DHL allots $5M for relocation of service center to Pasay

MANILA, Philippines - To cope with increased demand for its services, logistics firm DHL Express (Philippines) Corp. is spending $5 million next year to upgrade its gateway in Pasay City and relocate the service center within.

DHL Express Philippines country manager Yati Abdullah said in an interview, the $5 million investment is part of the $25 million programmed outlay in the next two years to enable its service network to handle increased delivery volume.

“Currently, the service center is in the gateway so we are going to move it out and we are going to re-engineer the gateway to support our growth. We are growing quite rapidly this year,” she said.

For the Pasay service center alone, she said the volume has increased by 15 percent.

The firm is planning to move the service center, which should occupy an area of at least 2,500-square meters, in Pasay or Paranaque City.

“We are finalizing where we will move to but because it is servicing the South (of Metro Manila), it has to be around that area,”Abdullah said.

She said the firm aims to complete the new facility for the service center by June or July of next year.

Aside from Pasay City, DHL Express has seven other service centers in the country which are located in Cebu, Clark, Subic, Manila, Ortigas, Makati, and in the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) region.

When the service center in Pasay has been relocated, DHL Express would add conveyor belts and x-ray machines in the Pasay gateway.

As the gateway is upgraded, Abdullah said they would be hiring an additional 10 to 15 employees.

DHL Express currently employs 600 workers in the country.

Given increasing volumes of deliveries, Abdullah said DHL Express expects its revenues to post growth of above 10 percent this year and next year.

The growth in DHL Express’ revenues, she said, is driven by the small and medium enterprises, the semiconductors industry, as well as retail.

Even as DHL Express is upbeat on the growth of its business here, Abdullah said the firm is backing the passage of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act citing that it is not just beneficial for their operations here but will also make the country competitive as a business destination.

The proposed Customs Modernization and Tariff Act seeks to provide a legal basis for the overhaul of the customs practice in the Philippines to facilitate ease of trade as well as address smuggling.

Among the reforms under the proposed measure is the removal of the current P10 de minimis or the minimum amount of goods which should undergo the Bureau of Customs’ inspection for payment of duties.

The Philippines’ de minimis which has been unchanged since 1957, is the lowest in Southeast Asia with the region having an average of over $100.

Through the proposed measure, Abdullah said the Philippines can raise the de minimis to $200 to be conform to current standard.

“I think the Philippines needs to live up with the lifestyle and the trend. Now people like to buy online, do online shopping so the de minimis will really help,” she added.