DHL taking advantage of vibrant SME sector to strengthen presence in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - DHL Express Philippines Corp. is soaring higher in the Philippines as it hitches a ride on the booming small and medium enterprise sector in the country.

In a recent interview with The Star, Yati Abdullah, country manager of DHL Express Philippines, said the  company will  strengthen its presence in the country by focusing more on small and medium enterprise (SME) sector and expanding its  facilities in the country.

“We are very focused on SMEs because we do see a lot of potential in this sector. Ninety nine  percent of companies in the country are SMEs. We consider them as an important client base that is why we recently partnered with GoNegosyo,” Abdullah said.

She said the partnership with GoNegosyo, a group that helps promote entrepreneurship in the Philippines, has expanded DHL’s reach among SMEs.

“With GoNegosyo, we are able to reach out to more areas. We are able to teach them about shipping, the do’s and the don’ts. So far, it’s going really well,” she said.

According to Abdullah the  company is aiming for a double-digit growth in volume this year.

 “We are growing double digit in terms of volume. This year we aim to do the same. We aim to grow faster than GDP (gross domestic product),” she said.

This year, the government is aiming to grow the economy by 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent, according to official data.

DHL Express also partnered with SEIPI or the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines to tap electronics companies.

 “We’ve also partnered with SEIPI because majority of the exports is electronics,” Abdullah said.

In terms of area expansion, DHL Express wants to expand its presence in the northern Philippines.

 “We are looking at new areas. We still have potential up north in the Clark area,” she said.

The company is also looking at expanding its existing facilities in the Philippines.

 “We are refreshing some of our facilities. We are looking at expanding our service center in Clark to four times the size of what  is existing now,” Abdullah said.

The company has set aside $25 million to expand its Pasay and Clark facilities.

 “Overall, we are looking $25 million for the Philippines. We are also expanding our Pasay facility because volumes have increased,” she said.

The shipping and logistics company is happy with the progress of reforms at the Bureau of Customs.

 “We are supporting good governance that Customs is promoting,” she said.

In all, Abdullah said DHL Express continues to improve its operations in the Philippines to attract more clients and maintain quality service to its growing list of customers.