Concentration on core business and digitalization
At the end of 2019, we announced the “Strategy 2025: Delivering Excellence in a Digital World” to the public. With its focus on profitable core business in all divisions, the strategy has helped us over the past five years to provide our services and solutions reliably, even in unusual circumstances such as the coronavirus pandemic. Digitalization is another central plank of this strategy. This means investing in initiatives designed to improve the experiences our customers and employees have with the company and to increase operational efficiency. In our divisions, we have several initiatives and programs in place to upgrade the IT backbone, ensure our future agility and increase IT efficiency. In particular in the fields of automation and robotics, data science, API and the Internet of Things, we are continuously building up centralized know-how and scaling digital solutions for the divisions. Strategy 2025 has guided us safely through the volatile, fast-changing environment.
Megatrends influence further direction
We traditionally revise our Group strategy every five years. The five-year timeframe allows for stability in terms of our focus and planning while also providing sufficient flexibility to respond to changing developments. At the end of the third quarter of 2024, we published “Strategy 2030: Accelerate sustainable growth.” This builds on the foundation of the previous strategy and evolves it further, reflecting developments in our company and the environment in which we operate, as well as relevant megatrends.
The megatrends that have been substantially impacting the logistics industry for many years remain intact. However, they are changing pace and taking on new forms. In globalization, supply chain diversification is accelerating, forcing companies to diversify and become more resilient. E-commerce remains a major growth driver. It is growing faster globally and in its cross-border dimension and gaining ground in various geographic markets. With climate change accelerating, sustainable solutions may become a “license to play” for participants in the logistics market. In digitalization, automation and artificial intelligence offer opportunities to improve productivity. More digital interaction, driven partly by customer expectations, is increasing the necessity of cybersecurity measures.
A new trend is the changing labor market. In many major markets, demographic change is shrinking the available workforce and shifting people’s expectations of working models and management practices. Automation and technological development also mean different skills are required.
Strategy 2030 takes account of the changes in the relevant megatrends, aiming to minimize associated risks and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
We are building on a strong basis
However much the world around us may change, our company’s foundations are deeply embedded in our understanding of who we are and how we operate. This strategic framework has shaped our company and will also guide us in implementing Strategy 2030, as the following graphic illustrates.
STRATEGY 2030 FRAMEWORK
Our purpose of “Connecting people, improving lives” encapsulates the contribution we want to make to society. Since 2011, our purpose has fostered a culture of commitment among our employees, providing the impetus to make a lasting positive impact. Our values “respect and results” remain the binding standard. They provide a common direction, highlighting that we can only achieve lasting results with integrity and decency. Our customer promise “Excellence. Simply delivered” also remains unchanged: DHL Group is a quality provider. We endeavor to deliver first-class service quality that makes our customers’ lives easier. To achieve this, we are sharpening the focus on our First Choice concept. Customer experience as the key to sustainable growth will be more central than ever. The measures to achieve this will include training and practical support in the relevant areas.
Developing our bottom lines
Our bottom lines will continue to set the direction for how we manage our company. Our ambition to be the Employer of Choice, Provider of Choice, and Investment of Choice remains as relevant as ever. With Strategy 2030, we are adding a fourth bottom line to these original three: Green Logistics of Choice. This will integrate environmental sustainability into our Group strategy even more closely than before as sustainability increasingly becomes a differentiating feature in the logistics industry. We will continue to set specific targets for all the bottom lines, with tools to help us achieve them and KPIs to measure our progress.
Ready for more
With our Strategy 2030 “Accelerate sustainable growth,” we aim to adapt our service offerings and operations to the changing logistics landscape. The pandemic enabled us to achieve dynamic growth. To maintain this momentum in a less favorable market environment, we want to gain market share and improve our positioning in high-growth sectors and customer groups. To accelerate growth at Group level and better capitalize on the strengths of each division, we are launching joint initiatives to expand into new markets and industry sectors, reinforcing our focus on e-commerce and seizing growth opportunities linked to digitalization. We are aiming primarily for strong organic growth, supplemented by targeted mergers and acquisitions to expand our capabilities and regional offerings.
