DHL to test e-commerce model in India

DHL is a division of the German Logistic company Deutsche Post DHL providing international express mail services. DHL is the world market leader in sea and airmail. It was founded in 1969 to deliver documents between Honolulu and San Francisco. DHL is serving in countries such as Iraq, Iran, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and Soviet Union. Deutsche Post DHL has chosen India to pilot its e-commerce business model for Asia-Pacific region and will invest more than €100 million in country over the next two years to create infrastructure.

Globally, e-retail is rapidly evolving. Over the next five years, the global e-commerce sector is expected to grow by more than 10% per annum. Asian region is expected to surpass North America and Europe as the biggest online market in the world. It is a huge opportunity for DHL to become the world’s largest provider of e-commerce logistics. Over 20 online retailers including Flipkart, Snapdeal, Urban Ladder, Fashionandyou, and LimeRoad have venture capital funds in the past four months. More are in talks to raise funds in the next six months.

Flipkart rising revenues, its acquisition of Myntra, the rise in shopping on smartphones and the change of government centre aided in attracting investors. The hype around the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba has revived hope that if China can come up with large e-commerce businesses, so can India. Online retail is estimated to grow to $22 Billion in five years. DHL is present in 220 countries with 315,000 employees. DHL holds 75% stake in India listed small parcel transportation firm Blue Dart Express.

DHL will start 15 e-fulfillment centres to facilitate e-commerce business in metros including New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai. There are also plans to start such centres in Tier-II and Tier-III cities including Coimbatore and Jaipur. DHL is specialized in providing integrated logistics solutions. DHL and Blue dart are moving away from vanilla transportation to specialized and Integrated Service.