ECU BUS5001 Supply Chain Management Report: DHL Group Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Deutsche Post DHL Group's supply chain management. It begins with an introduction to the company, its global presence, and key customers. The report then breaks down the supply chain structure into six departments: receiving, reweighting, packing, classification, shipping, and inventory. It explores DHL's innovative solutions for enhancing efficiency, such as the use of reusable containers and collaboration with packaging experts. The report delves into DHL's sourcing materials and services, emphasizing the importance of treating suppliers as partners and the use of customer management service centers and information systems. It examines DHL's distribution system, including its fleet of vehicles, warehouse services, and multi-user warehouses, and suggests improvements to distribution channels. Furthermore, the report discusses demand management and inventory systems, highlighting DHL's efforts to adapt to the fast-paced technology market. It concludes by emphasizing the significance of an effective supply chain for an organization's success and the role of modern technologies in enhancing DHL's supply chain efficiency, and it references several academic sources.

SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT
NAME
INSTITUTION

INTRODUCTION
• Deutsche post DHL group is a global logistics and mail organization. The company focuses on
being the first choice for investors, customers, as well as employees in its core business globally.
Data definition language (DDL)
• The group’s customers include abbot, EVONIK, Schneider Electric, Cisco, Andritz, Dupont,
Schmitz Cargobull, ZF, and Deutsche post DHL group
• The organizations have more than 1,400 warehouses and deliver their services in more than 220
countries globally.

SUPPLY CHAIN STRUCTURE
• Dhl’s supply chain’s structure is made up of six departments:
• Department A is receiving department
• Department B is the reweight department
• Department C is the packing department
• Department D is the classification department
• Department E is the shipping department
• Department E is the inventory or store department

CONT.
• To boost its supply chain efficiency, DHL adopts innovative solution such as pooling of reusable
containers thus helping cut on costs and improves performance.
• To achieve this, DHL enhances collaboration between the supply chain and the packaging experts
to come up with optimal packaging formats for specific products.

Sourcing Materials and Services
• A supply chain that is effective usually comprises of an efficient sourcing and procurement
process
• To make sure that it is effective in obtaining goods and services, DHL group makes sure that the
suppliers are treated as business partners and considering their capacity, the organization
makes sure that their payment is remitted in time (Chen, Cheng & Huang, 2013).
• DHL has developed a customer management service center that aims at monitoring and
establishing all the negative concerns that are raised by the company’s collaborating partners
within its supply chain.
• The development of information system provides the departments involved with material
sourcing to improve on the process of decision making and reduce the cycle time.

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
• DHL owns its fleet of motor vans and airplanes which it uses to move products.
• Based on the final destination that products have to reach, including the kind of packaging paid
by the customer, the company uses individual modes of transport or even a combination of
roadway, waterway, rail freight, or airway (Genovese, Et Al., 2017).
• The company’s warehouse service comprises of inbound logistics, distribution, along with
aftermarket services in a manner that enhances the management of inventories, reducing
operating costs, including enhancing the cycle times.
• The company’s warehouse facilities provides its clients warehousing that is integrated into the
entire supply chain, including meeting demanding service levels (Govindan, Et Al., 2014).

Cont.
• DHL provides A network of multi-user warehouses thus facilitating the manufacturer to hold stock at the
local level and at the same time avoiding expenses and dedicated storage solutions (Harms, Hansen &
Schaltegger, 2013).
• At the moment, DHL provides shared-user experiences to the topmost retailers and manufacturers who
deal with consumer products, chemicals, medical supplies, industrial equipment, as well as technology.
• DHL can improve its distribution channels by increasing the distribution channel efficiency. To achieve
this, DHL should maximize the channel intermediaries’ benefits (Mena, Humphries & Choi, 2013).
• According to Forbes, the company is also opening a central Asia hub located At Hong Kong international
airport, an air express cargo facility that will be used to ship premium goods in and out of the Asia-
pacific region.

DEMAND MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY
SYSTEM
• DHL recognizes the need to keep with the fast-paced technology marketplace. As such, the company
has designed its systems to ensure that the customers’ inventory is in motion.
• Using interchangeable components, DHL is able to reduce obsolescence, making it possible to assemble
the finished goods as demand fluctuates rather than watching the inventory become stale, or waiting for
the imported components to arrive (Muduli, et al., 2013).
• Aimed at making up ground against its competitors such as Fedex and UPs during the peak season, DHL
is expanding its operations, including hiring additional temporary employees across its four business
units in north America, thus adding the number of flights as well as piloting robotic and augmented
reality technologies (Seuring, 2013).
• DHL can improve on its inventory system by implementing inventory tracking technology in its supply
chain

Conclusion
• The supply chain is among the most essential and integral aspect of an organization’s’ strategy and
function. When carried out accurately, the supply chain does not only lower the costs associated with
production but it also enhances efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• An organization’s competitive advantage is dependent on the design and development effectiveness
and the efficiency of its supply chain.
• To enhance its supply chain efficiency, DHL have incorporated modern technologies.
• Such technologies comprise of radio frequency identification and network management system that
have got the capability of revolutionizing the entire procurement process hence eliminating
inefficiencies that affect the supply chain management.
• The company’s supply chain structure is composed of six departments; the receiving department,
reweight department, packaging department, classification department, shipping department, and
the inventory or store department.
• Hence, supply chain is an important aspect of any organization and if it is not carefully managed, it

References
•Chen, J. C., Cheng, C. H., & Huang, P. B. (2013). Supply chain management with lean production and RFID application:
A case study. Expert systems with applications, 40(9), 3389-3397.
•Genovese, a., Acquaye, A. A., Figueroa, A., & Koh, S. L. (2017). Sustainable supply chain management and the
transition towards a circular economy: evidence and some applications. Omega, 66, 344-357.
•Govindan, k., Kaliyan, M., Kannan, D., & Haq, A. N. (2014). Barriers analysis for green supply chain management
implementation in indian industries using analytic hierarchy process. International journal of production
economics, 147, 555-568.
•Harms, d., Hansen, E. G., & Schaltegger, S. (2013). Strategies in sustainable supply chain management: an empirical
investigation of large german companies. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 20(4),
205-218.
•Mena, c., Humphries, A., & Choi, T. Y. (2013). Toward a theory of multi‐tier supply chain management. Journal of
supply chain management, 49(2), 58-77.
•Muduli, k., Govindan, K., Barve, A., Kannan, D., & Geng, Y. (2013). Role of behavioural factors in green supply chain
management implementation in indian mining industries. Resources, conservation and recycling, 76, 50-60.
•Seuring, s. (2013). A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management. Decision support
systems, 54(4), 1513-1520.