DHL Express has launched a new “On Demand Delivery”, which it says has been developed in response to significant growth in premium cross-border e-commerce volumes.
With On Demand Delivery, shippers can choose to activate specific delivery options and have DHL Express notify their customers via email or SMS about a shipment’s progress. The customers can then select the delivery option that best suits their requirements via the On Demand Delivery website.
DHL said that the service is “specifically tailored” to the demands of international e-commerce deliveries, where the majority of shipments are addressed to residential addresses and customers crave flexibility and convenience.
“We have seen the share of e-commerce deliveries grow from about 10% in 2013 to more than 20% of the international volumes of DHL Express in 2016,” said John Pearson, CEO Europe and Global Head of Commercial, DHL Express Europe.
“This has primarily been driven by the strong demand for high-value and premium goods in the global marketplace, as well as the emergence of start-up retailers who are expanding opportunistically to new overseas markets and therefore require a worldwide door-to-door delivery service. In response to the dynamic growth and to ensure that our services continue to exceed customer expectations, we have launched On Demand Delivery.”
Charlie Dobbie, Executive Vice President, Network Operations, Aviation and IT, DHL Express, said: “On Demand Delivery isn’t just a new customer interface – it also represents an enhancement of our worldwide network, as we have tailored our last-mile operations to meet the specific demands of cross-border e-commerce deliveries.
“Thanks to On Demand Delivery, we can support the service offering of online shippers and improve the delivery experience for their customers, while improving our own efficiency, particularly for last-mile deliveries.”
The On Demand Delivery site can be accessed from smartphones, tablets and PCs, and offers receivers up to six delivery options. Shippers can incorporate their own branding into customer notifications.
Receivers can schedule a delivery, arrange delivery to a nearby DHL Service Point or their own alternate address, and request that a shipment is put on hold during a vacation.
DHL Express plans to roll out the On Demand Delivery to more than 100 countries through 2016 and 2017.