Deutsche Post CEO Frank Appel today unveiled his Strategy 2015 aimed at maintaining the group’sstrong position on the German mail market and increasing profitability, and also presented the
company’s new name “Deutsche Post DHL”.The new name “Deutsche Post DHL” underscores the two-pillar strategy based on mail andlogistics focusing on quality, customer service and a strong mail business representing clearstructures, increased cooperation and mobility within the Group and integrated solutions forcustomers, the company CEO said at a press conference in Bonn.
In the mid term, all Corporate Divisions should generate annual organic growth of 1 to 2percentage points above the market average, Appel stressed. In the short term, the Group aims tomaintain a solid cash position and reduce costs further. A key component of this effort will be theIndEx program announced in November as one of the elements of the Roadmap to Value capital marketsprogramme. IndEx is aimed at generating savings of at least €1 billion in non-operating costs bythe end of 2010.”We have to improve if we want to maintain long-term relationships with ouremployees, customers and shareholders. And we can improve tremendously if we systematically addressour weaknesses,” Appel said in describing his vision for the Group. “Our goal is to remain Die Postfür Deutschland as well as The logistics company for the world.”
Essentially, the new Group strategy is based on a two-tier structure with MAIL and DHL aswell as tighter links between the three DHL divisions Global Forwarding / Freight, Express andSupply Chain. It is facilitated through the creation of an additional DHL Executive Committee.Other steps include simplifying of planning processes, a stronger focus on the shifting customerneeds and the reinforcement of Frank Appel’s open leadership culture that stresses performance andrespectful interaction among employees.
Based on the idea of “Respect and Results”, the company designed a new guiding principle isto increase the level of employee involvement and commitment. To promote communication among theGroup’s divisions, future executives will need cross-divisional experience. A new incentive systemis designed to underscore performance differences and reward extraordinary contributions. Appelemphasized strongly that Deutsche Post DHL should aim to become the first choice for every customerwhen it comes to choosing a logistics provider by 2009. This is the goal of the company’ssuccessful programme “First Choice” introduced in 2007 to increase customer loyalty. Other currentstrategic initiatives include the capital markets program Roadmap to Value aimed at generating cashand increasing profitability will also be vigorously pursued further.
In a step to improve customer orientation, specific target sectors such as life sciences,technology or automotive will be promoted under a dedicated sector management. The driver ofinnovative logistics solutions will be a new organisational unit called “DHL Solutions &Innovation.” directly reporting to the CEO.
In response to decreasing volume and increasing digitalisation, the MAIL division willrefocus its core business primarily concentrating on the integration of physical and digitalsolutions in dialog marketing. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the company’s unique position asan integrated service provider for secure and reliable communications.
John Allan, the DPWN CFO, told Deutsche Post DHL News in an interview: “While we haveincluded our financial aspirations for the coming years in terms of growth and investor returns,Strategy 2015 is not so much about specific financial targets but about laying the foundation forspecific programs such as IndEx. It’s also about setting up the necessary structural and proceduralframework to deliver top performance. Accordingly, every Corporate Division has defined its ownstrategy to meet the overall objective.”
“If we successfully improve our processes and structure to unlock potential and act as ‘OneDHL’, each of our DHL businesses should be able to reach its profitability benchmark. Moreover, themeasures should help us generate organic growth of 1 to 2 percent above the market at all CorporateDivisions,“ he added.
At the end of the press conference, Appel concluded: “Strategy 2015 is the right tool to getthe engines of this company burning and tap the potential that is locked inside. At the end of theday, it’s about connecting our businesses in such a way that we simplify the lives of ourcustomers.”
