Businessmodel of Deutsche Post

Customer Segments

Deutsche Post provides a range of services to private and commercial customers. It serves general consumers with various delivery and distribution services. The Company also serves small, medium, and large business customers across the following sectors with delivery and supply chain services:

• Retail, which accounted in 2015 for around 25% of the Company’s supply chain revenue;
• Consumer, which accounted in 2015 for around 21% of the Company’s supply chain revenue;
• Life Sciences and Healthcare, which accounted in 2015 for around 18% of the Company’s supply chain revenue;
• Automotive, which accounted in 2015 for around 12% of the Company’s supply chain revenue;
• Technology, which accounted in 2015 for around 10% of the Company’s supply chain revenue;
• Engineering and Manufacturing, which accounted in 2015 for around 4% of the Company’s supply chain revenue;
• Financial Services, Others, which accounted in 2015 for around 3% of the Company’s supply chain revenue; Deutsche Post provides services primarily to customers in its native Germany, as well as to international customers across the world.

Value Propositions

Deutsche Post provides value to its customers in the following ways:

• Its reputation as a reliable and efficient provider of delivery services, with the Company an established and well-regarded name within its industry, having a track record for providing on-time deliveries and effective supply chain solutions;
• Its global reach, with the Company able to reach customers in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, as well as providing extensive domestic services;
• Its accessibility and ease of use, with the Company providing a range of services and functionality that can be accessed online or via mobile devices;
• Its broad portfolio of services, with the Company providing a wide spectrum of services designed for general consumers, and commercial customers across multiple business sectors; and
• Its customer-focused business practices, with the Company working closely with customers to ensure their needs are met. ### Channels

Deutsche post operates a website at www.dpdhl.com through which it provides information on its products, services, rates, and structure. The Company also operates an online channel at www.deutschepost.de, which enables customers to purchase various products, manage accounts and track orders. Deutsche Post offers similar functionality through its mobile app, which is available on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone systems.

Deutsche operates a broad domestic network of physical outlets and service centres, through which its workforce of couriers, package handlers and customer service staff provide services directly. This includes numerous paketshops, packstations, retail outlets, parcel centres, mail centres and sales points.

Deutsche Post also provides more complex commercial services to customers directly through staff located in its offices across around the world. The Company additionally utilises a network of third-party service providers, which provide services on the Company’s behalf jurisdictions. This includes partner-operated retail outlets and independent agents.

Customer Relationships

Deutsche Post provides a range of services to its customers on a self-service basis through its online and mobile channels. These channels allow customers to make purchase, track deliveries, and manage their customer accounts without interacting directly with the members of the Company’s staff.

Much of Deutsche Post’s services are provided in-person through its physical outlets, where company representatives can provide a more tailored, personal service. More complex commercial services are also provided through the Company’s direct sales and relationship management staff, who work closely with customers, with a view to establishing lasting relationships.

Deutsche Post provides ongoing support services to its customers, offering a range of resources – including guides, FAQs, and shipping information – through its website. The Company also has customer support staff on-hand to respond personally to enquiries and complaints, who can be contacted over the phone. Additionally, Deutsche Post operates social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, through which it can interact directly with customers.

Key Activities

Deutsche is a Germany-based logistics and package delivery services provider. The Company’s activities are organised into four principal operating divisions: Post – eCommerce – Parcel, which comprises the transport and delivery of letters and packages, and the operation of the Company’s online services; Express, which offers international and domestic courier and express services to business and private customers; Global Forwarding and Freight, which provides rail, road, air and sea transportation of commercial goods; and Supply Chain, which provides contract logistics, warehousing and transport services, as well as services along the entire supply chain.

Key Partners

Deutsche Post collaborates with numerous partners throughout the process of delivering its logistics and supply chains solutions. These partners include:

• Vendor and Supplier Partners, comprising various suppliers of services, technology and tools that help to support the Company’s own suite of services, and vendors to which certain functions can be outsourced;
• Distribution and Delivery Partners, comprising partner outlets and independent agents that provide services on the Company’s behalf in jurisdictions where it is not itself well-represented; and
• Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising a range of companies with which the Company collaborates on various joint projects, and shares certain resources. Deutsche Post also has a number of corporate social responsibility and community partners. This includes recent partnerships with SOS Children’s Villages, with which it collaborates on the Go Teach program, and with Teach For All, with which it works on projects seeking to improve education and expanding educational opportunities worldwide.

Key Resources

Deutsche Post’s key resources are its physical distribution and sales infrastructure, its fleet of ground, air, and sea vehicles; its communications and technology infrastructure, its partnerships, and its personnel.

Deutsche Post operates a significant network of service and packaging centres, on which its operations are dependent. This includes 11,000 paketshops, 13,000 retail outlets, 110,000 post boxes, 2,750 packstations, 3,400 sales points, 82 mail centres, 33 parcel centres, and around 1,000 paketboxes across Germany.

Cost Structure

Deutsche Post incurs costs in relation to the operation and maintenance of its physical infrastructure, the management and maintenance of its transport fleet, the purchase of fuel, the maintenance of its technology and communications infrastructure, the management of its partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.

In 2015 Deutsche Post accrued materials costs, including the purchase of supplies such as fuel, in the amount of €33.17 billion, the Company’s most substantial expense. The Company also accrued significant personnel costs, including the payment of salaries and benefits to its workforce of 497,745 employees, totalling €19.64 billion. The Company’s procurement costs, which relate to its procurement of various services and products, amounted to €10.70 billion for the year.

Revenue Streams

Deutsche Post generates revenue through the provision of various logistics, package delivery, and supply chain services to consumers, commercial entities, and industrial companies. The Company derives its revenue from the sale of its services, as well as the collection associated fees.

In 2015 Deutsche Post generated €59.23 billion in annual revenue, up on the €56.63 billion recorded by the Company in 2014. The Company attributed this increase to positive currency effects, growth in its Post – eCommerce – Parcel and Express divisions. The Company’s revenue is distributed relatively evenly across its four operating segments. Its Post – eCommerce – Parcel segment, however, was the Company’s largest revenue generator in 2015, recording €15.69 billion for the year. This was followed by the Global Forwarding and Freight segment, and then the Supply Chain segment, with the Express segment generating the lowest portion of revenue, with €12.49 billion.