DHL Fashion and Apparel Center of Excellence launched

26 Nov '09

4 min read

DHL launched the “DHL Fashion and Apparel Center of Excellence”, in Pakistan to facilitate trade within the region, Europe and North America. The first-of-its-kind center in Pakistan will comprise of a core team of industry experts and be responsible for developing bespoke products and solutions and provide consultancy services to customers.

With in-depth understanding of the Fashion and Apparel logistics requirements in Europe and North America, the center will develop customized solutions at origin and enable customers to better manage the product flow further upstream in their supply chain. Significant resources will also be dedicated to introducing a range of IT tools to cater to the demands of the different segments of the fashion and apparel industry – tools to enhance visibility, reporting and exception management.

Amadou Diallo, DHL Global Forwarding CEO for South Asia Pacific, said, “South Asia is a key sourcing, manufacturing and distribution base for the global fashion industry. The logistics sector is worth over US$3.9billion per annum, and it forms a critical component in the global supply chains of the world's best known brands. We are very optimistic about Pakistan growth potential. Being strategically located Pakistan is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the increasing trade flows between South Asia and Europe.”

The center will be DHL's third Fashion and Apparel Center for Excellence in South Asia, following the establishment of a similar center in India & Sri Lanka. The center oversees best practice implementation of processes that enable prompt and proactive management of supply chain issues that fashion and apparel customers and manufacturers have to deal with. In essence, the “DHL Fashion and Apparel Center of Excellence” will be the extended logistics arm of customers in Europe and North America – managing the flow of their merchandise and delivering them to the consumers at the right quantity, right place, right time and right cost.

Thomas Tieber, CEO, South Asia, DHL Global Forwarding said, “Despite the keen competition, we believe Pakistan will further expand its share of the global market. Pakistan has a competitive advantage as it is the fifth largest cotton producing country in the world. The establishment of “DHL Fashion and Apparel Center of Excellence” will help customers meet the dynamic needs of the highly competitive fashion industry and will offer a slew of best-in-class services.”

“Pakistan is fast emerging on the world textile map as an important exporter of quality Cotton Textiles, Apparel and other goods,” said Imran Shaikh, Managing Director, Pakistan, DHL Global Forwarding. “The industry is spending millions of dollars on increasing production capacities and upgrading quality. With improved machinery, quality control, skilled manpower and homegrown cotton, Pakistani textiles and apparel are being exported to buyers around the world.”

Pakistan fashion apparel has come into great demand in countries such as Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States of America (US). The share of textile industry in the Pakistan economy along with its contribution to exports, employment, foreign exchange earnings, investments and value added makes its single largest manufacturing sector of the country. It contributes around 8.5 percent to GDP, employs 38 percent of total manufacturing labor force and contributes between 60-70 percent to total merchandise export. Indeed, with exports reaching around US$10 billion, Pakistan is one of the largest textile exporters in the world with the US and European Union being the largest trading partner followed by China, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

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