DHL invests in distribution centre, automation and looks to fill 900 jobs

DHL Supply Chain has announced the beginning of construction of its 'London Thames Gateway’, which will be operational in spring 2023.

DHL eCommerce Solutions has announced plans to invest approximately $30m in 2020 to expand and modernise its operation in the United States. The investment includes purchasing its first fully-owned move-in-ready distribution centre in the United States and temporary distribution centre space in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and Avenel, New Jersey. Due to anticipated 2020 holiday peak volume increases (November – December 2020), automation equipment investments are also planned. At the end of the third quarter and throughout the fourth quarter, the company is planning to hire 900 new distribution centre workers to support its growth.

“It is an extremely proud moment for us to move to our first fully-owned U.S. building located in Atlanta,” said DHL eCommerce Solutions Americas CEO Lee Spratt. “Our expansion plans have been in the works for some time, but with this year’s consistent surge in e-commerce volumes, we understood the urgency of finalizing our plans to have a permanent home in the Atlanta area and additional space in strategic metropolitan U.S. locations.”

The 150,000 sq ft building located 20 miles from the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport will have access to some of the main thoroughfares for air and ground parcel transportation. The distribution centre will process domestic lightweight parcels. In addition to the new building, the initial investment will include a sorting machine that can process 20,000-30,000 parcels per hour.

“At DHL eCommerce Solutions, we expect to see 30-50% more e-commerce volumes this holiday peak season compared to last season, so we have made the necessary investments in our footprint, machinery, and people to be ready to serve our customers and make this season a success,” said Spratt.

DHL eCommerce Solutions currently has 19 distribution centres and three corporate offices in the United States and Canada with approximately 3,000 employees. The company said that the division is focused on servicing B2C online merchants, shipping lightweight packets and parcels domestically and internationally.

Source: DHL