When the world changes, supply chains must change with it. But pivoting on a dime to adapt to a changing market and creating a more resilient and reliable supply chain isn’t easy. We take a look at the things DHL and Dell did right.
For Dell demand in 2020 soared. As almost every industry quickly shifted to remote work, Dell Technologies needed to quickly adapt. DHL shares how they delivered.
The sudden and mass increase in demand put pressure on Dell’s distribution centres and triggered the company’s risk management plan. Dell reacted quickly, gathering its partners to help in the creation of a more robust end-to-end solution that would meet the challenges they now faced.
“This project had many moving parts, but we were able to piece them all together in just three months. We now have an agile, end-to-end solution for Dell Technologies that meets the increasing demand while maintaining the customer experience.”— John Flood, Global Customer Manager Dell Technologies at DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation
Direct shipping solutions
Together DHL and Dell Technologies identified bottlenecks and sticking points in their supply chains that caused inflexibilities and looked for improvement solutions. Together they developed a direct shipping model that maintained the companies lead times while increasing agility.
By eliminating some touchpoints and bypassing Dell’s distribution centre, the new direct shipping solution now ships products directly from China to distribution hubs located within the destination markets. DHL leverages their Global Forwarding Control Tower for end-to-end management, combining visibility, reporting, and billing.
DHL’s Amsterdam base now serves as the inbound hub in Europe where goods are received, sorted and further distributed. Working collaboratively, in just three months, from design to implementation, the companies were able to redesign the supply chain and achieve a 99% on-time performance and 4-5 day lead times.
As DHLS says, “At the height of a global crisis, this customer-centric solution was designed and implemented in just three months. It’s achieved an average of 99% on-time performance to the final-mile carrier hubs, increasing reliability while reducing lead times.”
It’s an impressive feat.
Dell Technologies has since made supply chain resiliency a strategic global initiative. Let’s hope most follow.
