 "Cashing in on e-commerce boom: DHL to invest Rs 800 cr in India")
Leading global mail and logistics group Deutsche Post DHL, which makes money by shipping parcels around the world,plans to invest over 100 million euros( about Rs 800 crore) into its Indian arm over the next two years to createinfrastructure and to set up fulfillment centres. The aim is to become the go-to for services related to e-commerce and DHL’s subsidiary Blue Dart will play a key role in riding the e-commerce wave.
Deutsche Post has also chosen India to pilot developmentof its e-commerce business model for Asia Pacific, DeutschePost DHL chief executive Frank Appel said as he believes India has grown at the fastest rate for the company.
“This region is expected to soon surpass North America andEurope as the biggest online market in the world. As the leading logistics company with an unsurpassed globalfootprint, there is a huge opportunity for us to become theworld’s leading provider of e-commerce logistics and we have aready solutions infrastructure in India to pilot oursolutions,” Appel said.
According to the company’s global e-tailing report,e-commerce share of over all trade volume of emerging marketswill be up to 30 per cent (40 per cent in developedcountries), by 2025.
Through its domestic subsidiary Blue Dart Express, theGerman logistics giant is investing in infrastructure and thedevelopment of fulfillment centre, multiple deliveryand payment options as part of its aim to become a leadingplayer of e-commerce services, the company said.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Appel further said that fulfilment centres are wherethe company willstore and provide opportunity for middleand small sized companies to connect to their customers. “We also have the laregst warehousing capacity which we will leverage. Also we find opportunities to expand our Blue Dart network to support this foray and see cross-border movements as a big opportunity,” he added.
The company will set up 15 fulfillment centre acrosslocations, including Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai as well as intier-2 cities as part of this plan, he said.Blue Dart Express managing director Anil Khanna saide-commerce portals like Flipkart, Amazon among othershave evinced interest in the proposed fulfillment centres.
“We are working closely with leading brands, marketplace sellers and retailers to help them establish asustainable e-commerce footprint. That’s why we are investingin the right infrastructure, including IT, to build the rightmodel for consumers and sellers,” he said.
With inputs from PTI
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