www.dhl.com

DHL was founded in San Francisco in 1969 by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn as a company that shipped documents between San Francisco and Honolulu (“DHL Company Portrait,” 2009; Boberg, 2002). Surprisingly, DHL did not immediately begin its expansion within the United States but instead expanded to the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia, followed by an expansion to Europe in 1974, the Middle East in 1976, Latin America in 1977, and Sub-Saharan Africa in 1978 (Boberg, 2002). It was not until 1983 that DHL began expanding in the United States, starting with a Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky hub (Boberg, 2002). The same year, DHL also started offering international service to Eastern Bloc Europe, followed in ensuing years by service to Vietnam, the People’s Republic of China, and then Kuwait during the Gulf War (Boberg, 2002). By 1988, DHL had a presence in 170 countries and boasted 16,000 employees (Quaye-Larbi & Jarlee, 2007, p. 11).

DHL’s network of expansions paid off. In December 1998, DHL was named Global Finance Magazine’s “World’s Most Global Company”

Overview

DHL Express’s global headquarters are located at the site of Deutsche Post headquarters in Bonn.

Headquarters for the Americas are located in Plantation, Florida, while its Asia-Pacific and EEMEA headquarters are located respectively in Singapore & Dubai The European HUB is now located in Leipzig.

Most of DHL Express’s business is incorporated as DHL International GmbH.

Major competitors include FedEx, UPS, TNT, and national post carriers such as United States Postal Service and Royal Mail. However, DHL has a minor partnership with the USPS, which allows DHL to deliver small packages to the recipient through the USPS network. It also is the sole provider for transferring USPS mail in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

DHL offers worldwide services, including deliveries to countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Myanmar. As it is German-owned, DHL is not affected by U.S. embargoes or sanctions and will ship to Cuba and North Korea.

As a foreign company, DHL is not allowed to make domestic flights between U.S. airports, so these freight flights are contracted out.

DHL may require some international recipients to pay any customs charges into DHL’s foreign bank account and proof of payment provided, before package delivery can be completed. Such cases may involve a physical journey to the DHL bank and/or the local DHL office, although the recipient can opt to pay for the charges of the delivery at their premises.

Environmental record

In a mail delivery company, the methods of transportation may have an effect on the environment. The amount of pollution emitted from vehicle transportation alone is a major responsibility for DHL. The revelation of adverse affects has prompted DHL to discuss and implement alternative options that are more conducive for the environment. Their efforts have been outreaching in road to achieving environmentally friendly goals. DHL plans to overcome its negative environmental impacts through its operations on the ground. This is to enhance overall efficient transportation and processes that have qualified them to reach environmental requirements set up by governments.

More intensive measures have been taken to physically control the amount of polluting by use of the alternative fuel examples. They have changed vehicles in certain delivery fleets in accordance to their use of newer fuel ideas. The fuel was switched to compressed natural gas which they hope to accomplish with 50% of their vans. Through their Environmental Management System (EMS), DHL “travels naturally”. The EMS is established to develop DHL’s environment objectives and future.

On 16 September 2005 DHL won a High Court injunction establishing an exclusion zone around each of its 288 buildings in the UK as well as the homes of its 18,000 UK employees. The firm has been the subject of a campaign of intimidation because of their business with Huntingdon Life Sciences. The judge banned protesters from coming within 50 yards (46 m) of any DHL premises or the homes of their employees as well as any organized demonstration within 100 yards (91 m) unless the police had been given four hours’ notice. The injunction also protects anyone doing business with DHL from intimidation.