DHL 1999 Annual Report Download - page 25

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Further, we are in a position to route the volumes
generated by our value-added services through our
existing logistics and transport networks.Value-added
services therefore not only meet demand in a new,fast-
growing field, they also generate additional volumes
and consequently help us make full use of our national
and international network capacity.
4.3. Expanding our e-Business activities
Our Internet strategy follows three primary thrusts:
• First, to profit from the trade flows that are generated
through the Internet;
• Second,to make our products Internet-enabled;
• Third, to promote e-Commerce among customers via
Internet marketplaces such as eVITA and among
online dealers via our range of electronic products
and services (Electronic Commerce Services).
Deutsche Post World Net took important steps in
1999 to participate in the development of e-Business.
The organizational implementation is carried out by
Deutsche Post’s e-Business Holding at Headquarters
and by the divisions.
e-Business Holding includes eVITA, Electronic Com-
merce Services (ECS), our Trust Center and venture
capital activities.We offer e-Business shops through our
eVITA Internet portal.eVITA is a topic-oriented Internet
marketplace that offers online shopping at more than
2,500 shops. In the process, eVITA combines infor-
mation,interaction and shopping in a portal operated by
Deutsche Post. According to a survey conducted by
ComCult, approximately 50 percent of all German
Internet users were aware of eVITA’s presence on the Net
within just six months of its launch. Seventy percent of
the respondents spontaneously rated eVITA’s offerings
as “good” to “very good”. In December 1999 alone,
eVITA received more than two million hits, more than
quadrupling its performance in the course of six
months.By comparison,the ten leading providers in this
segment reported 30 percent growth during the same
period, according to information from the German
Magazine Publishers Association.
Operating as a service provider in the e-Commerce
field, we were able to position our Electronic
Commerce Services (ECS) in the Internet. Deutsche
Post World Net will consequently be able to take ad-
vantage of changes that e-Business generates – such as the
shortening of wholesale/retail and value-added chains –
to the benefit of our company. The Electronic Com-
merce Services we offer in the Internet range from
assistance with outfitting shops to worldwide home
delivery combined with fiduciary responsibility (order
handling, payment transactions, warehousing and
transport) in either package form or as individual
service modules. Deutsche Post World Net has also
opened a Trust Center to ensure the security of Internet
business transactions. Our Trust Center enables us to
offer electronic signatures for e-Business.
Our venture capital activities include our participating
interest in GFT, zouk holding, e-Stamp and our own
Venture Capital fund. In order to strengthen our IT
competence, which is also a key factor for success in
e-Business, Deutsche Post World Net acquired a 16-per-
cent stake in GFT, an Internet service company that is
listed on Germany’s Neuer Markt stock exchange. This
fast-growing company specializes in Internet software
solutions. Further, we also acquired 12 percent of the
British venture capital company zouk holding ltd.Zouk
helps Internet start-ups with seed capital and know-
how, giving us an inside track on current trends and
market developments in the e-Commerce sphere. We
also acquired a minority stake in the American company
e-Stamp Corp. so that we can take advantage of the
opportunities offered by electronic franking in the
future.And last but not least, we established our own
venture capital fund with initial financial resources of
EUR 50 million that invests in companies associated
with the Internet business.
In addition to these new Internet services for the entire
Group which are controlled by Headquarters, we are
also developing special e-Business products and solu-
tions in all of our four corporate divisions.We do so by
combining letter mail, logistics and financial services
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