DHL eCommerce Solutions Americas is planning for a 35% increase in volume during the holiday’s peak season compared to last year, and it began preparing in January. It’s not alone – its customers have been getting ready and are planning for holiday promotions earlier in the season.
The company also announced this week it is investing $300 million in its ecommerce business over the next 5 years, expanding its footprint in the U.S. by adding 70% more square footage across its network.
The CEO of DHL eCommerce Solutions Americas Lee Spratt told EcommerceBytes it is always hard to forecast peak season volume, but the company is planning for an approximate 35% increase compared to last year’s peak season.
“We expect this holiday peak season to mirror the previous holiday season in terms of ongoing carrier capacity constraints in the market,” he said – thus the early planning. “Our hiring efforts commenced earlier this year, and we added additional permanent square footage throughout our U.S. network and temporary facilities strictly for peak season.”
“As a company, we’re better prepared and see more of our apparel, fashion, consumer electronics, and other customers being more diligent forecasting and sharing their projected volumes earlier and, like last year, planning for holiday promotions earlier in the season,” Spratt said.
In a press release on Monday, DHL also said it is adding automation in all of its US distribution center facilities and upgrade its IT operating system platform, and it is investing in dedicated export gateways for international shipments in New Jersey, Illinois, and California.
DHL eCommerce Solutions currently has 19 distribution centers and three corporate offices and 4,200 employees in the US. The division is focused 100 percent on servicing B2C online merchants, shipping lightweight packages and parcels domestically and internationally, it noted.
