DHL Secures Contract With LTLS

DHL and Lufthansa are moving even closer together. Both have joined forces in a number of business fields in recent years with carrier AeroLogic, their 50/50% joint venture, being their best known project. Now, this partnership has been intensified with Deutsche Post’s forwarding arm DHL Global Forwarding winning a bid tendered by Hamburg-headquartered Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services comprising the transport of aircraft parts between Germany and the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico – both ways.

The cooperation becomes effective immediately and is estimated to encompass 25,000 air freight shipments per annum, weighing about 550 tons. Most of them are stored at LTLS’s two large warehouses in Hamburg and Frankfurt. Asked about the financial volume of the agreement DHL refused to comment.

According to the agreement DHL GF will be responsible for managing the entire supply chain from beginning to end, “with Lufthansa Cargo flying the vast majority of goods sent on behalf of our logistics daughter LTLS or received by them from overseas,” illustrates communication manager Thomas Erich from LH Technik the procedure. Only in case of utmost urgency, when an aircraft is grounded for technical reasons (AOG) and has to be immediately provided with spare parts the fastest airline and flight will be taken to forward the goods, says Thomas. This can be Lufthansa but mustn’t necessarily be the Crane, because in this particular case time is the crucial criteria for forwarding the parts to where they are badly needed in order to get an aircraft back in the air.

Three year term with chance of extension
The agreement will run for three years with an option for prolongation. It could serve as a blueprint for covering other trade lanes like Germany to China or the Middle East. LH Technik speaker Erich didn’t exclude further deals between both companies following a similar pattern.
Optimizing supply chains has become a key objective in many industries; in the aviation industry this also includes Maintenance, Repair und Overhaul (MRO) areas. “With DHL Global Forwarding we have found a partner that has the necessary know-how and, with its global presence, the ability to tailor its solutions to meet our needs,” comments Andreas Meisel, Managing Director of LTLS.  

Each step is monitored  
In addition to air freight solutions, DHL will support LTLS with its freight control tower service. Equipped with state-of-the-art IT infrastructure, the control tower monitors the flow of goods from A to Z, continuously optimizes processes based on detailed shipment flow analysis, reduces costs, and is closely coordinated with LTLS’s own material flow management.    
  
“Our industry knowledge and longstanding experience in the Aerospace & Aviation industry allow us to provide highly efficient solutions and – thanks to the strong teamwork with Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services – we continue to expand and build on these solutions. Establishing common standards ensures process stability, transparency and savings,” says Thomas George, COO DHL Global Forwarding.  

Thomas Erich of LH Technik assures that no jobs will be lost at LTLS as result of the DHL deal. 

Only months ago Zurich-headquartered Swiss has entrusted its entire spare parts logistics to LTLS as part of a three-year agreement. Under the agreement, LTLS will take over all transport services for Swiss everywhere in the world, including standard transports and special services such as the transport of aircraft engines.

Heiner Siegmund