I can or I can’t
Antonio Arranz
CEO
DHL Express México
“Being empathetic and conveying a can-do attitude helps in the development of empowerment
and confidence in those around you.”
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies worldwide have been put to the test, perhaps as never before. In the midst of uncertainty and stress, organizations were forced to reinvent and transform themselves in record time in order to survive. Pressures came from all sides; from employees demanding answers, to society demanding commitments, to customers demanding service without excuses.
Without respite, the companies had to innovate and strengthen the technological and operational infrastructure, but also take on a very important challenge: to care for, protect and motivate the human capital whose only handle was their employer, whom, to top it off, they could not see.
The number one priority was to maintain the workforce, and then face the difficult task of preserving organizational cohesion with distance and forced confinement. The challenge of remote work during COVID-19 was massive for many companies. A struggle began to keep employees safe and connected, while also dealing with the need to support customers and prevent the level of service from declining in the face of exceptional circumstances. The situation highlighted the urgency of having the right tools in place to enable permanent remote working.
In this sense, at DHL Express Mexico, we had an immense opportunity to transcend, and in this process, our capacity, passion and “can-do” attitude were essential to adapt our way of operating and face new challenges in order to fulfill without demerit, without giving up, our promise of “quality service”.
As an essential package and courier service provider, we had an additional test: the explosion of e-commerce. We invested heavily to ensure that our digital solutions operation had the capacity to meet the growing demand and enable customers to purchase and receive their products how, where and when they want them, within the agreed-upon timeframe.
And not only that, to meet the demands of companies and consumers, and maintain their trust, we dedicate significant resources to install cutting-edge technology to streamline processes and reduce delivery times, such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation, Machine Learning, Big Data Analytics, Omnichannel Logistics, Internet of Things, among others.
Since 2020, DHL Express Mexico has been involved in a new dynamic, dictated by the new proportions of e-commerce and supply chain automation, which has impacted not only the technological aspect, but also the strengthening of the entire operational infrastructure, including equipment, facilities and human resources.
The world will continue to change and we must respond in a timely manner to new logistical challenges, always improving the speed and delivery of goods. It requires constant and effective communication, compatible and standardized information systems that allow us to follow the operation process, qualified personnel at each stage of the supply chain, as well as a rapid capacity to adapt and respond.
As CEO of DHL Express Mexico, this experience confirms to me the impact that a leader can have on employees, customers and communities. Being empathetic and transmitting an attitude of being able to do things well, helps in the development of empowerment and confidence of those around you. If there is a good balance of performance, leadership vision, ability to manage professional groups and focus these types of efforts hand in hand with employees, the chances of success are multiplied.
When members of the organization trust each other, alignment, collaboration and results improve. The power of trust must be supported by actions that add to the self-esteem, identity and courage of employees to motivate themselves, make decisions, measure risks and strive to remain productive in a company that gives them the satisfaction of belonging.
Our corporate values include what we call the “Can-Do Attitude”, that collaborative attitude that encourages us to do things well and better. I am convinced that a successful operation is one that has a high level of trust among its collaborators. A trust that allows us to work together and aims to improve among all of us, in order to do things well and better.
Strengthening the corporate culture has been a challenge and a purpose in my work as a director. Today, I can proudly say that we are the best company to work for in Mexico, that we are still committed to job creation with 2,500 new jobs last year, and that we have increased our air and land infrastructure, as well as our service centers, to continue providing world-class logistics services.
During 2020, despite the negative impact on the economy derived from the pandemic, thanks to the trust of our people, our partners and customers, we managed to maintain a double-digit growth rate and increased the coverage of DHL Express Mexico to more than 700 points of sale throughout the Mexican Republic. How we did it? we did it with the commitment of each member of the DHL family, with the confidence of believing in a better future; that what we did was the best for Mexico, the best for this company, for our people and most importantly, that we can and want to do things right.
DHL’s purpose is to connect people and improve lives, and the pandemic made this vocation even more evident. From the outset, we made it our mission to prioritize the transportation of essential goods and medical supplies, and to focus our capabilities and those of the people who work with us to meet the needs of those who entrust us with their shipments and provide immediate assistance.
As a global logistics leader with a presence in more than 220 countries and territories, DHL Express has a high level of expertise in getting critical supplies to their destination when they are needed most, which has enabled us to be a key player in the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
Transporting more than 10 billion vaccines around the world is the greatest logistical challenge the company has faced in its half-century of existence, and for this we have made all our resources available. In Mexico alone, for this monumental task, DHL Express provided its 9,000 employees, more than 4,300 vehicles, the availability of 5 intercontinental flights and 12 domestic flights.
I am very proud of the contribution we make through our daily work as the world’s leading express and logistics brand. A delivery entrusted to us may contain life-saving medicines, a birthday gift or the entire assets of a company in prototype form. We not only deliver documents, goods and parcels, we also deliver success, transport health, promote growth and bring joy.
The new major challenge will be to prepare logistics staffs for the future through training and specialization in the context of increasingly sophisticated operations. At DHL Express, we have shown that optimized processes and efficiencies are linked to working practices imposed by a new normality, so as CEO, I will continue to focus on operational resilience, safeguarding and protecting our human capital, and addressing the operation and service offering, without compromising our high standards.
By 2021, I will continue to work towards greater adaptability, flexibility and strength in our organization, fulfilling the objectives of developing in DHL Express Mexico the four logistics trends: globalization, digitalization, e-commerce and sustainability set out in Deutsche Post DHL Group’s “Digital Strategy 2025”.
