New Delhi, Aug. 28 -- DHL Express, part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, has been a pioneer in international logistics since 1969. Operating in more than 220 countries and territories, it moves time-critical shipments across borders within 48 to 72 hours. India has emerged as one of its most important markets, serving sectors ranging from e-commerce and manufacturing to pharmaceuticals and energy.
As global trade has grown more complex, DHL Express India has leaned on technology to keep supply chains moving. "In logistics, shipments cannot move smoothly without data moving ahead of them," said Prasad Dhumal, Vice President - IT, DHL Express India. "Any delay in data flow can disrupt a shipment at customs, with an airline, or at the destination."
Building a Digital Backbone
Technology has been central to DHL's operations since its early years, from handheld scanners for couriers to customs clearance systems. Over time, DHL Express India has expanded this foundation with cloud platforms, Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and advanced analytics. Its global data centres in Malaysia and Prague host thousands of servers that power more than 100 applications used worldwide.
This focus has helped the company deliver measurable gains in India. In the past five to seven years, delivery speed has improved by 15%, costs have reduced by 20%, operational efficiency has increased by 25%, and customer satisfaction has grown by 15%.
Customer Demand as the Driver
The most significant push has come from customer expectations. "Our customers are adopting AI, robotics, and analytics to better serve their end customers. As their supplier, we need to ensure their success by keeping pace with these changes," said Dhumal.
This has led to innovations such as warehouse robots that speed up sorting and software bots that automate transactions. These tools ensure shipments are picked up, cleared, and delivered on time, reducing errors and improving reliability.
Combining Multiple Technologies
DHL Express India does not rely on a single platform. AI is used for route optimisation, demand forecasting, and sentiment analysis in customer service. Robotics automates sorting in hubs like Delhi, where systems process 2,000 shipments per hour. Cloud adoption has brought scalability, with 60-70% of applications now running on cloud platforms.
A Digital Council, bringing together IT and business leaders, guides the process. Employees are also encouraged to build their own tools using platforms such as Power BI and Power Automate. More than 100 user-built solutions are already in use, reflecting a culture of shared ownership in digitalisation.
Challenges on the Road to Digitalisation
Like most large-scale technology journeys, DHL Express India faced hurdles. Some early initiatives failed to scale. "Around 10-15 years ago, we experimented with robotic sorting, but the market was not ready. Those efforts did not succeed then," Dhumal recalls.
Customer reluctance was another barrier. Digital transactions were slow to take off because of fraud concerns, and adoption hovered at just 40-50% a decade ago. With improved security and proof of concept trials, usage steadily grew. "Today, adoption is at 99%," said Dhumal.
Another challenge was data fragmentation. Independent systems in customer service, operations, and other functions created silos. DHL tackled this by building APIs, consolidating data into a global Data Lake and Data Mart, and enabling cross-functional insights through AI and analytics.
Balancing Automation with Human Touch
While automation is deployed heavily in back-end operations, customer interactions remain human-driven. "We use technology like robotics and AI to improve productivity behind the scenes, while all customer-facing contact is handled by people," Dhumal explained. Calls to DHL's customer care line are still answered by a person within 10 seconds.
Looking Ahead: Digital by Default
The next phase of DHL Express India's journey is "digital by default." Over the next three to five years, every service, onboarding, shipment preparation, billing, post-billing, and operations, will be digitally enabled by default. Customers will no longer need to request digital options; they will simply be built into the experience.
At the same time, DHL is focusing on sectors like life sciences, new energy, and e-commerce, developing digital solutions that improve efficiency and productivity. "These two areas, digital by default and sector-specific digital solutions, are our main focus going forward," said Dhumal.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.