DHL invests in Indian air hubs to cater for e-commerce growth

DHL and express airline Blue Dart Express are expanding their air hubs in Delhi and Mumbai as they look to capitalise on the country’s fast-growing e-commerce market.
Through subsidiary Blue Dart Express, DHL’s eCommerce business has announced it will spend €70m on automating equipment at the Delhi and Mumbai hubs, which are part of a network of 13 facilities in the country, to speed processing times and handle up to 500 tonnes per day.
“The automation in both air hubs enables Blue Dart to process higher volumes of inbound and outbound shipments in a shorter span of time for distribution to consumers across India by air,” DHL said.
“With the Mumbai air hub located at an airside facility, it will further accelerate the speed of domestic cross-border air shipments, streamlining customs processes and boosting on-time performance.”
DHL said the global business to consumer e-commerce market is expected to reach a value of $1trn by 2020.
Deutsche Post DHL Group chief executive post, e-commerce and parcel said: “The growth is driven by increasing consumption from expanding middle classes, greater mobile and internet penetration and improving logistics and infrastructure as consumers increasingly shop online and expect shorter delivery times.
“With our added focus on innovation such as the StreetScooter and In-Car Delivery, we are gearing up to ensure we stay ahead of the game and be able to anticipate and meet the needs of the overall industry, e-tailers and end customers.”