DHL Innovation Centre in Chicago will spearhead development of future logistics and supply chain solutions in the Americas region
DHL will expand its global innovation footprint to the Americas region by breaking ground for its new Americas Innovation Centre in Rosemont, Illinois, which will offer unique insights into the future of logistics.
Joining the company‘s Innovation Centre in Troisdorf, Germany, and the Asia Pacific Innovation Centre in Singapore, the Americas Innovation Centre will exhibit the technologies and innovations in logistics that it is already implementing across the region, and will foster the development of future logistics and supply chain solutions whilst serving as a regional platform for collaborative innovation. The opening is planned for summer 2019.
“With our third Innovation Centre worldwide, we will be able to create a platform for research and collaborative innovation between DHL customers, start-ups, academia, industry partners, and innovation experts in the Americas region.
“This visionary innovation centre will further promote and nurture our worldwide leading position as the logistics innovation frontrunner in one of our key markets. It will also help us to further build on successful partnerships that we have established with technology leaders and innovative start-ups in the region,” said Matthias Heutger, SVP, Global Head of Innovation & Commercial Development at DHL.
As a global leader in logistics, the company continuously evaluates its innovative customer-centric solutions, already implementing advanced technologies in all of its operations to boost productivity and serve the evolving needs of customers.
DHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics specialist within Deutsche Post DHL Group, has seen average productivity increases of 15% in trials of augmented reality technology in warehouses, with smart glasses that provide visual displays of order picking instructions and item locations. It has also deployed drones with surveillance cameras to ramp up security at warehousing sites in Brazil and Mexico.
Robotics, ranked the most important physical technology with 63% in a recent global survey by the company of about 350 supply chain and operations professionals, also play a significant role in its innovation activities.
The Supply Chain uses collaborative robots designed to help with repetitive and precise tasks, such as picking and packing, in a number of its North American warehouses.
DHL Global Forwarding, the leading specialist in air and ocean transport, and DHL Express, the world’s leading international express delivery company, also use virtual reality and artificial intelligence in countries like the United States and Chile for employee training programmes and to optimise customer service.
