Major DHL investment in sub-Saharan Africa

Frank Appel

During his stay in South Africa and Nigeria, Appel met employees and customers, and visited several logistics facilities. Affirming the group's focus on emerging markets, Appel said: "Today, emerging market revenues contribute over 20% to Deutsche Post DHL Group's revenues, but by 2020 the group expects this figure to climb to 30%. Therefore, we will continue to concentrate on organic growth by investing into promising present and future markets. DHL already has a strong footprint in Africa, but we see some excellent opportunities to increase our presence in the sub-Saharan region further. South Africa's exceptional geographic location as the gateway to Africa, and Nigeria's growing gross domestic product and diversifying markets are only two of the many important indicators for this."

DHL continues to invest significantly in sub-Saharan Africa. DHL Express, which operates across 51 countries and territories in the region, has a planned investment in excess of 17 million euros in 2015. Major projects underway include upgrades to facilities and shipment handling systems throughout the region.

In October 2014, DHL already announced investments totalling 30.5 million euros in South Africa, by both its Supply Chain (14.5 million euros investment) and Global Forwarding divisions (16 million euros investment). These commitments signal the group's long-term growth plans for the region as they bring state-of-the-art infrastructure, IT systems and world-class services to support businesses operating in Africa.

A world-class facility

For DHL Global Forwarding, the provider of air, ocean and road freight services, the 16 million euros facility, located at the Plumbago Business Park boasts 12,000m² of warehouse space and 5500m² of office space. A TAPA 'A' certified warehouse, the new premises, is a world-class facility in South Africa, strengthening the country's growth capabilities as the hub for distribution into the region.

With a 14.5 million euros investment, DHL Supply Chain's 25,000m² multi-user warehouse facility caters to its technology client portfolio, as well as some key fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) clients.

Appel noted: "Staying close to the market and being responsive to customer needs are DHL's fundamental principles. We have established world-class facilities in sub-Saharan Africa to support our global network, and I am delighted to witness at first-hand the sustained efforts of our employees to deliver best-in-class services. We are committed to sub-Saharan Africa and will continue to build on our successful four-decade legacy in the region."