1. A Unique Business Model In The Early Days

When DHL was founded in 1969, the fledgling company would use ‘couriers’ on-board flights. Couriers were everyday passengers who carried DHL parcels alongside their normal passenger luggage. This method resulted in speeding up delivery times, as clearing customs and security checks for passengers did not take as long as checking-in times for cargo.

2. Strange Items Shipped

In 2014, DHL shipped two giant pandas Hao Hao and Xing Hui, from Chengdu, China to the Pairi Daiza animal sanctuary in Brugelette, Belgium. The two pandas were sent for the purposes of a special breeding and research program, designed to prevent the extinction of the Panda species. Hao Hao and Xing Hui travelled over 8,000 kilometres (4,970 miles) in DHL trucks and airplanes.

3. Yellow = Speed

In 2002 DHL was acquired by the German postal giant, Deutsche Post, resulting in the creation of a giant global logistics business. Late in 2002, the company experienced a significant brand redesign, which resulted in the DHL logo switching from the colour Red to Yellow. A reason behind the switch was the fact the colour Yellow is associated with speed and lightning — ideal characteristics for a courier company.

4. Helicopter Delivery

In 2015, DHL unveiled a helicopter delivery service aimed at speeding up deliveries in financial centres in the US and the UK, such as London, New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles. The service targets businesses in the banking, consulting and legal sectors, with guaranteed next-day delivery available for urgent documents from New York, Boston and Chicago to London’s financial district.

5. Fast Facts - Logistics Which Reach Everywhere

• DHL delivers 80% of all of the goods which are sold in the 300 stores on Oxford Street, London – Europe’s busiest shopping street which is visited by 500,000 people every day.

• DHL supplies all of the food served by British Airways on 133 flights emanating from Heathrow.

• The company has a total workforce of 500,000 people worldwide, working in 220 countries and territories.