DHL Express Spearheads Retail Automation in the CEP Market
DHL Express, the leading global express and logistics provider, has marked a breakthrough in retail automation in the Courier, Express & Parcel (CEP) Industry with the launch of its first digital service point in the UAE.
Located at the Dubai Digital Park (DDP) in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park and member of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), this fully automated service point is the first in the Middle East region and across DHL’s global network.
It is an unparalleled innovation in the industry that is reflective of DHL’s market leading position in UAE and initiates an era of digitalizing customer experience in logistics.
The launch event was hosted by DHL Express in collaboration with Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), at DSO’s owned DDP, Dubai’s first integrated smart city project that spans 150,000 square meters, and was attended by senior executives from both DHL Express MENA and DSO.
A live shipment demonstration was showcased during the launch event, to display the service point’s user friendliness, quick processing, and efficient systems.
Commenting on DHL’s breakthrough innovation, Geoff Walsh, Country Manager of DHL Express UAE, stated: “In an era of retail automation and growing digitalization, DHL has remained steadfast on its journey to develop innovative solutions.
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"Our unmanned, fully digitalized service point is a pioneering technology that sets a benchmark in retail automation and revolutionizes the CEP market in a fast-paced digital era.
"Furthermore, the location of the service point in the Dubai Digital Park has been strategically selected to demonstrate DHL’s commitment to supporting the ambitious vision of the UAE Government in transitioning the country into a smart digitalized city.”
For his part, Salem Khalifa, Senior Vice President Projects Management at DSO, said: “As an integrated technology park, Dubai Silicon Oasis encourages, promotes, and adopts innovative smart city technologies.
"We are delighted to be early adopters of technology that enhances our residents’ and visitors’ experiences, while also serving as a testbed for partners that wish to pilot AI-enabled and automated products and services ahead of rolling them out nation-wide.
"We look forward to examining the outcomes of DHL Express’ first digital service point breakthrough in retail automation at DDP. We are also confident in the company’s pioneering technology and are committed to supporting them in their endeavors.”
The fully automated service point will cater to Account and Cash customers, as well as eCommerce return shipments, and will provide a suite of facilitated services, enabling them to seamlessly send, receive and track shipments up to 15 kgs, with ease, speed and efficiency, throughout the day.
The intelligent service point is also embedded with a human support system accessible via video conferencing, for added convenience and additional support.
Powered by cutting-edge plug and play technologies, DHL’s first fully digital service point has been designed to enhance the company’s retail solutions and elevate the customer experience in line with the latest automation and digitalization trends.
The smart service point offers increased mobility and space efficiency, compared to a brick-and-mortar model, and will also contribute to the company’s sustainability commitments through increased energy savings.
Walsh added: “Our digital service point has undergone an intensive development process complemented with rigorous testing and user journey mapping to ensure that the service is user friendly, simple and efficient, and adheres to the highest quality standards.
"We look forward to rolling out similar smart service points in the future and expanding our retail channels and physical footprint to continue to deliver service excellence in a shifting digital world.”
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