DHL Freight is advancing its AI-supported customer service consistently. Without smart solutions, it is no longer possible to meet increasing customer requirements in logistics. The latest versions of the ICE 2.0 system, developed in-house, and the VIVA chatbot ensure the highest quality of customer support service. ICE 2.0 and VIVA will be introduced in all DHL Freight countries by 2026.
AI-Powered Customer Centricity Reaches the Next Level
An increasing number of shipments also leads to more customer inquiries, which adds to the workload of customer service employees. To maintain high service quality despite this increase, AI bots have become an indispensable part of customer service. The broader a company’s operations and the greater the number of countries and processes involved, the more powerful a user-friendly service bot needs to be.
At the same time, standardization is necessary for integrating all business areas and ensuring a consistent customer experience. Cross-border activities, such as those carried out by DHL Freight, require country-specific processes that impede standardization. Nevertheless, DHL Freight has long been taking innovative steps to promote standardization and optimize services. DHL Freight has streamlined its customer service by implementing a standardized customer relationship management and workflow tool. With its latest project, ICE 2.0, DHL Freight is using AI to make further improvements for customers in the short term and set new standards in customer service.
For our customers, this is particularly evident with the VIVA chatbot. Our virtual colleague is smart enough to answer 93 percent of inquiries without assistance. This improves the 24/7 availability of reliable solutions to customer concerns. And that is indispensable in today’s business environment. What was once considered nice to have is now a strategic necessity, and live chat is becoming the preferred communication channel, even in the B2B sector.
Viva Is a Success Story with Several Milestones
- 2021: VIVA is debuting in Sweden. As an intent chatbot, she employs natural language understanding to interpret customer inquiries. However, intent systems are still based on predefined keywords to trigger responses, which is helpful but not intelligent. This technology has particular difficulty with complex questions.
- 2024: VIVA has now also been launched in France. Shortly thereafter, Sweden switches from an intent-based bot to an AI bot. This new AI-powered VIVA responds faster and creates a more human impression. AI-based VIVA is quickly becoming a milestone in the digitization of customer support in logistics.
- 2025: VIVA now has short-term memory. This allows VIVA to recall previous questions within a conversation and relate them to current ones. Interactions now appear much more natural and human, thereby improving the overall customer experience. After her launch in Sweden, the newest VIVA becomes active in the Czech Republic in December.
- 2026: The pioneering AI solution will first also be introduced in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Later this year, VIVA will be fully rolled out in all DHL Freight countries to enable intelligent interactions and deliver the highest quality of service everywhere.
During my first 100 days as CEO of DHL Freight, I had the privilege to explore some incredible initiatives shaping the future of DHL Freight. One that truly stands out is ICE 2.0, which includes our innovative AI chatbot and voicebot, VIVA. Customer Service is a core part of our road freight product and a cornerstone of a successful network. In a highly competitive environment, where Freight faces multiple challenges, we must continuously evolve to stay ahead.
Markus Voss, CEO DHL Freight
AI-Powered Customer Service Made by DHL Freight
VIVA is the centerpiece of the ICE 2.0 project. As part of the rollout, the project team and customer service teams in various countries are providing VIVA with a standardized, global knowledge database – essentially, the bot’s “brain”. This ensures that all country chatbots align with global product and marketing standards. Local FAQs supplement this knowledge.
DHL developers achieve VIVA’s holistic efficiency and service quality using a copy-and-paste approach, transferring established strategies to new areas of application. This approach requires extensive data collection and the effective integration of local variations.
As a result, VIVA is a comprehensive virtual assistant that supports all business areas and languages relevant to DHL Freight. She can handle all topics covered and processed by customer service. This includes various types of inquiries, from shipment tracking and complaint assistance to answering questions about all DHL Freight products. VIVA is a powerful digital assistant for our customers and a valuable digital colleague for our teams.
Key Advantages of VIVA
- VIVA offers 24/7 support;
- answers simple and complex inquiries;
- autonomously formulates complete, relevant, and human-like responses;
- provides a user experience comparable to that offered by human teams;
- offers support across various touchpoints;
- enables dynamic scalability (customer volume, country onboarding, and content scope).
Hi, I am VIVA, your virtual assistant at DHL Freight. How can I help you?
VIVA, AI-Chatbot and Voicebot, DHL Freight
AI Support that Truly Benefits Our Customers
Even the most sophisticated technical systems occasionally reach their limits. That’s why the human factor continues to play a key role in DHL Freight’s customer support. We offer the best of both worlds: the almost limitless knowledge of AI chatbots and the dedicated, understanding support of our human customer service specialists.
At DHL Freight, we offer our customers intelligent, flexible services available by phone, email, and chat. In addition to our autonomous, AI-based chatbot, VIVA, the ICE 2.0 project comprises three additional components:
- VIVA voicebot – She provides phone support with 24/7 shipment tracking. The VIVA voicebot helps customers conveniently and without any writing required. If VIVA cannot solve a problem completely, human colleagues take over.
- Live chat with DHL Freight Experts for personal support
- Callback service according to the customer’s preferences to reduce waiting times
AI-powered solutions such as VIVA are key enablers of our digital transformation, both as a supplier of choice and as an employer of choice. VIVA’s 24/7 support allows us to meet our customers’ expectations. At the same time, we ensure that all DHL Freight customers, regardless of their location, receive the fast and reliable support they desire. Additionally, we provide our colleagues with a digital assistant that helps them apply their knowledge and expertise as logistics specialists to complex enquiries and find customer-focused solutions.
Andrea Wylegala, VP Customer Service and Tele Sales DHLFreight
A Milestone in DHL Freight’s Digital Transformation
ICE 2.0 and VIVA represent technological leaps, ensuring every customer interaction feels natural, helpful, and efficient. They set new standards for digital service at DHL Freight and in transport logistics. A key task is to continually train VIVA so she can answer an even broader range of questions in the future. VIVA already addresses all basic concerns, allowing our employees to focus on more complex issues. Our customers benefit from high-quality solutions that are both human-supported and AI-powered.
Powerful AI systems allow DHL Freight to provide excellent delivery and support services despite increasing volumes and high customer requirements. This ensures that your shipment will arrive at its destination quickly, safely, and sustainably. If problems do arise, our experts and VIVA are on hand to resolve them.
Thanks to the smart scalability of ICE 2.0, we can quickly, easily, and, above all, in a customer-centric way, shape the future of customer service. At the same time, VIVA helps us increase efficiency, improve service quality, and set new standards for customer interaction. By using AI, we are optimizing our processes while redefining how we interact with customers – establishing DHL Freight as a leader in innovation and customer focus.
Karin Ekström, Project Manager Commercial System
