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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.

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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

Herois

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