‘We want to be everybody’s first choice’
As DHL completes 30 years, its Country Operations Manager, Oman, Geoff Walsh explains to OER’s Visvas Paul D Karra the reasons that have made DHL a trusted name for its customers

DHL has completed 30 years in Oman What do you feel about this milestone?
First, the statistics. We are a global company with half-a-million employees. In our Oman office we have a relatively small workforce, but more than 80 per cent of the employees are Omanis and that is the difference. Many of them have been working with us for many years, some for over 25 years. They have seen how the country has changed and things are progressing. That makes it special. We came here when nobody else was here. We have helped Oman grow and that’s why there is a clear difference between us and the competitors. We have been here for the long haul but some of the other players are in starting school, if you may say that, in the market place.

DHL charges a premium compared to others. Why do customers still keep coming back to you?
I think you can liken it to the Harrods Store in London, or you flying first class in a major airline. It is the service that counts. It is not just the point of sale, it is the act of sale. In our customer service department, we first try to understand our business and that is how we interact with our customers. Certain key customers are taken care of individually. DHL has at the moment something called “first choice” motto. The idea is to make all our customers feel they are our first choice. And, also our employees feel that DHL is the first choice as an employer for them. So everybody feels it is first choice. People come back because of the service. If the service is bad they will not come back.

As much as people would like to call us expensive, we are not. We provide a full stream of solutions as we can move by road, by air, by freight. Besides this, we have knowledge of the Middle East for a long time and that is why customers keep coming back to us.

Can you shed light on some of DHL’s pioneering services?
I think the biggest thing we have pioneered is the use of ease. We are present all over Oman in 16 locations, which includes all the major towns. One of the biggest initiatives in the Middle East is our Import Express, so you can have an account here and request for a collection from Timbuktu or from Sydney. We take care of all the paper work and ensure that you get your shipment. You can have one user account and you can do export, import and even door-to-door freight service.

Since the past couple of years, we are also doing the time definite pre-nine, pre-12. If you want a shipment to be sent to the UAE by 9 am the next day, you pay a small premium and we guarantee to deliver it before 9 am otherwise you get your premium back. So, it gives a scale of prices and scale of services.

How do you view your competitors in Oman?
There are the usual global competitors like Fedex, TNT, UPS, etc, and then the local ones like Aramex, besides other small players. Our advantage lies in our knowledge of Middle East customers because we are here since the last 30 years and that stands us in very good stead. We have to give the best service and best performance consistently. I think that is what separates us. All our competitors get business but if a customer has got something important to be delivered and needs to guarantee it reaches there, they will come to us.

DHL’s logistics chain has acquired a global reputation. What accounts for this?
Everyone knows that DHL sends documents, parcels, etc. That is certainly our main strength. But what we have done is to change. If the customer asks us something, we look for solutions. Our strengths are our global network which is present in 220 countries and is the biggest in the world.

We have 250 trailers moving around the Middle East and these go into Africa and Europe. Sometimes 10-15 of them pull automotive parts. And then, we charter an aircraft if it is needed. We are also the only company in the Middle East which has an airline of its own. We have a plane based in Bahrain.

And then we have our couriers, they are not just delivery or collection boys. They do the scanning, they know the importance of the shipment and they get to know the customers because of the training we give them. It is a whole package oriented towards the ‘first choice’ motto.

Can you give us the breakdown of the express services you provide?
DHL at present is 100-per cent owned by Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), which has consolidated all of its express and logistics activities into one single brand. The DHL expertise is pooled from a number of companies acquired by DPWN. These companies are Deutsche Post Euro Express for parcel and express services in more than 20 countries; Exel for transport and logistics solutions; Danzas for air and ocean freight; and Air Express International, the largest American air freight provider, integrated into the Danzas group in 2001. All of them give the customer a wide choice.

The differential for us is technology and visibility of the shipment. We give our customers track and trace system. We allow them to track their shipments via the Internet, their mobile phones or just call the customer service through our quality control centres. This is what they care about.

What is your opinion about Oman as a market?
Oman is diversifying from oil to non-oil revenues. This is attracting a lot of investments and the country is growing. We have been a significant cog in the growth. The big multinational companies, like banks and other manufacturers who come into Oman, need infrastructure and DHL can help and support them to get it. Being here and supporting the growth is important. It is what I said about providing solutions. We want to be everywhere and everything for everybody. We want to be everybody’s first choice.

What are your expansion plans in the Sultanate of Oman?
Our investment in Oman is increasing. At the moment I am drawing up the budget plan and I know that what I am going to invest now is more than what has been invested in the last 10 years.

We are going to have a brand new country office in Seeb in the final quarter of 2009. We are looking for a larger warehouse facility in Ghala area. On other locations, we have Express centres where people can just walk into, like a shop. This is what I call the retail strategy. We want it to be easy to use DHL, as easy as walking into a supermarket or a store to buy milk. To be a customer’s first choice, we have to be easy to use, we need to be reliable, and have quality and consistency.

How secure is a parcel sent by DHL?
We do everything to make sure that every shipment is secure. Every shipment is treated exactly the same way. Similarly, all our offices and express centres have CCTVs and all our courier boys are vetted and trained to follow strict security procedures. Therefore, our shipments are as safe as you carry your own luggage on a holiday.

Has there been any major incident of cargo misplacement?
There is no such major incident of cargo misplacement, only delayed cargoes because a company like DHL moves millions of shipments every night. They could be delayed because of various reasons like lack of space in an aircraft, etc. That is why technology is important for us because you can track where your shipment is.

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