DHL eCommerce to invest Euro 70 mn to augment e-commerce

Logistics firm Deutsche Post DHL Group today said its division DHL eCommerce is investing 70 million Euros to strengthen its operations to meet the fast- growing demand for quality e-commerce logistics services in India.
Through its subsidiary Blue Dart Express, this investment will go into the expansion of its air hubs in Delhi and Mumbai which are part of its network of 13 air hubs in India, the company said in a statement.
"DHL eCommerce, a division of the world's leading logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL Group, is investing EUR70 million to strengthen its operations to meet the fast-growing demand for quality e-commerce logistics services in India," it said.

The latest investment supports the growth of B2C e- commerce in India, and is part of the company's broader plan to aggressively expand across Asia Pacific.
"Catering to the increasing shipment volumes by B2C e-commerce consumers in India, the air hubs, measuring 5,761 sqm and 4,274 sqm in Delhi and Mumbai respectively, will be equipped with automation to handle a daily volume of over 500 tonnes," the statement said.
The automation in both air hubs enables Blue Dart to process higher volumes of inbound and outbound shipments in a shorter span of time for distribution to consumers across India by air, it said.

With the Mumbai air hub located at an airside facility, it will further accelerate the speed of domestic cross-border air shipments, streamlining customs processes and boosting on-time performance, it added.

"The e-commerce industry is an extremely exciting one that offers tremendous opportunities for businesses and consumers alike. The global B2C cross border e-commerce market will multiply in size to USD 1 trillion in 2020 ," said Juergen Gerdes, CEO, Post - eCommerce - Parcel, Deutsche Post DHL Group.
The company said the growth is driven by increasing consumption from expanding middle classes, greater mobile and internet penetration and improving logistics and infrastructure as consumers increasingly shop online and expect shorter delivery times.

"The US and Asia Pacific are the two largest B2C e- commerce markets in the world, and the opening of these new facilities will be another milestone in the expansion of DHL eCommerce logistics network. India is a really important market for us and is one of the fastest-growing, with B2C e-commerce expected to grow from EUR 9.6 billion in 2016 to between EUR 30-40 billion in 2020 ," said Charles Brewer, CEO, DHL eCommerce.
"Recognising the tremendous potential in Asia Pacific, we
are making aggressive steps to ensure that our customers are well supported to tap into the growing e-commerce market," said Malcolm Monteiro, CEO, Asia Pacific, DHL eCommerce.

The company said with retail e-commerce in India expected to grow at a CAGR of 30 to 35 percent by 2020, the air hubs will bolster our operations to better serve the growing e-commerce market in the country.
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Blue Dart Express MD Anil Khanna said that there has been a strong impact of the currency demonetisation on his business, which is concentrated on the last mile delivery and counts on the fledgling e-commerce sector as a big revenue opportunity.
Khanna said there has been a 20 percent dip in the revenues as 70 per cent of the e-tailing shipments are on cash on delivery, and the impact on the bottom-line will be much larger as a "COD surcharge" is also sacrificed.

Even though his company is facing troubles, he welcomed the move saying it will be beneficial to the economy and his industry over a longer term, saying there were inherent problems with cash handling like security and the threat of counterfeiting.
"We are totally undeterred by this and believe this will be a short term pain. We will continue doing what is right and look at the long term market potential," Khanna told