Mexico, a key country for DHL Supply Chain. The global crisis caused by the breakdown of the logistics chain in China after the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Europe will be resolved, despite the unfortunate consequences that they leave behind, but later structural problems in trade will become visible perceived before, such as the shortage of personnel and the growing need for countries to have more supply points, assured the global CEO of the firm, Óscar de Bok.
In this scenario, the proximity of Mexico to the United States market represents, especially at this time, a “great opportunity” that should not be missed, which is why the company has an investment of close to 630 million pesos underway, 30% of the 2,100 million pesos allocated this year to Latin America (AL).
In keeping with his interest in Mexico, last week De Bok, originally from Rotterdam, Holland, visited Mexico, which was the first country in the region to which he arrived after the long sanitary confinement, and among his various activities was the inauguration of the Welcome Center , a rest, rest and training space for the firm’s operators with the intention that they can carry out their work in the best conditions.
In addition, a school is planned to open next year to increase the training of its drivers and attract new talent to deal with the issue of shortage. At the moment there is only one similar logistics company school in England.
Mexico is a very important and strategic country for us. 10% of the people who work in our company worldwide are here (about 15,000 people) and the demand for services is growing a lot, mainly due to e-commerce that has broken the existing parameters, but also the automotive sector or the of health. We are seeing the process of changing from a single source of supply (one country, mainly from Asia) to having several, the so-called omni sourcing, and there we see this country flourish, ”he said in an interview.
Along with this new trend, where, for example, the US begins to diversify the countries that supply parts for the automotive industry, the strength of Mexican manufacturing is ahead, although this implies new challenges for the delivery of products in the so-called last mile, where the direct relationship with its customers becomes an increasingly relevant topic.
Therefore, it becomes essential to improve the training of its transport operators and the incorporation of technology that allows them to offer a better service.
“The investments we have underway are in different areas. There is a part for infrastructure (but does not include the eventual purchase of land for distribution centers), data analytics, systems, training or for the development of collaborative robotics (solutions that respond to fluctuations in the supply chain) that help customers to meet their goals”, added the CEO who fell in love with logistics in his childhood watching the activities of the port of Rotterdam.
In addition, they continue to explore alternatives in electric cars as part of their sustainable strategy, which De Bok wants to see circulate frequently in Mexico.