What began life as Exel Logistics in November 2000 is now DHL Logistics (Ghana) and has been since May 2008. A proud arm of the overseeing DHL Group, Ghana focuses on air and ocean freight and most recently, warehousing and road freight. Specifically, DHL Ghana is also involved in sub-regional and road freight as well as other cross business unit initiatives.
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL, providing international express mail services and as DHL Ghana is part of the world’s largest logistics company, they have an enviable resource in terms of experience and support that has helped them grow to their current size.
DHL, was originally founded in 1969 to deliver documents between San Francisco and Honolulu, the company expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s. Here the company was primarily interested in offshore and inter-continental deliveries, but the success of FedEx prompted their own intra-US expansion which began in 1983. DHL expanded to countries that could not be served by any other delivery service, including Cuba, the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc, Iraq, Iran, China, Vietnam and North Korea.
Development is in it’s very blood and in 1998, Deutsche Post began to acquire shares in DHL and finally reached majority ownership in 2001, completing the purchase in 2002. Deutsche Post then effectively absorbed DHL into its Express division, while expanding the use of the DHL brand to other Deutsche Post sectors, business units and subsidiaries. Today, DHL Express shares its DHL brand with other Deutsche Post business units, such as DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain. The Ghana branch is an example of the franchises’ ability to shape itself to fit any freight needs and to adapt to whatever challenges are faced.
One of these challenges would be the downturn of the industry in Ghana. due to macroeconomic factors and local content laws, as Paul Opoku general manager of DHL Ghana says, “We are affected by the rising cost of doing business as a result of ever rising electricity tariffs, fuel prices and other overheads.”
Setting the Standard as Africa’s Top Employer
In hard times, businesses need to rely on the strength and support of their employees and it is time of need when the loyalty of those employees is demonstrated. Revealingly, businesses that look after their staff in times of plenty are usually shown loyalty in times of need. DHL Ghana currently employs 96 staff and was recently awarded the Top Employers Africa 2016 and Top Employers Global 2016 certification. Our comprehensive independent research revealed that DHL Ghana Ltd provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimise its employment practices and to develop its employees.
Certification is only awarded to the best employers around the world: companies that demonstrate the highest standards of employee offerings. The Top Employers Institute’s research assesses all critical areas of the Human Resources environment, certifying organisations that can demonstrate they are continuously optimising employee conditions and leading the way in the development of their people.
“Employee development is very important,” says Paul, “The company gives full focus to every employee’s growth. Each year, our unit managers plan with each staff member for the direction they want their personal and professional lives to take by creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP). It has a huge impact on the overall productivity of the company.”
To maintain the reputation DHL has developed over the decades for its outstanding customer support, DHL Ghana pays a lot of attention to their customers. Providing logistics services that are strong both internationally and on the domestic market.
Meeting Customer’s Needs with Dedicated Service
“We meet our customer’s needs by providing timely, secure and efficient services, powered by a continuous improvement mind-set,” Paul explains, adding that this includes dedicated customer service, effective complaints handling systems and real time status notification via DHLi
“Aftersales is so important,” he says, “We have created a function for taking care of after sales marketing to ensure we meet and exceed customer expectations first time, every time. These include effective follow up and continuous improvement through operational and service excellence such as value added services and regular updates to customers.”
For the remainder of 2016 and leading into the new year, there are a number of new developments at DHL Ghana that Paul told us about.
“The LCL Service, consolidation in DHL facilities oversees, bonded warehousing,” he says, “This will offer a better range of solutions for customers to choose from, at the same time, we continue to focus on making our customers successful with our current services.”
A great deal of staff training and capacity building that has gone into bringing DHL to where it is today and the team anticipates even more investment into the growth, in line with the African proverb that “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
“This is our philosophy and our guiding principle, one of respect and results,” he says.
