issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message this article appears to contain a large number of buzzwords . specific concerns may be found on the talk page . please help improve this article if you can . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message dhl supply chain type division industry logistics headquarters bonn germany key people john gilbert ceo 1 revenue 14 28 billion 2013 2 owner deutsche post dhl number of employees 130 000 website www.dhl.com dhl supply chain is a division of deutsche post dhl . the supply chain division comprises two business units supply chain and williams lea . in the supply chain business dhl provides contract logistics solutions along the entire supply chain for customers from a wide variety of sectors . williams lea is a global provider of business process outsourcing and a specialist in corporate information solutions the management of companies information and communication processes . 3 in canadian and usa markets dhl supply chain operated under the name exel until january of 2016 . dhl supply chain has around 130 000 employees and is headquartered in bonn germany . the group provides its customers with both standardized products as well as solutions ranging from dialogue marketing to industrial supply chains . deutsche post dhl has about 470 000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories . 3 contents 1 history 2 headquarters 3 mergers and acquisitions 4 regions and sectors 4.1 consumer and retail 4.2 technology 4.3 life sciences & healthcare 4.4 automotive 4.5 energy 4.6 williams lea 5 solutions and products 6 market position 7 financial results 8 corporate responsibility 9 references history edit 1969 dhl founded by adrian dalsey larry hillblom and robert lynn in san francisco . 1971 dhl expands its express network rapidly and becomes a trusted partner of many companies . expansion into the far east and pacific rim . 1972 services introduced in japan hong kong singapore and australia . 1974 the first uk office is opened in london . globally dhl now has 3 052 customers and 314 staff . 1976 1978 expansion in three major regions as dhl launches in the middle east latin america and africa . 1977 the first german dhl office is opened in frankfurt . 1979 dhl extends its services to delivering packages . only document services had been available until now . 1983 dhl is the first air express forwarder to serve eastern european countries . an international distribution center hub is opened in cincinnati usa . 1985 a state of the art hub is opened in brussels . more than 165 000 shipments are handled each night . 1986 dhl enters into a joint venture with the people s republic of china and becomes the first express company active in china . 1990 dhl enters into strategic alliances with lufthansa japan airlines and nissho iwai . 1991 dhl becomes the first international express company to restart service to kuwait after the gulf war . 1993 dhl invests 60 million dollars in a new hub facility in bahrain . 1998 deutsche post becomes a shareholder in dhl . 2002 deutsche post world net becomes the major shareholder in dhl from 1 january . a 100 percent shareholding is completed by the end of the year . 2003 deutsche post dhl and postbank make up the group s current brand architecture . dhl now serves as the exclusive brand for all express and logistics activities . dhl changes its corporate colors from red and white to yellow and red . in april the worldwide visual transformation of all vehicles packing materials and buildings begins . 2004 2005 directly after the tsunami in south asia dhl with over 40 offices throughout the disaster region responds immediately to requests from government and aid organizations . the group helps with free charter flights carrying relief supplies land transport as well as monetary donations . dhl employees from around the world launch donation campaigns . dhl disaster response teams drt are established supporting the un and the international community s disaster response efforts in the aftermath of major sudden onset natural disasters . 2005 deutsche post world net acquires exel a british logistics corporation in december for 5.5 billion euros . 2007 the dhl innovation center opens near bonn . as a research and development center its mission is to develop new highly innovative and marketable products from the logistics trends of the future . projects are realized via innovation partnerships within the business world and research partnerships . 2008 dhl opens its new state of the art european air hub at leipzig halle airport in germany . the hub one of europe s largest construction sites expands dhl s international network providing greater connectivity to global growth markets and enabling dhl to improve its overall customer service . 2009 the group presents its strategy 2015 and is renamed as deutsche post dhl . 4 headquarters edit post tower in bonn germany dhl supply chain is incorporated in bonn germany as a part of deutsche post dhl global headquarters . the main building is post tower . located in the former government quarter and built using large quantities of glass it is impressive because of its modern architecture . the tower is 162 meters 531.5 feet high 82 meters 269 feet long and 41 meters 134.5 feet wide . 5 mergers and acquisitions edit the acquisition of the swiss logistics provider danzas and the largest american service provider in the field of international airfreight air express international aei by deutsche post happened in 1999 . founded in 1815 the prestigious danzas group was regarded as one of the world s leading logistics companies . with approximately 29 000 employees at the time of acquisition danzas had a strong logistics network on all continents . 5 the acquisition of aei was similar . aei had a network of branches in 135 countries . in addition to integrated logistics and multi modal transport it was offering warehousing distribution customs processing and it based logistics services . aei was integrated into the intercontinental division of danzas . as a full service provider the merged companies provided deutsche post with a dense transport network as well as an impressive portfolio of value added services . 5 the partnership with dhl international which began with the acquisition of a minority interest in 1998 was expanded and intensified in 2000 . negotiations were then concluded allowing deutsche post to establish a majority interest from 1 january 2002 . in july 2002 deutsche post acquired a 25 percent share in dhl from lufthansa cargo and increased its majority stake to 75 percent . 5 at the time dhl worldwide express had more than 71 000 employees worldwide . a pioneer in global express shipping dhl s international network linked over 220 countries and territories . dhl became a wholly owned subsidiary of the group in december 2002 after deutsche post ag acquired the remaining shares from two investment funds and japan airlines . 5 in december 2005 deutsche post acquired the british logistics company exel for 5.5 billion euros . at that time approximately 111 000 employees worked for exel in 135 countries . 5 exel specialized in providing transport and logistics solutions for key customers . the company concluded the first half of 2005 with a 55 percent leap in profits to 172 million pounds 251 million euros . 5 in 2006 deutsche post took a majority stake in williams lea a business process outsourcing bpo provider specializing in document management and mail services . 6 the latest acquisition happened in july 2011 when dhl acquired tag group an international provider of marketing execution and production services . regions and sectors edit dhl supply chain is organized into five regions north america south america apac asia pacific mlemea mainland europe middle east and africa and uk & i united kingdom and ireland . the exel brand was retained for north america usa and canada with the headquarters for the region in westerville ohio . in 2016 the exel brand transitioned dhl supply chain for the north america region . dhl supply chain provides solutions in six focus sectors aemce automotive engineering and manufacturing and chemical and energy consumer retail technology service logistics life sciences and healthcare . in 2011 dhl supply chain aligned their global management structure to enable the development and implementation of sector specific supply chain solutions at a cross regional level . in addition each sector head is supported by a team of specialists who handles the customer projects and ensures the implementation of global sector solutions on a regional level . consumer and retail edit consumer and retail are two of dhl supply chain s largest sectors . both of these offer major growth potential for the division since dhl manages the supply chains all the way from the source of supply to the end customer . services in these sectors range from international inbound logistics and warehouse and transport services to packaging and other value added services . technology edit in the technology sector dhl supply chain s portfolio of offerings ranges from inbound to manufacturing services and warehouse and transport services to integrated packaging returns management and technical services . this is one of the sectors in which customers are increasingly requesting integrated solutions which are being developed across all dhl divisions . life sciences & healthcare edit dhl supply chain is also increasingly providing integrated solutions in the life sciences & healthcare industry where supply chains and logistics processes are still evolving in many parts of the world . in 2011 dhl supply chain acquired eurodifarm a specialist in the controlled temperature distribution of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products . the purchase was made to strengthen dhl supply chain s market leadership in italy in this sector . in england dhl supply chain operates nhs supply chain for the national health service . automotive edit the automotive industry is one of dhl supply chain s global sectors . the company has a strong presence in emerging markets such as china india and brazil . in this sector dhl offers inbound to manufacturing aftermarket logistics and lead logistics provider solutions . energy edit the fast growing energy sector is another market in which the dhl divisions provide integrated logistics solutions for both the build and run phases of major projects . with dhl supply chain s maintenance repair & operation services they offer streamlined supply chain solutions . williams lea edit williams lea specializes in outsourced corporate communication and information management ranging from office document and marketing solutions to customer correspondence management . they offer these solutions to customers in the financial retail consumer goods pharmaceutical publishing public as well as legal sectors . in july 2011 dhl acquired tag group an international provider of marketing execution and production services . the acquisition expands dhl s marketing solutions business . solutions and products edit in the supply chain business dhl supply chain provides customers in many industry sectors with logistics services along the entire supply chain from planning sourcing production storage and delivery to returns logistics and value added services in order to ensure logistics flow . 3 dhl supply chain offers warehousing distribution managed transport and value added services as well as business process outsourcing supply chain management and consulting solutions . dhl supply chain s goal is to ensure that their customers products and information reach their markets quickly and efficiently thus securing them competitive advantages . 3 some of the key dhl supply chain