DHL

DHL: From Startup to Global Upstart is the story of a startup that became the first worldwide logistics service organization, fighting regulation, trade restrictions, customs, and many other technical issues to develop processes that have stood the test of time to become the accepted norm in delivery throughout the world. It is a story of using "soft powers," persuasion, and ingenuity, working with, and around, emerging technologies to eliminate barriers to success. This book provides an extraordinary look into how a little startup with grit and perseverance succeeded in the face of overwhelming odds and revolutionized many of what are now accepted transportation and supply chain practices.

Po Chung, DHL International co-founder, and Roger Bowie, former DHL Worldwide Services Director, discuss how DHL paved the way for one day international package delivery and how they have maintained their global leadership position against powerful American titans.

Auteur

Po Chung, DHL International co-founder; Roger Bowie, former DHL Worldwide Services Director

Contenu

Chapter 1: Born Global | 1

The Little Company Which was Seen as Illegal in Every Country | 1

Chapter 2: The 70s | 5

Chapter 3: The Start-up Years | 9

Chapter 4: The Start-up Years: Business Innovation | 13

Door to Door, Desk to Desk | 13

Just Like Taking It There Yourself | 14

Still Expensive, However, for a Start-Up ... | 15

... and Increasingly Complex | 16

So, Try and Keep It Simple | 17

So Simple, Almost Too Good to Be True | 18

Proof was Needed, and So Proof was Provided | 19

With the Airlines as Friends (Albeit Fair-Weather) | 20

Chapter 5: Innovation and Its Broader Impact on Business Dynamics | 23

The Infectious Nature of Speed | 23

Size Doesn't Matter, Content Does | 24

Keeping It Dense | 25

But Keeping It Simple | 25

And Everyone Sells | 25

Service Is Not Servitude | 26

Creating a Time-Based Value Proposition | 27

Challenging Traditional Work Habits | 27

And in the Spirit of Partnership | 28

Chapter 6: Cultural Dynamics: What was Going on Here? | 29

Against All Odds | 29

Ahead of its Time | 29

It was also the People | 29

An Emerging Company Culture | 33

The Nature of the Business Helped | 33

But it Wasn't Just the Business | 34

Chapter 7: Barely Legal-Early Regulatory Battles | 35

First, What Kind Of Business Is This? | 36

Ah, You Mean You Carry Mail? | 37

And What About This "Smuggling" Theory? | 41

Airline Schizophrenia | 43

Okay, Understand The Challenges With Post Offices, Customs And Airlines,

But Surely You Were Doing Everything Else By The Book? | 45

Chapter 8: 1970s Vignettes and Bloopers | 47

Strange Bedfellows | 47

Caught Napping | 47

Plenty of Space, and Not So Much | 48

Strange Passengers | 48

Delivery Heroics | 48

It's Tough Being Ahead of Your Time | 49

Chapter 9: Transition | 53

Taken Off, but Not Yet Landed | 53

A Biological Phenomenon | 54

With Intuitive, Instinctive Leadership | 56

Which Attracted and Inspired | 57

Cowboys with Wing | 58

And an Ounce of Luck | 58

Underpinned by Trust | 59

A Common Language | 59

And the Rule of Common Law | 60

But it was Precarious | 60

Chapter 10: The 80s | 63

Economic and Political Turbulence... | 63

Presaging Fundamental Geopolitical Change | 63

Policed by America | 64

With Asia Awakening | 64

Business Models Must Change | 65

A New Age of Consumerism | 65

And Speed to Market | 66

The End of History? | 67

Perhaps a Hybrid Would be the Answer | 68

Chapter 11: The Walden Years-Structure and process | 69

Nascently Global | 69

But Not Sustainable | 71

Structure to Support a Growth Strategy | 72

With A New Confidence | 73

Coming Out | 74

And Cash is the King | 75

Chapter 12: Business Innovation | 77

Getting it There in No Time at All | 77

Tentative Steps to Expand the Offering | 78

If you can get to the internationally remote places, why not just down

the road? | 80

Europe Overnight | 80

And What About a Second Brand? | 82

Early Computerization | 82

What Aided and Abetted Also Threatened | 83

But Also Provided Opportunity | 84

Building a Brand | 85

Ongoing Geographical Expansion | 86

Less than Door-to-door | 87

Early Steps in Logistics | 88

Answer the Phone, Dammit! | 88

Chapter 13: Business Context-What Was Going on Here? | 91

A New Era of Globalization Begins | 91

What was DHL Carrying? | 93

This was an Outbound Phenomena | 93

The Information Age Beckoned, but Expensively | 95

Airports Grew Up | 95

Strategic Disconnect | 97

Chapter 14: Business Context-Competition Explodes | 99

Competition? (What, Really?) | 99

Finally, Strength Through Numbers | 99

But in Context | 100

Those Pesky Airlines Again | 101

The "Empires" Try to Strike Back | 102

But FedEx Strikes First | 102

And Starts to Force the Pace | 103

The Enemy of My Enemy can be my Friend | 103

Chapter 15: Regulatory Battles | 105

Postal Battles Heat Up | 105

Progress with Customs | 110

Tax, Cashflows and Blocked Funds | 112

The Dutch Sandwich | 113

Chapter 16: Cultural Dynamics | 117

Heroism | 117

It Wasn't Just the Cowboys | 117

Growing Up | 118

Some Contextual Frameworks | 122

And Perhaps a Modern Example of Another, More Natural Law, is in Play

Here | 124

Change Agents | 124

Pirates of the Caribbean (Never Waste a Good Crisis) | 126

Expat Versus Local | 127

Persistence at Heathrow, with Help from the US | 128

Chapter 17: Anecdotes, Accidents, and Altruism | 131

Excellence Discovered | 131

Going the Extra Mile | 131

Going Many Extra Miles | 132

Making Calls was a Shoe-In | 132

The Green Bags must go Through | 132

Shenanigans in Bahrain | 133

The Future Sometimes Takes Longer | 133

DHL Never Sleeps | 133

Never Fear, DHL is Here | 133

Be Bold, Be Fearless, Be an Upstart | 134

The Worm Turns | 135

Unblocking the Funds | 135

Thank Goodness for Unintended Consequences | 136

Unintended Consequences Version Two | 136

Bill Walden's Office | 137

Crazy Texans | 138

Negotiations in China | 138

Pat Lupo's Story: The Most Employee-Motivational Thing We Did | 138

Chapter 18: Adolescence to Adulthood | 141

Mission Almost Accomplished | 141

A New Man in Charge | 141

Bring in the Suits | 143

A Deal Made in Heaven, But | 144

Finally, A Head Office | 145

Organizational Innovation | 146

An Ongoing Emphasis on Data Networks | 146

And a New Sense of Mission | 148

WORLDWIDE MISSION STATEMENT | 149

FedEx Loses a Battle | 150

With the Best Good Will in the World, it Didn't Work Out | 151

The Ultimate Compliment | 151

Chapter 19: Powers | 153

Chapter 20: From Start-up to Upstart to the Most International Company in the

World | 169

Chapter 21: Epilogue: The 2008-16 Reincarnation | 173

Market Growth | 173

A Much and Long Desired Prize Becomes the Bo…