DHL Supply Chain Unveils €350 Million Investment to Strengthen Supply Chain Resilience in Southeast Asia
(Image Source: DHL)
In a strategic move to bolster supply chain resiliency and support the evolving needs of their customers, DHL Supply Chain, a global leader in contract logistics solutions, has unveiled a substantial €350 million investment plan earmarked for Southeast Asia over the next five years. This substantial commitment is part of a series of strategic investments by DHL Supply Chain totaling an impressive €1.35 billion globally.
The investment in Southeast Asia encompasses expanding warehousing capacity, strengthening the workforce, and fostering sustainability initiatives in the region. This initiative aligns with DHL's omnisourcing strategies, designed to cater to the needs of their customers across various industries and geographies.
DHL Supply Chain's CEO, Oscar de Bok, emphasized the significant opportunity for businesses in Southeast Asia to enhance their supply chain resiliency, especially given the growing trend of diversifying supply chains. Southeast Asia, with its efficient work environment and advantageous trade agreements, is primed to reap the benefits of this strategic investment.
The investment plan includes increasing the current 1.6 million square meters of warehouse space in Southeast Asia by an additional 400,000 square meters, representing a 25 percent expansion. Key highlights of this investment include:
A 40,000 square meter DHL Maheswara Green Logistics facility in West Java, Indonesia.
An 18,000 square meter Penang Logistics Hub 5 (PLH5) in Malaysia.
Construction of a 50,000 square meter built-to-suit facility in the Philippines.
Acquisition of 60,000 square meters of space from a local business in Singapore.
Importantly, DHL Supply Chain is not just increasing capacity but also building logistics centers designed to meet future demand. Robotics and sustainability initiatives play a pivotal role in these centers, with state-of-the-art automated pallet storage and retrieval systems and goods-to-person robotics technology being integrated. This ensures that the centers can efficiently handle future demands, while also empowering employees to upskill themselves in these advanced implementations.
DHL Supply Chain is also dedicated to people development, with plans to create over 3,000 job opportunities across Southeast Asia by 2024. This investment in talent aligns with DHL Supply Chain's broader strategy to nurture skills that support new growth areas, such as automation, digital analytics, electric vehicle (EV) handling, reverse logistics, and solution design.
As part of DHL Group's commitment to achieving climate-neutral logistics by 2030 and supporting customers' Scope 3 emissions reduction targets, DHL Supply Chain aims to double its EV fleet in Southeast Asia over the next five years. Additionally, the company is committed to having carbon-neutral facilities for all new buildings, with 100 percent of DHL Supply Chain's facilities in Singapore and Malaysia already achieving carbon neutrality, highlighting the company's leadership in sustainability within the supply chain sector.
