Abstract

The case discusses the disaster management programs at the leading logistics company, DHL. Over the years DHL had gained considerable expertise in disaster management and recovery, as it was crucial to maintain business continuity. The company wanted to leverage the experience it gained in providing service to the customers during emergency for humanitarian causes. DHL joined an initiative of World Economic Forum, Disaster Resource Network (DRN). Several companies from different industries were a part of the DRN and they set up Airport Emergency Team (AET) with the aim of relieving airports of congestion and ensure smooth flow of relief material in disaster affected areas. AET was actively involved in several efforts during Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, South Asia Earthquake etc. In December 2005, DHL entered into a partnership with the United Nations to establish three teams comprising of employees from DHL at strategically important airports. These teams known as Disaster Response Team (DRT) were ready to be deployed in disaster affected areas. The DRT comprised of around 80 employees each who had expertise in areas like safety and security, inventory management, cargo handling, warehouse management, road operations etc. The teams were deployed in Asia Pacific region, in the Americas, and in the Middle East / Africa. The case examines DHL’s disaster management and humanitarian relief initiatives in detail.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand business continuity programs at DHL
• Evaluate how companies can play their part in the betterment of the society
• Analyze DHL’s disaster management programs
• and Study some of the humanitarian relief programs carried out by DHL.

Keywords

DHL, Business Continuity, Disaster Management, UN Global Compact, Emergency Management, Disaster Resource Network, Humanitarian Relief, Airport Emergency Team, UNDP, Disaster Response Teams