DHL today announced plans to invest €50 million in technical services in Asia Pacific with anetwork of service centres to grow its share of the fast-growing €3 billion sector.
DHL’s Supply Chain division has opened its first Asia Technical Services Competency Center inMalaysia and unveiled plans to double its footprint in India and China and to expand in Singaporeand Japan. The €50 million investment over the next five years is designed to grow itsTechnical Services offering, part of its overall Service Logistics solution, and increase its shareof the €3 billion outsourced Service Logistics market in Asia Pacific.
In parallel, Choo Yew Kwong, with over 20 years in the IT industry, has been named VicePresident, Technical Services, DHL Supply Chain Asia Pacific, to head the new business. Yew Kwongjoins from Hewlett Packard and Compaq Computer Asia where his roles included managing the IT giant’s end-to-end parts supply chain model covering procurement, logistics, inventory management andoutsourced repair operations.
“By our estimates, the market is growing at about 25% per annum. Of that, Service Logisticsservices, especially Technical Services and repairs, accounts for up to 60% of the overall spend,”said Paul Graham, CEO, DHL Supply Chain, Asia Pacific. “Our focus on this sector will be anindustry game-changer. Harnessing the size and scale of our extensive footprint spanning 42countries and territories in Asia Pacific, we have a unique opportunity to bridge the market gapbetween companies offering technical repairs and logistics providers.”
Spanning the breadth of its Express, Global Forwarding and Supply Chain locations, DHL said ithas the ability to custom-build a comprehensive end-to-end Service Logistics solution, includingTechnical Services. DHL’s Service Logistics solution builds on a network of over 16 distributioncenters and over 490 field stocking locations in Asia Pacific. In addition, DHL customers also haveaccess to the company’s existing footprint spanning 1,500 locations across the region.
A showcase of DHL’s Technical Services capabilities is the company’s first fully integratedtechnical services center in Asia. Located on its 200,000 sq ft Penang Distribution Hub in BayanLepas, Penang, Malaysia, the facility is designed to offer integrated technical services solutions,from warehousing and distribution of spare parts, to reverse logistics including screening,testing, repair and asset recovery. The facility also houses an Authorized Service Provider (ASP)management team that supports services such as warranty verification and spare parts purchasesacross Asia Pacific. On behalf of a leading computer manufacturer, DHL operates a technical callcenter where customers are assisted with advanced levels of repairs from laptops to servers.
For geographically expansive markets like China and India, the focus is on growing DHL’s ServiceLogistics footprint. “DHL operates from 400 sites in China and 470 locations in India. Of these,15% of our sites in China and 40% of our facilities in India support Service Logistics. We expectto double the number and increase our Service Logistics footprint in China and India within thenext 3-5 years. We are currently the market leader with the widest network in Tier 1 and Tier 2markets, and we intend to further penetrate into Tier 3 to Tier 5 cities,” Graham explained.
In Japan, DHL operates from a network of 270 sites of which approximately 20% cater to ServiceLogistics. The company is looking to raise the bar to deliver extremely high quality technicalservices. ”High end technology goods still bear the mark “Made in Japan”. To offer TechnicalServices in the backyard of the world’s biggest high tech brands, pioneering innovations the worldis just starting to embrace, we need to up our game and further enhance the quality and expertiseof our services,” said Kerry Mok, Senior Vice President, Service Logistics and Technology, DHLSupply Chain, Asia Pacific.
In Singapore, DHL currently operates a 24×7 call center for Europe and the Asia Pacific regionfor Service Logistics. The company has engaged senior industry professionals and plans to launch anAsia Pacific Center of Excellence for Solutions Development based in Singapore. The Centercomprises of a core team of industry experts who will focus on designing solutions and provideconsultancy services for customers.
