DHL Express Germany has started operating its Smart Truck vehicles in the area aroundCologne/Bonn after successfully testing them in Berlin.
Since March 2009, the Smart Trucks have been deployed in the German capital as part of DHL’spilot project saving costs, time and reducing CO2 emissions thanks to dynamic route planningtechnology.
As planned, DHL managed to save 15% of the mileage and the duration of tours was also reduced by8%. Additional benefits include reduced fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. SmartTruck thus alsocontributes to environmental protection.
“The Smart Truck solution has been so successful in Berlin and we are convinced that we canachieve significant improvements in route planning and delivery of DHL Express in Cologne as well,”said Dr. Keith Ulrich, Vice President DHL Solutions & Innovations (DSI), the central businessarea for the development of innovative solutions at DHL.
Another key aspect is the service improvement for shippers and recipients. The dynamic routeplanning system calculates the optimal order in which deliveries are carried out according to aparticular traffic situation while maintaining quality performance. In addition, every vehiclemovement is tracked centrally via GPS in real time. DHL Express thus achieves higher accuracy interms of collection and delivery and can better respond to ad-hoc orders while indicating moreprecise pick-up times.
In the region around Bonn and the Westerwald, the DHL SmartTruck now operates 15 routesdelivering around 1,000 express shipments a day. The geographical focus of the SmartTruckdeployment is on the complex delivery area that includes the city of Bonn with numerous one-waystreets and stops as well as the vast, rural Westerwald area with few customers and a high distancebetween the stops.
“For our customers, absolute punctuality in terms of pick-up and delivery is essential, and aprecise route planning already provides an important basis,” said Ralph Wonder, executive vicepresident operations at DHL Express Germany. The DHL Express service can now also be furtherimproved in the Cologne/Bonn area, especially in terms of time-definite products. “We are confidentthat we will complete this project successfully to further expand the express routes with theSmartTrucks in the long run,” he concluded.
