contract logistics company (German-owned group) · Logistics, Shipping & Supply Chains

DHL Supply Chain UK & Ireland

The UK and Ireland business of DHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics division of Deutsche Post DHL, running warehouses and transport for retailers, manufacturers and public bodies.

About DHL Supply Chain UK & Ireland

DHL Supply Chain is the contract logistics arm of the Deutsche Post DHL group, and its UK and Ireland business runs warehousing and transport on behalf of other companies. Its services, as described by Wikipedia, include warehousing and distribution, managed transport, value-added services such as packaging and returns management, business process outsourcing, supply chain consulting and e-fulfilment. Its focus sectors include automotive, engineering, manufacturing, chemicals and energy, consumer, retail, technology, life sciences and healthcare. DHL's UK fulfilment page describes technology such as wearable devices, automated warehouse management and what it calls intelligent process automation.

The DHL name goes back to 1969, when Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn started it in San Francisco. DHL opened its first UK office in London in 1974. Deutsche Post bought the British logistics group Exel in December 2005, and Exel's UK business became part of what is now DHL Supply Chain. Wikipedia quotes the division's aim as making sure that "customers' products and information reach their markets quickly and efficiently". Some of its better-known UK contracts have included running NHS Supply Chain for England until April 2019 and the Prison Retail Service, first won in 2008 and won again in 2022.

DHL Supply Chain Limited is registered in the UK, and the company's UK fulfilment page says it manages all its fulfilment centres directly. That page gives figures of 37,500 or more employees and 419 warehouses and offices, but it is not clear whether these describe the UK alone or the wider network, so treat them with care. The page does not list individual sites. Martin Willmor became chief executive of DHL Supply Chain in the UK and Ireland on 1 October 2025. He joined DHL in 2002, spent the period from 2021 as chief executive of a digital freight platform called DigiHaul, and reports to Hendrik Venter, the division's global chief executive.

On culture, the UK fulfilment page displays a Great Place to Work 2024 logo, says every business customer is given a central contact person, and highlights environmental measures such as renewable electricity and zero waste to landfill at some sites. These are the company's own statements and we have not checked them independently. We did not find staff stories for the UK.

DHL Supply Chain employs people at every level of the supply chain. There are warehouse and transport operatives, team leaders, shift and site managers, engineers and technicians for automation, planners who design delivery networks, customer solutions teams, and people in finance, IT, data, health and safety and human resources. Because it works with so many sectors, from fashion to healthcare, you could end up helping to supply anything from clothes to medical equipment. DHL's careers site lists current vacancies and locations.

What they do

Key facts

Website: www.dhl.com/gb-en/home/supply-chain.html

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