DHL 2010 Annual Report Download - page 97

Due to our co-operation with retailers, our approximately , retail outlets and
sales points have increased average weekly opening times from  to  hours. Surveys of
our retail outlet customers are conducted annually by Kundenmonitor Deutschland, the
largest consumer satisfaction study in Germany, to determine their level of satisfaction
with our services. Our overall service quality has been receiving top marks for years. In
the reporting year, postal retail outlets in particular saw yet another increase in customer
satisfaction. Our partner-operated outlets received their highest satisfaction ratings
since the study began in . More than   of customers are served within three
minutes as con rmed by impartial mystery shoppers from  Infratest, which we hire
to conduct around ,  Rheinland-certi ed tests of the retail outlets per year.
We regard working practices that protect the environment as a key yardstick of qual-
ity. In Germany, we therefore employ a  Nord-certi ed environmental manage ment
system in our mail and parcel businesses. As part of our GoGreen initiative, we o er
consumers and business customers climate-neutral shipping options. We are also test-
ing vehicles with hybrid and electric drive technology as well as energy saving lighting
in our facilities.
Service quality translates into competitive advantage in the express business
A fundamental component of our Focus  initiative is to continuously improve
our quality of service. To achieve this goal, we track the ever-changing requirements
ofour customers and measure our services, for instance using mystery shoppers. In
the reporting year, we were able to resolve   of customer complaints within the pre-
scribed period. Our e orts have been well worth it: in China, for example, we received
the Best Call Centre Award  and in the  we were ranked  rst in overall e-mail
service in  and were amongst the  leading call centres.
We are constantly improving our work ows in order to work e ectively and cost-
e ciently. Standardising our processes plays a vital role in this. For example, in May 
we introduced a globally standardised internet platform that gives customers all over the
world simple, uniform access to our services, regardless of whether they are acting as
individuals or as organisations which operate worldwide. At the same time, we have
continued developing solutions to allow customers to link their own  systems with
ours to provide them with direct access to our delivery services.
We have implemented more than  initiatives as part of our First Choice programme.
 e areas in which we made progress include invoicing and customs clearance of ship-
ments upon arrival in the target country.  is has improved the reliability and shortened
end-to-end delivery times.
We are able to track shipments worldwide and dynamically adjust our processes
using state-of-the-art quality control centres. Should unforeseen events occur,  ight and
shipment routes, for example, are altered immediately in order to ensure that shipments
reach their recipients at the agreed time. A new study by  Consulting shows that we
are the world’s most reliable provider of express services, a testimony to the fact that we
are keeping our customer promise.
dhl.com
Strategic focus, page 
Deutsche Post DHL Annual Report 
Group Management Report
Non-Financial Performance Indicators
Customers and quality
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