hanginupsidown
hanginupsidown
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- Posts
- 19
DHL Express U.S. Update
From Hans Hickler, CEO DHL Express U.S.
Dear Colleagues,
I have made a commitment to keep the lines of communication open with you, and to that end, I wanted to brief you on some recent meetings in Bonn regarding our network restructure plans, and a few business results to-date.
First, our meeting last week with Frank Appel, John Allan and John Mullen went well. I’m sure many of you heard or read Frank’s comments of endorsement from his town hall webcast last week, but let me provide a few additional details and perspective.
We presented our proposal that would restructure our domestic network and maintain a ground, air and international presence in the U.S. and we received unanimous approval to take our proposal to the next phase. What this means is that over the next six to eight weeks, we need to submit for approval an implementation plan; we will need to detail every element of our business processes which will conclude in a modified network structure and compatible aviation strategy with a focus on rightsizing capacity. We will leverage our ground network to a much greater degree and will look at how we route ground line haul into our stations to deliver more resiliency in our network for our products.
While it is encouraging that we received approval to move to the next level, endorsement of our plan depends on many things, including validation of operating assumptions of the proposal and reconciliation of key assumptions and agreements with our aviation and operating partners. I will need your full support in helping to accomplish this. It is extremely important.
I also wanted you to know that January was a very positive start for us in terms of results – we made plan! We need to hold on to this momentum and continue to deliver as much as we possibly can while we work our restructure initiatives in tandem. We must also continue our daily execution of driving our business while waiting on the outcomes of our plan. I know it is tough out there. We have gone through some difficult times and implemented some hard initiatives over the last months, and we continue to be barraged with speculation in the press every day. Our competitors are looking to take advantage of this and we need to continue to negate their advances in this regard.
Even in the midst of all of this, I am encouraged when I see our sales team on the battlefield day after day selling our services and fighting for the cause. Our operations team has delivered results in productivity and all that through some of the toughest winter weather in a long time. Regaining our service levels as the weather improves is key. Our finance and sales teams have delivered on our DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) which is at its lowest point ever. They have executed well and our January numbers prove it!
Moreover, many of our employees continue to deliver the most responsive customer experience; I receive encouraging stories on an ongoing basis. Recently, one of our field operations managers in Milwaukee drove a payroll package to a customer through blizzard conditions, because it was critical that they receive it. It is this kind of dedication, focus and spirit that will take us to the next level in our company and I continue to see it every day.
In closing, let me say that we have been given a wonderful opportunity to prove to the world that we are able to create a truly sustainable Express business in the U.S., but I can not do this without your support. I know you agree with me that success can not come by simply “trying harder” in the U.S. -- it will require a structural change in our business and that is what we are working to execute. It will require support and willingness to change along with the operating processes and network.
I must also echo Frank Appel’s messages from last week – which applies to our business - we must leverage the capabilities we already have, we must collaborate and pull together like never before as an organization, and we must ask you for your trust, support and patience as we move forward on our mission.
Please join me over the next weeks and months as we prove that when a group of motivated people join together around a common cause - they can do anything!
Regards,
Hans
From Hans Hickler, CEO DHL Express U.S.
Dear Colleagues,
I have made a commitment to keep the lines of communication open with you, and to that end, I wanted to brief you on some recent meetings in Bonn regarding our network restructure plans, and a few business results to-date.
First, our meeting last week with Frank Appel, John Allan and John Mullen went well. I’m sure many of you heard or read Frank’s comments of endorsement from his town hall webcast last week, but let me provide a few additional details and perspective.
We presented our proposal that would restructure our domestic network and maintain a ground, air and international presence in the U.S. and we received unanimous approval to take our proposal to the next phase. What this means is that over the next six to eight weeks, we need to submit for approval an implementation plan; we will need to detail every element of our business processes which will conclude in a modified network structure and compatible aviation strategy with a focus on rightsizing capacity. We will leverage our ground network to a much greater degree and will look at how we route ground line haul into our stations to deliver more resiliency in our network for our products.
While it is encouraging that we received approval to move to the next level, endorsement of our plan depends on many things, including validation of operating assumptions of the proposal and reconciliation of key assumptions and agreements with our aviation and operating partners. I will need your full support in helping to accomplish this. It is extremely important.
I also wanted you to know that January was a very positive start for us in terms of results – we made plan! We need to hold on to this momentum and continue to deliver as much as we possibly can while we work our restructure initiatives in tandem. We must also continue our daily execution of driving our business while waiting on the outcomes of our plan. I know it is tough out there. We have gone through some difficult times and implemented some hard initiatives over the last months, and we continue to be barraged with speculation in the press every day. Our competitors are looking to take advantage of this and we need to continue to negate their advances in this regard.
Even in the midst of all of this, I am encouraged when I see our sales team on the battlefield day after day selling our services and fighting for the cause. Our operations team has delivered results in productivity and all that through some of the toughest winter weather in a long time. Regaining our service levels as the weather improves is key. Our finance and sales teams have delivered on our DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) which is at its lowest point ever. They have executed well and our January numbers prove it!
Moreover, many of our employees continue to deliver the most responsive customer experience; I receive encouraging stories on an ongoing basis. Recently, one of our field operations managers in Milwaukee drove a payroll package to a customer through blizzard conditions, because it was critical that they receive it. It is this kind of dedication, focus and spirit that will take us to the next level in our company and I continue to see it every day.
In closing, let me say that we have been given a wonderful opportunity to prove to the world that we are able to create a truly sustainable Express business in the U.S., but I can not do this without your support. I know you agree with me that success can not come by simply “trying harder” in the U.S. -- it will require a structural change in our business and that is what we are working to execute. It will require support and willingness to change along with the operating processes and network.
I must also echo Frank Appel’s messages from last week – which applies to our business - we must leverage the capabilities we already have, we must collaborate and pull together like never before as an organization, and we must ask you for your trust, support and patience as we move forward on our mission.
Please join me over the next weeks and months as we prove that when a group of motivated people join together around a common cause - they can do anything!
Regards,
Hans
