ng here. Even during the August war DHL didn’t postpone orders. DHL Georgia is an official agent of DHL International.

“Despite the difficulties caused by the August war, we didn’t postpone courier services. During the war DHL worked according to special schedules prepared for such emergency situations. Even when air flights were delayed we kept on importing and exporting the cargo,” Lado Kharebava, DHL Georgia’s Manager of Marketing and Sales Department, told The FINANCIAL.

“In 2008 we received orders from oil company “Shlumberge”. DHL delivered cargo consisting of different industrial freight materials, most of which was oil-extraction machinery. The freight was transported to Europe from Georgia and then exported to other countries. Cargo delivered by DHL receives unique status. But there were some cases when we had to deliver with the accompaniment of a special courier,” Kharebava states.

According to Lado Kharebava the success in 2008 may be followed by downfall in 2009. He says that due to obscurity on the financial markets, in 2009 the turnover will probably fall by 9-10%.

“As our service is mainly oriented on businesses which were affected by the crisis, our activity was influenced too. But this wasn’t reflected on our service quality.”

DHL is also working on online sales. Lado Kharebava claims that online commerce is very promising and the company will keep working on it.

In 2003 DHL was included in Deutsche Post Group. Since then the company has strengthened its brand awareness. The opportunities have grown and today DHL Georgia offers more diversified services to its customers.

“You can identify DHL in any areas of Transport Logistics. During the last few years we increased assets in Georgia. Today we own 15 courier, 3 medium size trucking, 7 Euro3 and Euro5 type DHL branded autos. In conditions of free competition the delivery service business has big potential in Georgia. We are constantly searching for new directions and opportunities in transport logistics. DHL offers Consulting and Distribution Logistics solutions that are built on Supply Chain Management principles,” Kharebava says.

Founded in San Francisco almost 40 years ago by 3 budding entrepreneurs - Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn - DHL has continued to expand at a phenomenal rate. Today, it stands tall as the global market leader of the international express and logistics industry.

Back in 1969, DHL took its first small steps in building for the future by personally shipping papers by airplane from San Francisco to Honolulu. The years passed and the DHL network grew ever larger, gradually reaching out to new customers in every corner of the world. At the same time, the marketplace developed and became more complex, so DHL adapted to meet the changing needs of its customers - both at a global and local level.

Today DHL’s international network links more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and employs some 300,000 employees. DHL also offers unparalleled expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport, contract logistics solutions as well as international mail services.

DHL has the following divisions in Georgia: Air Freight, Road Freight, Ocean Freight, Dangerous Goods Delivery, Domestic Transportation of Cargo, Express Freight, Brokerage Service and so on.

The major markets for Georgian DHL are the USA, China, Ukraine and other European destinations. In spite of the tense relationships between Georgia and Russia, this market still remains one of the main destinations.

DHL Georgia has become a Golden Brand 2008 Award winner. This is not the first Golden Brand Award for DHL in Georgia.

“Without a doubt the fact that we’ve won the award will work well for our brand awareness.  DHL’s service is adequate to international standards and is the result of 15 years of successful work. Our service is delivered in accordance with the international TRANSPORTATION HARMONIZATION PROCESS Certificate”, Lado Kharebava says.

Written By Levan Lomtadze