DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, the freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group, celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. Back in 1815, the history of yellow-branded logistics started with Louis Danzas establishing “Danzas”, which would become a worldwide renowned shipping company over the course of the following 20 decades.
Today, logistic solutions are being further developed by DHL Global Forwarding, Freight one of the four operating divisions of Deutsche Post DHL Group, which earned revenues in excess of $56 billion in 2014. “The innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that kept the company at the top of the industry over the last two centuries is part of our DNA,” says Frank Appel, CEO, Deutsche Post DHL Group. “We constantly work on ways to redefine logistics and create new approaches to improve supply chains, in order to drive global trade, connect people and foster prosperity across the world.”
Danzas’ history began with goods being transported by horse and wagon via the important trade lane between Basel and Mulhouse. Later, after the invention of railway and steamship, new transportation routes were developed. While shipping by land and sea was continuously growing, Danzas took advantage of the new opportunities and offered overseas deliveries to New York.
In addition to leveraging different means of transportation and establishing branches across the world to increase their footprint, DHL also kept pace with progress in other areas. Whether it is bar code scanning, the just-in-time delivery concept or IT solutions, DHL has always been driving the further development of the industry. Nowadays, DHL Global Forwarding, Freight manage the logistics behind global events such as Cirque do Soleil, ensuring everything is in place for the shows to run smoothly in each part of the world. They transport wind mills and space-spectrometers, carefully move the sensitive musical instruments of Gewandhausorchester on their tours, and help to ship racing cars over 19 race locations across 5 continents in time for the next Formula One race. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment of our staff. My thanks goes to our colleagues who give their utmost every day to strengthen our position as a market leader and move the entire company forward,” concludes Appel.
“We are very excited to celebrate such a milestone anniversary for DHL Global Forwarding,” says Renata Mihich, managing director, DHL Global Forwarding Canada. “Marking our 200th anniversary clearly demonstrates the company’s commitment to exceptional service to our customers.”
On the occasion of this jubilee Amadou Diallo, CEO DHL Freight, published for the Deutsche Post DHL Group the retroperspective “200 years of logistics – Danzas and DHL shape an industry”. The book guides the reader on more than 100 pages through the years, from the company’s origin in Alsace on its path to being the leading logistics provider of the world.