DHL Express opens first automatic shipment sorting hub in New Delhi

New Delhi: Global Express services provider DHL Express on Thursday announced the opening of its first automatic shipment sorting hub in the national capital.

This new shipment sorting hub spread over 34,256 square feet houses the automatic sorting machines with a capacity to sort 2,000 pieces per hour delivering a 30 per cent improvement in productivity, DHL Express said.

The hub is equipped with 18 sorting chutes, 11 truck docks, and 8 telescopic conveyors that help in processing the inbound shipments faster and, in turn, improve transit times for customers, it said.

This is the first auto sort machine to be deployed for any international express processing in India, said R S Subramanian, senior vice president for South Asia at DHL Express.

"This expansion continues to represent our commitment to create the best logistics infrastructure for business to succeed in this competitive, global climate," Subramanian said.

Leveraging technology to streamline operations will enable the company's customers to continue experiencing the express transit times, he added.

DHL Express had set up India's first-ever air-side express facility and in 2017, the company expanded its air-side operations with a new export express terminal to expand EXIM capacity and also streamline processes, to support the growing exports trade out of North India, a company statement said.

The new facility also stages outbound export shipments, thereby freeing up space at the existing export facility which can then be used for enhancing transit times, among others, the statement said.

With the current expansion, the company's total Delhi Gateway capacity will go up nearly six times since its inception two decades ago, DHL Express said.

"For DHL, India is a market where we continue to see great potential. Across industry segments from the global multinationals to the SMEs, we see strong, consistent growth. Our investments in India, including here in the national capital, mirror this upward trajectory," said Jonn Pearson, CEO at DHL Express.

The Delhi Gateway connects North, East, and parts of Western India to over 220 countries and territories via 12 weekly DHL-operated inter-continental freighters and 17 daily commercial flights.

"We were the first in India to establish airside facilities in Delhi in 2003. Since then, the facility has expanded by nearly 6 times and has significantly supported international trade," Pearson added.