Logistics firm DHL's US division invests $300 mn in e-comm business

17 Sep '21

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

DHL eCommerce Solutions, the US division of DHL Group, has announced it is investing over $300 million in the US in the next five years in order to expand its footprint. Apart from adding 70 per cent more square footage across its network, the company will add automation in all of its US distribution centre facilities and upgrade its IT operating system platform.

“As a result of ongoing international e-commerce growth, DHL eCommerce Solutions is also investing in dedicated export gateways for international shipments in Carteret, New Jersey; Franklin Park, Illinois and Whittier, California,” the company said.

“As our network grows and we become more efficient through automation, our customers will benefit by getting their goods quicker to their eager consumers,” Lee Spratt, CEO at DHL eCommerce Solutions, Americas, said in a press release. “We are investing long-term because we believe consumers will continue to buy more online, and we will see additional online shops popping up, so we want to be prepared to meet this future demand.”

The company’s Franklin Park of 69,000 sq ft international export gateway was opened on July 17, 2021, and includes a TSA screening area. The company will continue processing domestic parcel shipments from its second Illinois location in Melrose Park.

Moreover, DHL eCommerce Solutions’ Whittier distribution centre opened at the end of 2020 and expanded in August 2021. The Whittier location extended by 100,000 sq ft directly next door to its current location, where international parcels and packages are being processed.

The international export gateway in Carteret will open in September 2021, the company noted. The new permanent 50,000 sq ft building will include a TSA cargo screening area. DHL eCommerce Solutions opened its first fully automated distribution centre in Avenel, New Jersey in November 2018 and will continue to process domestic shipments from this location.

DHL eCommerce Solutions currently has 19 distribution centres and three corporate offices in the United States with approximately 4,200 employees. The division is focused 100 per cent on servicing B2C online merchants, shipping lightweight packages and parcels domestically and internationally.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JL)

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