Darko Babic, Managing Director of DHL Express for Serbia – We plan new services, simpler and harmonized with environmental solutions

The world leader in international express, road and air transport and logistics DHL celebrates 27 years from the founding of the company in Serbia, where they employ over 180 people. They are satisfied with the changes in the business environment, which enable them to further upgrade their business and plan new services accordingly.

Darko Babic, Managing Director of DHL Express for Serbia, talks to eKapija about new trends in the transport and logistics industry and environmental principles of doing business, and the occasion for the interview is also the Superbrands acknowledgment the company was recently awarded with.

eKapija: How much has DHL changed in nearly 30 years in Serbia?

– The essence of the courier job has remained the same. The client is sending a shipment and is looking for a quick, safe and simple service. Everything else has changed, from clients' needs to the technologies we implement, the knowledge of our employees and our tools. Each year has been a challenge, whether due to the business environment, great expectations or objective circumstances, but the company has grown, and we've grown because clients trust our brand.

eKapija: How satisfied are you with the results in the past period?

– Our strategic goals for Serbia take into account the current innovations in the industry of transport and logistics, the strategy of Deutsche Post DHL Group and the needs of the market, and we therefore make our business plans in line with all those factors. We are very satisfied with our operations in Serbia so far and this encourages us to plan new services, simpler to use and harmonized with ecological “green” solutions.

eKapija: You've mentioned ecological solutions in the transportation industry. What are the new global trends in the ecological transport of goods?

– Deutsche Post DHL Group has obliged to become a company with zero tolerance towards the emission of harmful gases by 2050. We are determined to have 75% of our shipments delivered and picked up by vehicles not emitting harmful gases by 2025. Green energy logistics is to be implemented in all our warehouses and buildings owned by the company.

eKapija: You transport goods all over the world by various means and are known as a company which innovates and works on constantly improving its services. What is the last thing you've changed when it comes to transport?

– Due to a great increase in the number of shipments, electronic trade has led to changes in the way we carry out shipments, demanding investments in new planes, sorting centers, processes and security. Innovations in the manner of storage and shipment manipulation have been enabled by new technologies that can be implemented in logistics. Solutions involving the IoT and artificial intelligence are used, and the spreading of the new generation of wireless networks is also a big step forward. We are already using autonomous vehicles in our warehouses and drones in delivering and picking up shipments and we are developing software for process automatization.

eKapija: What new investments do you plan?

– Business success, environmental protection, social responsibility and employee motivations are interlinked and co-dependent, and our future investments are directed accordingly. Top quality service, reduction of gas emission in the transport of goods, innovative logistics solutions and employee education are all parts of our investment plan until 2025.

eKapija: To what extent does this mean new employments?

– Certainly, the company's growth is inevitably followed by the growth of the number of employees and we are sure that, in the period ahead of us, the number of employees will follow the development of the company's business.

eKapija: DHL is a huge system which operates under very well established rules, requiring reliable and well trained people. What are the main rules at DHL and how do you train your employees?

– Concerning the development of our employees, we first need to say that 70% of the managers at the company began their careers as couriers or customer relations officers. Quality training, but also the detection of potentials, enable employees to develop professionally and build their careers in an impressive way. In addition to numerous training courses, the curriculum of our corporate educational system features a culture of honest and open feedback, which I believe has an enormous influence on the development of each individual.

eKapija: When it comes to clients, what are the company's main assets in attracting new ones and keeping old clients?

– Our research published in DHL Trend Research 2018/19, Logistics Trend Radar point to the non-compromising orientation towards finding solutions for meeting our clients' needs to be our main asset in the future. Online sale is the result of clients' needs and does not develop only in the B2C segment, but also grows in the B2B segment. With the rising of the IoT technology, the need for supplying and delivering short-shelf-life products is growing as well, which requires innovations in packaging, distribution and integrating logistics in business environments and residential units. Digitalization, innovations and ease of use are solutions for keeping old clients and attracting new ones.

I would also like to note that we don't favor any client over another at DHL. The service offered to entrepreneurs, solutions for small and medium enterprises, are designed to efficiently support the needs of those clients, and the solutions for global and large clients suit their needs. One example is the transport of shipments of online stores, which are just as demanding as the transport of the equipment and the process of import for a new factory – global partner.

eKapija: In your opinion, what changes could the state implement in order to make the operations of your company in Serbia even more efficient and profitable.

– In our operations, we certainly benefit from the positive effects of the Government of Serbia's efforts in the domain of digitalization, the development of the ICT sector and the measures for attracting new investments.

eKapija: You recently won the Superbrands award. How important are such acknowledgments to you?

– DHL is a global company which operates in 220 countries and territories. In each market we operate in, we share the same goals as those recognized by the Superbrands award, meaning responsibility to consumers regarding quality, consistency, reliability, all of which makes our brand recognizable globally as well. The Superbrands award confirms that DHL provides quality service in Serbia and meets the expectations of its clients.

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Darko Babic

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