The world is changing quickly for businesses that operate on a global scale, and in particular for those that maintain a roster of vendors across multiple countries and regions. Disruptions in supply chains are no longer the exception, as current events have demonstrated, and unexpected delays can result in significant losses. It is therefore essential that multinationals begin bolstering their supply chains by, first and foremost, choosing a transportation and logistics provider that not only guarantees superior service, but which also understands and can be integrated into each step of the production process.

DHL Supply Chain, part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group, has witnessed the challenges facing large brands and manufacturers and developed solutions to ensure that industries with a need for time-critical logistics such as technology, semiconductors, life sciences and healthcare, and fast-moving consumer goods are able to swiftly and securely move their products from assembly line to customer hands and beyond.

“We don’t consider ourselves merely a third-party logistics company, but rather a business solutions provider and a partner to our customers,” says D.J. Shieh, managing director of DHL Supply Chain Taiwan. He adds that unlike many other such companies, DHL offers a number of technical and value-added services, including in-warehouse cleanrooms – critical for high-tech industries and chipmakers – as well as maintenance, packaging, rigging, and many others. “Our position is that whatever is mutually beneficial for the customer and us, we’ll do it,” he says.

In Taiwan, where DHL Supply Chain has been operating since 1981, the company is working intensively with global semiconductor manufacturers. Of its 100,000-plus square meters of warehouse space, spanning more than 15 operation sites around Taiwan, a large portion is located in close proximity to the five science parks in Linkou, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. This, says Shieh, is to ensure that DHL Supply Chain can meet the incredibly tight schedules for delivering orders to customers. Such close partnerships are increasingly important as chipmakers continue working to end the global semiconductor shortage.

Given how integral it is to the supply chains of various industries, DHL Supply Chain has grown exponentially in Taiwan, expanding from around 300 employees in 2015 to over 900 today. Shieh notes that warehouse space has increased in much the same manner. “Furthermore, we are expecting growth to continue accelerating over the next three to four years, and we have developed a strategy to keep that momentum going,” he says.

Of course, he explains, such growth does not come without challenges. Chief among these is Taiwan’s scarcity of space, an issue that is exacerbated by the large number of companies that have been reshoring operations to Taiwan in the wake of U.S.-China trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made sourcing warehouse space more and more di•cult in recent years, something that is concerning for logistics businesses specializing in time-sensitive deliveries.

Nevertheless, Shieh points to DHL’s passionate and talented real-estate team, who are constantly in search of space and facilities that meet the company’s rigorous standards and comply with local regulations. To support this endeavor, he often goes out on scouting missions with his real-estate managers around Taiwan’s science parks. “It seems that every year we need to chase after space, but we always find it at just the right time to meet our customers’ needs,” he says.

Another challenge the company faces in Taiwan is a shortage of talent, something that impacts businesses across the industry spectrum. Shieh says that DHL is working to address this through employee recruitment and retention initiatives but emphasizes that the perks offered through many such programs are basic benefits that a company should offer anyway. What really matters in attracting talent is a healthy work environment in a transparent, non-hierarchical organization. It is thanks to DHL’s adoption of such a company culture that turnover has remained stable and employee numbers continue to rise, he says.

Regarding the future, Shieh and his team at DHL Supply Chain Taiwan are working to accelerate the digitalization of operations, thus enabling data analytics. With more supply chain data being made available, customers can effectively plan and forecast demand and make better informed decisions. In addition, the company is incorporating more automation, in particular smart storage systems, such as Vertical Lift Modules, to optimize the warehouse space by storing densely. For now, DHL will rely on its key advantages, most notably its global network and logistics portfolio for regional supply chain management, which provides multinationals with logistics needs with a consistent system of scalable solutions that can be replicable globally.

For more information, please visit DHL Supply Chain Taiwan.