Industry sector expertise

We have defined seven key strategic industry sectors for our Supply Chain business: Consumer, Retail, Technology, Life Science & Healthcare, Automotive, Energy and Airline Business Solutions. Each sector is managed by a dedicated sector head who is supported by a global team of experts that handle customer projects and develop sector-specific supply chain solutions.

Consumer and Retail are our highest revenue sectors and remain our priority growth areas. Here we manage customer supply chains from the source of supply to the retail shelves. Flexibility, reliability and cost efficiency are key value drivers for our services in these sectors, which range from international inbound to warehouse and transport management to packaging and other value-added services.

Customers in the Technology sector require fast, flexible and efficient supply chains, and the demand for integrated product and service parts logistics is increasing. We help our customers improve their cost structures, especially in these difficult economic times. Our product portfolio ranges from inbound-to-manufacturing services to warehousing and distribution to integrated packaging, returns management and technical service solutions.

We see good business opportunities in the Life Science & Healthcare sector because the supply chains and business processes in many parts of the world are immature and the pressure to increase efficiency in this industry sector whilst reducing costs is constantly on the rise. We developed, for example, a successful supply chain model for the British National Health Service (NHS) that aims to generate savings for the NHS of approximately €1 billion over 10 years. Our services include the procurement and distribution of medical supplies in the UK.

The global financial crisis hit the automotive industry harder than most. It is because of this that our Automotive sector team focuses primarily on adapting our services to the changed structural environment and on enhancing our unique services.

In the fast-growing Energy sector, we team up with other DHL units to provide integrated logistics solutions for both the build and run phases of major energy projects. For example, we operate one of the world’s largest fourth-party logistics services in Oman, transporting cargo and water and co-ordinating the movement of about 40 land-based oil rigs a month. We anticipate a strong increase in demand for energy as well as more regulation in terms of sustainability, both of which will most likely drive demand for our services.

A new sector we are focusing on is Airline Business Solutions, which we defined based on our activities in the aviation industry with customers such as airlines, airport operators and aircraft manufacturers. In 2009, we won a new contract with British Airways to provide catering and logistics for short-haul flights from Heathrow Airport, a contract that positions us at the innovative forefront of this sector.