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DHL Freight Finland handles approximately 1.8 million tons of freight a year – and has a service to offer for every logistics need. Finland, with its approximately 188,000 lakes, is a feast for the eyes of nature enthusiasts – but also an important bridge between East and West. One of the most sparsely populated countries of the continent, Finland is the home of high tech and other specialized industries. The three distribution centers of DHL Freight Finland are all in the south of the country. Vantaa is located in the direct vicinity of Helsinki, and also the location of DHL Freight’s headquarters. This is where the traffic for Western and Eastern Europe is handled. Deliveries for the Scandinavian countries are handled in Turku, located further to the west. The hub for the Russian transit business is located in Hamina, almost directly on the border. That is where 65,000 square metres of storage space are available for transit cargo. “Of course the sanctions have caused difficulties for the trade between Finland and Russia in recent years, resulting in a decline of roughly 30 percent. But Finnish businesses have been able to more than compensate the losses through growth in other business areas.”, is how Ben Angelvirta, Director Sales & Marketing DHL Freight Finland, explains the effects of politics on the business.
Hear the voice of the customer
Finnish customers appreciate personal contacts and want cooperation to be simple and swift. DHL Freight Finland attaches particular importance to excellent customer service and is interested in understanding the customer’s business. “We use many channels to hear the voice of the customer. Based on their feedback, we have been able to build tailor-made solutions for certain industries,” Ben Angelvirta says. The needs of smaller customers with ad hoc needs are considered as well: for example, the inclusion of a live chat on the website was a very successful idea. This is where sales staff answers questions without delay, and customers do not have to click their way through the product offer first, but can simply type in their query directly. Ben Angelvirta explains: “This was exactly the right thing to do. Our freight volume in the area of smaller, short-term deliveries has more than doubled as a result.”
Widest delivery network in Finland
When it comes to the business with Western Europe, sea routes play a crucial role, since Finland is practically an island. Ferries depart from Helsinki every day, destined for all major European ports. 2,500 trailers equipped with GPS trackers are available to customers, no matter whether for Complete Truck Loads (CTL), partial loads or groupage. In particular for the latter, DHL Freight Finland has a country-wide partnership network to ensure the highest quality for pick-ups and deliveries. Furthermore, DHL Freight customs consulting also helps all customers, which is particularly important for shipments bound for destinations or coming from outside of the EU. “The last customer survey confirms our arrangement. Accordingly, 85 percent of our business partners are convinced that we have perfectly understood their logistics requirements. Our main strengths are thus considered to be our sales staff, our network throughout Europe and our on-time delivery. And that is the way we wish to continue – as a strong partner for our customers”, explains Ben Angelvirta.
