Around the world February 2001

DHL Worldwide Express is a world renowned international express air freight carrier. Ground Distribution Manager at Dublin Airport, Stephen Rowe gave John Loughran an overview of the company’s operations in Ireland.

DHL Worldwide Express was established in Ireland in 1985 and has depots at Dublin Airport, Western Industrial Estate in Tallaght, Shannon, Cork, Waterford and Athlone. Business is certainly booming for the international express air freight carrier. Stephen enthused “we have three inbound cargo flights and two outbound cargo flights per day which keeps us very busy. It is practically a 24 hour operation”.

Stephen, who has been with the company for 12 years is responsible for ground distribution at the 30,000 square feet facility at Dublin Airport. He explained “the first flight from Brussels via East Midlands in the U.K. arrives here at 2.00am in the morning. The onward freight (for Cork and Shannon) remains on the plane while the rest is sorted here for distribution”. A further four flights are dealt with in the same way.

Igloos
To speed up the distribution process, “we have our own team of people who offload the aircraft on the ramp. The freight comes in “igloos” and is then transferred to the warehouse for sorting and delivery. Unlike our competitors we are self handling at Dublin Airport,” Stephen revealed.

Prestigious Award
Information technology plays an integral part in the smooth running of the company as do the highly trained staff. “We have a dedicated team working in information technology. The DHL I.T. staff previously won the “computer professionals of the year award”. It certainly was a pretty prestigious award”, he enthused.

When the freight is sorted it is then ready for delivery to the customer. The company operate 26 routes out of Dublin Airport, a further 11 routes from Western Industrial Estate in Tallaght and operate a trunking service to Waterford and Athlone. The depots at Waterford, Athlone, Cork and Shannon have their own distributions fleets. Three vans operating out of Donegal meet a trunking service in Monaghan every day to service the north west region. All outward bound freight is brought to Dublin airport to arrive before 7.00pm and then onwards to East Midlands or Brussels.

Innovative Step
In 1994 the company took the innovative step of introducing a pedestrian courier system to service the Dublin city centre. Using a bus which doubles as a mobile office they are now servicing 13 routes through this environmentally friendly measure. The couriers deliver and collect with nothing more than a satchel over their shoulder. By adopting this unique strategy the company has been able to beat the worst of Dublin gridlock and offer an enhanced service to their customers. In the process the company has taken three courier vans out of the city centre.

In another innovative move and with one eye on the future the company has established a 17,000 square facility in Western Industrial Estate in Tallaght. At present 11 routes in the Tallaght / Kildare region are serviced via this facility. However, on completion of the southbound ring of the M50 it is hoped to move some of the southside couriers currently based at the airport there. This would improve their service to the southside of the city.

Next Day Delivery Service
He explained the DHL Worldwide Express operate a next day delivery service throughout Europe and they operate to exacting standards. They endeavour to deliver all freight before the close of business. “The customer demands this high level of service. It is a prerequisite. There are a lot of factors outside our control such as the weather causing lates fights and so on and this affects the figure”.

The company received ISO 9002 accreditation in 1993 and this has proved to be a huge selling point for the company. DHl Worldwide Express were the first air express freight operator in Ireland to achieve this standard. “You are trading with people who demand quality. Customers can afford to pick and choose. It separates you from most of the competition. It is something we promote”, Stephen noted.

He explained that DHL Worldwide Express are market leaders in Ireland. “We operate out of Ireland to more countries than anybody else. Our main strength is reliability. Price will always be a factor but the main factor is that the customer can rely on you to do the job”. He added that DHL Worldwide Express has offices in more than 228 countries throughout the world.

Distribution Hubs
Stephen explained that the two main distribution hubs for Europe are East Midlands in the U.K. and Brussels in Belgium. All freight arriving in Ireland does so through these centres. Likewise all freight leaving Ireland is channelled through them.
The company operate 26 vehicles out of Dublin Airport and Stephen explained that he was in the fortunate position not to be affected by the driver shortage. He explained that the company operate a 4 day shift system which was very attractive to potential drivers.

The company, with a staff of 526 in Ireland are certainly in a position to reap the benefits of the Celtic Tiger. The flight path is most certainly upwards.