From 1st November this year, DHL increased its prices to ILG and its other sales partners, all of whom use its network to distribute on behalf of their customers.
Unfortunately, this means that any of our customers that DHL collects for no longer benefit from the reduced costs that we were able to secure for them up to then, and now face significant price rises.
Imports currently remain unaffected, but we anticipate changes to these too in the coming months. In addition to price rises, DHL has waived discounts to its fuel surcharge, and this is something we are having to pass on to any customers who continue to use DHL exclusively.
While DHL is seeking to increase its revenue by selling to customers directly, ILG is now focusing on offering alternative carrier options. The good news is that we have very good relationships with other carriers and we are now in the process of negotiating new rates with FedEx and UPS for 2024. By consolidating volumes with our parent company (Yusen Logistics) we are hoping to mitigate the impact of price increases for our customers.
DHL’s aggressive new strategy is a huge shift for our industry. Although we are still assessing the full effects, we have been preparing for the move since January, when DHL increased its prices by nearly 8%. Now that the dust has settled to a large extent on Brexit and the pandemic, there are far more cost-effective solutions out there on the market, with lots of suppliers looking to undercut DHL.
We remain committed to providing a choice of cost-effective carriage solutions to our customers, born out of an understanding of your needs and pain points. DHL, however, will no longer be a commercially viable or sustainable option through ILG.
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