DHL plans 3 dedicated hubs

DHL Worldwide (I) Pvt Ltd is looking at India as a growth market after China, Australia and Japan.

The logistics major is gearing up to establish three other dedicated terminals in Bangalore Chennai and Mumbai airports, after the recent opening of its terminal at the Delhi international airport in October this year.

Ramesh Natarajan, head-marketing, said, "For most of our customers in the global customers solution group, we handle their entire shipment activity, irrespective of any sector or location. These are our top 250 customers to whom we are the one-stop shop for logistics solutions. We plan to increase our presence in India as it is a very important market and we are aware of its potential. Prior to increasing our presence, we intend to get the fundamentals right and are focusing on setting up the right infrastructure."

Natarajan declined to comment on the total amount that has been earmarked for India. He added that these dedicated terminals will erase the "so-called political and customs borders".

According to him, "We will have people from customs who will be present round-the- clock at our terminals. As a result of these innovations, we will be able to reduce our clearance time from about 12 hours to 2 hours."

Investments are also being made in ground infrastructure, including expansion of fleet as well as opening of 17 new service centres in two years.

The company is planning to replicate its front-ends across all major towns and cities. DHL will also spend a portion of investments on brand building.

These announcements to increase its presence in India follows its recent expansion plan in China. DHL has just announced that its China joint venture, DHL Sinotrans, will invest an additional $200 million.

DHL-Sinotrans will use the funds to expand and enhance the four existing gateways in China, add 14 new branches, carry out 73 projects, buy 1,200 new vehicles and recruit more staff, creating up to 2,100 new positions for DHL in China.

From 2003 to 2004, DHL-Sinotrans plans to upgrade 3 of the 4 existing gateways, add 14 new branches, and carry out 34 projects and recruit 900 staff.