DP-DHL’s Frank Appel: Embracing innovation

Embracing innovation

As revenues continue to climb in the eCommerce and Parcel sectors (rising 11.3 percent, y-o-y, in Q3), Appel said he is keenly aware of the necessity to keep pace with the latest innovations in online retail. Like the other integrators, such as FedEx and UPS, DP-DHL officially welcomes Amazon as an “important partner” and “customer.” But DP-DHL is also making sure it is not left behind in the e-commerce wars.

“We are doing cross-border e-commerce in many countries,” Appel said. “In addition, we also have fulfillment centers in India, in Europe, and in the U.S. So we are well-positioned to capture more potential cross-border business, which is probably unlimited.” As more customers demand ever-larger, bulkier, high-value items to be shipped via DHL Express, the company has beefed up its processing facility in Leipzig this year with heavy-duty conveyor equipment to handle larger pallets.

As part of DP-DHL Group’s “Strategy 2020” initiative, which includes the goal to derive 85 percent of the company’s annual revenue from its core logistics services, Appel said he does not necessarily see DP-DHL as a “technology company.” Instead, he describes it as “more of an integrator for logistics,” which seeks out innovative technology, but does not necessarily own it.

One example, he said, is DHL Supply Chain’s arrangement with Google and Vuzix to test “smart glasses” (at right) for use in automated warehouses to give pick-and-pack crews a digital heads-up display for easy location of pallets and other goods.

“I tell my folks, don’t just put all your money on one technology,” Appel said. “We have a central team that is scouting for technology, but we try to make sure the innovation is very closely aligned to the business processes.”

DP-DHL has developed a drone system – the Parcelcopter 3.0 – which has undergone several pilot tests. “But the next step for that is really finding out how governments want to regulate it.” Another innovation involves delivery of DHL parcels to the trunks of automobiles in lieu of a permanent address – a courier would receive a code upon delivery, allowing the customer’s car trunk to be opened electronically and used as a temporary storage receptacle for the parcel.

One foray into “driverless truck” technology now being tested eschews the current trend of robotic big rigs in favor of super-slow delivery vans. “We’re testing self-driving vehicles that follow behind couriers – like a dog, but without a leash – at about 3 to 5 kilometers per hour, as the courier delivers each parcel on foot from house to house,” Appel said.