How is the world’s largest logistics provider adapting to changes in the parcels market?


2016 has seen the Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL) re-enter the B2C segments in two of Europe’s most important e-commerce markets. How do its activities compare to those of its competitors across the world?

Ti’s soon to be published Global Express and Small Parcels 2016 report includes comprehensive profiles of some 19 major players in the parcels sector. These profiles include an overview of the company’s structure and operations, insight into the company’s Express and Parcels focussed strategy as well as analysis of the company’s most recent available financial data.

As an example, please find below an abridged profile of one of DPDHL’s divisions, Post – eCommerce – Parcel.

DPDHL is the world’s largest logistics provider, employing 488,824 people and operating in over 200 countries. Its Deutsche Post and DHL brands cover a wide range of services for managing and transporting mail, goods and information.

The company posted revenues of €59,230m for the financial year ending December 31, 2015.

By business segment, DPDHL has four divisions: Post – eCommerce – Parcel (26.7% of total revenues in 2015), Express (22.6%), Global Forwarding, Freight (24.6%) and Supply Chain (26.1%).

The Post – eCommerce – Parcel (PeP) division splits its operations into two business units ‘Post’ and ‘eCommerce – Parcel’.

The Post business configures the domestic mail services from its former Mail division and splits out the domestic and international parcel services from DHL Paket and its ‘Global Mail’ offering into its other business unit, eCommerce – Parcel. Mail is subdivided into the following; ‘Mail communication’, ‘Dialog Marketing’ and ‘e-Post’. eCommerce-Parcel is divided into two segments, with ‘eCommerce’ handling domestic parcel activities in Asia Pacific, the Americas and Middle East/ Africa, and ‘Parcel’ dealing with domestic parcels services in Europe.

DPDHL has had some difficulties with its domestic parcels businesses in the past, but new positioning of the company’s domestic operations under the ‘Parcel’ segment of the PeP division shows that the company is attempting to regroup by focusing its efforts on its core European markets, as well as India, where it leads the market.

To this end, the company plans to establish a presence in the UK through the full acquisition of UK Mail. Announcing the deal in late September 2016, the head of DPDHL’s Post – eCommerce – Parcel division, Jürgen Gerdes, stated that the move would enable the Parcel business to achieve “a strong foothold in Europe’s three largest e-commerce markets, the UK, Germany and France, which account for over 60% of online retail in the continent.” UK Mail already possesses a network of over 50 sites in the UK, including an automated national hub near Coventry which can process up to 20,000 parcels per hour.

DHL Parcel has managed to build up a formidable B2C capability throughout Europe in a relatively short space of time. Though substantial efforts will be required to achieve a successful cross-border integration of these operations, DPDHL has backed up its ambitions with considerable resources.

If you would like to access more insight and analysis of the express and parcels activities of DPDHL, you may benefit from downloading Global Express and Small Parcels 2016. Included within the report, as well as the profiles significant express business, Ti has provided insight into the changing express market structure and examines recent innovations that are impacting it. In addition, the report contains Ti’s bespoke market size and forecast data and analysis on a global, regional and country level split further into international and domestic markets. To pre-order today, with a special 20% discount, click here.

Source: Transport Intelligence, October 20, 2016

Author: Staff Writer

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