Courier service lauded for sustaining deliveries during the worst of COVID-19

At the height of global lockdowns, this courier service gave new meaning to the term ‘Keeping the lights on’ for many.

When the COVID-19 outbreak turned into a full-blown pandemic, the disruptions in global economies caused massive surges in everything from grocery shopping to e-commerce to urgent shipments of supplies and documents. One common link among these demands was the courier services sector.

One global company in that sector was ready to meet the huge surge in demand. With the quick deployment of its business continuity plans, the company transitioned more than 6,000 employees from across the region to work from home seamlessly, without significantly impacts to operations and its commitment to customer experience.

For this demonstration of business resilience and digitalized operations, express service provider DHL Express Asia Pacific has been recognized with the 2020 Special Award for Resiliency at this years’ IDC Digital Transformation Awards (DX Awards).

BCP and DX equal resilience

The special award, introduced for the first time in the program’s four-year history, recognizes organizations that have used digital transformation to address the challenges of Covid-19 and minimize its impact on business operations. DHL Express’ digital transformation program was selected from over 1,200 entries received from organizations across the Asia Pacific region

Said Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific: “Our digital transformation investments and efforts have played an important role in ensuring the resilience of our business, but the dedication and ingenuity of our people through this challenging period cannot be understated. Our teams across the region have come together with a Can Do spirit to adapt to adverse situations and we would not be in such a strong position today without their resilient spirit.”

The company’s CIO Jimmy Yeoh added: “The pandemic also provided an opportunity for DHL Express to accelerate the adoption of technologies like live chat and digital assistants, which helped to maintain excellent customer service levels despite the surge in customer queries.”

According to IDC Asia Pacific’s Group Vice President, Practice Group, Sandra Ng: “As 2020 progressed, we saw many organizations in Singapore rise to the challenges posed by the pandemic by turning to digital technologies to build resiliency within their businesses,” and noted that digitalized organizations with strong business continuity planning can maintain high levels of customer satisfaction while ensuring employee safety and productivity to fulfil the organization’s central purpose even during a crisis.