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The express and logistics company DHL, with over 40 per cent market share, plans to expand its air capacity and invest in warehousing capacity.
The domestic logistics industry is in flux because of the regulatory environment, infrastructure challenges, investment regime and increase in demand. The total Express business market in the country is worth about $700-800 million with an estimated industry growth at 15-16 per cent.
“We aim to grow at least two per cent ahead of the market. To achieve this growth in India, our focus will be around key areas such as investments in air capacity, facilities, improving our service quality touch points, distribution with a focused reach and industry specific product innovations. One of the key focus areas of growth is SMEs,” said Mr R.S. Subramanian, Country Manager, DHL Express, India.
SME manufacturers account for 45 per cent of total manufacturing output and contribute over 40 per cent to the total merchandise exports by value.
The sector is growing in importance and SME clusters across the country, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, are playing a key role in the country's manufacturing growth as well as international trade. DHL will be hosting a road show with SMEs to understand the need and provide a platform for SMEs to consult market leaders on what can propel business growth, Mr Subramanian said. As part of its expansion plans, DHL will be expanding its air capacity in other cities. In October last year, DHL launched a Boeing 777F freighter service between Bangalore and Leipzig, in response to the growing air cargo demand into and out of South India.
Among other plans, DHL will construct its second free trade warehousing zone (FTWZ) in Mumbai and a third in Delhi, shortly.
In 2010, DHL Global Forwarding launched its first FTWZ in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai.
DHL invested $10 million in the zone, which offers clients warehousing palletised, non-palletised, cold storage, odd dimension and handling of special and sensitive cargo.
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