Who owns dhl

The basic problem was that we had lost focus. Domestic shipping involves high volumes with thin margins — a challenging environment for any company, let alone one lacking expertise in it. Behind the domestic expansion was the belief that high volumes in domestic shipping would reduce our unit costs for international as well. Due in part to this belief, there was continued pressure to make domestic work, even as the losses began to grow.

As the years progressed, the outlook did not improve. It was clear that we had stretched ourselves too thin with the expansion in domestic markets. A sense of resignation had set in within the management team and the general workforce.

We had to retreat from unprofitable activities and shift into areas where we could better differentiate our company. International express delivery offers a higher revenue per shipment and requires a more customized skill and level of service. But dropping domestic shipping would be a major strategic shift. I had to convince other members of senior management that our new direction was worth the enormous price tag of market withdrawals and restructuring.

That was my goal at the fateful meeting in Cincinnati, where the still heart projected on the screen conveyed that it was now or never.

Paraphrasing management guru Jim Collins, I put a question to everyone in the room: Were they going to be on the bus or not? I offered my colleagues, the leaders of our division, the chance to respond.

One by one, they stood and pledged their dedication to the turnaround. It was a moving experience, but more important, it was a visible sign to everyone present that we were in this together.

We would need support from other stakeholders as well. First, we had to attract new customers with our international express service, while not losing the accounts we had.

To do so, we worked with other countries in our network to identify U. Convincing them of the value of sending their international shipments through a different provider was a huge challenge. Second, our employees were about to experience a huge cultural and operational adjustment. People who had spent their careers shipping between U. They would need training for their new roles, and we started planning for how to provide it.

In addition — and this was the most difficult decision by far — we had to part ways with 10, of our own people. With our complete withdrawal from U.

We tried to be as transparent as possible about the decision-making process, basing it on role, expertise, and fit with our strategy. DHL branched into the international market in the early s when it began flying routes to the Far East. In addition, while competitor Federal Express was developing its domestic overnight delivery network, DHL focused on further developing its international service. In , the three original investors recruited Po Chung, a Hong Kong entrepreneur, to help them build a global network.

While each company acted as the exclusive agent for the other, by DHL International had grown to be five times larger than its domestic counterpart.

DHL International's rapid expansion continued throughout the s, adding destinations in Europe in , the Middle East in , Latin America in , and Africa in The s would bring the firm increased growth as well as greater competition. During this time DHL continued to expand, by turns cooperating with competitors and warring with them.

The company also sought new outlets for service, working out an arrangement with Hilton International Co. It was a win-win situation as Hilton was able to offer its patrons a high-class delivery service and DHL was guaranteed new outlets for its business.

Although DHL had a strong international presence, business was occasionally made difficult because it was necessary for the company to negotiate with foreign governments. In , for example, the French post office sought to reassert a monopoly dating back to the 15th century, and DHL--possessing 80 percent of the French market--was ordered to halt operations outside Paris.

What could have been a potential crisis for the company was, however, favorably resolved. DHL continued to expand its horizons, though, adding Eastern bloc nations in Despite counting 97 percent of the nation's largest companies among its customers, DHL still held only a minuscule share of the overall domestic market. To bolster its share of the American market, DHL installed two major hubs at airports in Cincinnati and Salt Lake City, and added nine mini-hubs in major cities across the country.

The company also bought three Boeing s and seven Learjets, as well as new sorting equipment. In addition, in DHL Worldwide started using helicopters in New York and Houston to expedite documents during rush hour and the following year initiated helicopter service in Los Angeles as well. Once the hubs had been installed, DHL Airways began offering point-to-point overnight service between American cities.

Still, for the year ending in , DHL reached only two or three percent of the domestic market--yet had more than 5, employees with offices in over 90 countries.

As in its earliest days, banks accounted for a large portion of its business; other common shipments consisted of computer tapes, spare parts, and shipping papers. That year, DHL estimated it carried 80 percent of the bank material traveling by courier from Europe to the U. In , as former courier-driver Joseph Waechter became president of DHL Airways, DHL provided service to more than countries, and its stations were handling 15 million international and domestic shipments annually.

But just as DHL was looking to cut into the business of its domestic competitors, those same companies were aiming to siphon off portions of DHL's international business. As competition became more intense, DHL increasingly began to cooperate with businesses in similar areas. The company teamed up with Western Union to deliver documents generated on Western Union's EasyLink electronic mails, allowing people to send documents via courier without having to hand-deliver material to the courier's office.

Lynch remained with the company just two years and was replaced by Patrick Foley, the former chairman of Hyatt Hotels. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.

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