Sharing Sustainability Innovation

Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL, is “the man who moves the world.”
Five percent of world trade passes through the networks of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group is No.1 in nearly every business area of logistics. Each hour, 500,000 employees in more than 220 territories around the globe handle 1 million customer contacts. These customers wouldn’t come back again and again if they weren’t satisfied. But Appel is self-critical: “The customers are satisfied, but they aren’t enthusiastic. Not yet, that is.”
With his recently announced Group strategy extending through 2015, Appel outlines precisely how a major logistics company is to evolve into an excellent logistics company that has enthusiastic customers. A key element of this strategy: sustainability, something that customers will increasingly demand from all of their suppliers in the future. The new strategy is supported by a Delphi study undertaken by Deutsche Post DHL. A key forecast: Lean-carbon logistics will remain the great challenge long after today’s economic crisis has been passed.
Today, a jar of jelly has a label specifying its calorie count. In 2020, an electronically readable product label might show how much CO2 was emitted during the manufacture and transport of a product. Customers – according to the study – will be willing to spend more money on environmentally friendly products and services up to a certain degree. However: Other suppliers will strive to quickly eliminate this competitive edge. Appel is certain of one thing, “Customer behavior will shape companies’ environmental standards more than government regulation will.”
Frank Appel will present these ideas and many more at the Globe Forum 2009, June 4-5 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Information & Registration: www.globeforum.com