As a consequence, the buying behaviour of consumers, but also B2B buyers, changed significantly and shifted more and more into the online world.
“From an e-commerce perspective some might even say that COVID-19 brought 2030 to 2020, with online shopping and the necessary shipping as the new normal. And this not only counts for B2C retailers but also in the light of B2B E-commerce. Particularly in current days of uncertainty many giant stores will be going online with their sales promotion. This will have its effect on peak season as well and shoppers will be mainly going online to get the best deals instead of going to physical stores. With the result of fast shipping needs as well.”
Investing in air and ground capacity expansion
Facing such increasing volumes along with the parallel spread of Covid-19 around the globe, the challenges for logistics providers are “tremendous”, according to the company. In addition to the consistent observation of the situation and flexible management of precaution measures to keep employees safe, the unprecedented peak of shipments poses an additional challenge for logistics.
In response, DHL Express has expanded its operational capacity substantially this year. The biggest investment has been in the air in order to provide much-needed capacity for e-commerce and medical goods at a time when most passenger aircraft remain grounded. DHL Express has put four new B777 freighters in service so far this year, with two more due to follow next month. These six additional aircraft will enable the company to carry out more than 3,000 additional intercontinental flights per year.
On the ground, the express company has expanded operational capacity in various markets this year, including with the opening of its €109 million new hub at Milan-Malpensa airport in September which increased its local capacity by 12 times, and a €20 million new facility at Malmö in Sweden. In addition, to be prepared for peak season, DHL Express has hired more than 10,000 new employees around the world.
“Since many years, we have seen a high demand from online merchants for our express services and therefore strong growing volumes in our global Express network,” commented Travis Cobb, EVP Global Network Operations and Aviation. “We annually invest approximately one billion euros to meet our customers’ requirements and ship their goods with the fastest possible transit times – all around the world.”
He emphasised: “Thanks to the insane customer centricity of our people and our state-of-the-art operations, our growth is coming as a result of excellent quality and our network is prepared for the upcoming peak. Even in times of a second wave of the global pandemic, we will ensure that our customer’s businesses continue, and that global trade is secure.”
Protecting employees
DHL Express also highlighted its extensive safety measures for its over 100,000 employees around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from providing face masks and disinfection to social distancing control mechanisms and enabling working from home for those departments where it is suitable. The company has also developed safe delivery procedures for receivers, without the need for customers to sign for their shipments.
CEO Pearson emphasised: “We are proud of the strong commitment of our employees and couriers who are out there to fulfil our mission of connecting people and improving their lives. In times when the coronavirus hits both economy and private lives, their efforts are outstanding.”
