The group announced in Singapore on Tuesday that it had opened a service centre in Taiwan in May, a gateway service in Tokyo in June, a service centre in Hong Kong in September and a gateway in same month in Indonesia. Also, gateways were opened in New Zealand and in Australia in August, and the latest South Asia hub in Singapore this week.
“The ‘open sky’ implementation in the region, the emergence of e-commerce business, and overall strong [economic growth] in Asia and the Pacific are major factors driving rapid growth of logistics and freighter business in the region,” said Ken Allen, chief executive officer of DHL Express.
The company’s daily shipments from 2012 to 2015 grew by 30 per cent in South Asia, 25 per cent in Southeast Asia, and 50 per cent in Oceania. The group’s revenue in the Asia-Pacific region represents 36 per cent of its global income and the shared 44 per cent in the region.
He said the group had opened its South Asia Hub in Singapore to serve the rapidly growing logistics business in the region. The 85-million-euro (Bt3.2 billion) 24-hour express facility is in a special economic zone at Changi Airfreight Centre (CAC).
The 23,600-square-metre facility is outfitted with the industry’s first fully automated express parcel sorting and processing system in southern Asia, and is set to boost its operational capacity and efficiency by offering speedier deliveries for customers in the region.
“Over the years, we’ve invested significantly to bolster our network and services in Asia-Pacific,” Allen said.
“Our investment in the DHL South Asia hub is the most recent in a series of global network investments made, and is the largest infrastructure investment made in Singapore to date. The country’s strategic location not only boosts our operational network capabilities, but also supports growing trade in the region aided by a stronger global economy.”
Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express Asia-Pacific, said the new hub was a significant milestone in the group’s multi-hub strategy in the region. With four hubs in the Asia-Pacific region, namely Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok, this links more than 70 DHL Express Gateways located throughout the region.
“This will also allow us to add more network flights in and out of Singapore, such as the recent introduction of the Phnom Penh-Bangkok flight that adds to our existing Bangkok-Singapore service, as regional trade continues to grow,” Lee said.
The facility processes up to 24,000 shipments and documents per hour and can handle more than 628 tonnes of cargo during the peak processing window. This processing speed is six times as fast as the manual operations in the previous facility, while the handling capacity is three times as great.
The increased efficiency is achieved from the improved sorting speed and accuracy of the automated system, multidimensional tunnel scanners that accelerate barcode reading, and automated X-ray machines that scan packages up to three times as fast as previous systems.
In addition, the facility is partially powered by solar energy, which supplies about 20 per cent of the hub’s total energy consumption.
These automation systems also enhance productivity, enabling employees to focus on higher-value tasks such as risk mitigation to prevent potential shipment delays, issues management, and additional security inspection, the company says.