DHL 2013 Annual Report Download - page 96

Opportunities
Opportunities arising from market trends and our market position
A variety of external factors oer us numerous opportunities, indeed we believe that
the global market will grow. Advancing globalisation means that the logistics industry
will continue to grow at least as fast or faster than the world economy as a whole. is is
especially true for Asia, where trade ows to other regions and in particular within the
continent will continue to increase. As the market leader, our  divisions can generate
above-average benets from this. is also applies to regions such as South America and
the Middle East, which continue to see robust growth. We are similarly well positioned
in the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico + and
will take advantage of opportunities arising in these markets.
Whether and to what extent the logistics market will grow is dependent on a num-
ber of factors. e trend towards outsourcing business processes continues. As a result,
supply chains are becoming more complex and more international but are also more
prone to disruption. For this reason, customers want stable, integrated logistics solutions,
which is what we provide with our broad-based service portfolio. We continue to see
growth opportunities in this area, in particular in the   division and as a
result of closer co-operation between all our divisions.
e booming online marketplace represents another opportunity for us in that it is
creating demand for transporting documents and goods. e  market is experiencing
double-digit growth, particularly due to the rapid rise in digital retail trade. is has
created high growth potential for the national and international parcel business, which
we intend to tap into by expanding our parcel network.
Our customers want to improve their carbon eciency and be supplied with infor-
mation on their  emissions. Such an increase in environmental awareness presents
new business potential: with our own mail, parcel and express products as well as air and
ocean freight transport, we not only lead our industry in the areas of energy-ecient
transport, transparent emissions reports and climate-neutral products, but we also oer
customer-specic solutions to reduce carbon emissions.
Opportunities from improved internal processes
Volumes and costs have a critical impact on our result. Should we succeed in align-
ing our internal processes to meet customer needs whilst simultaneously lowering costs,
this could lead to positive deviations from current projections. We are steadily improv-
ing internal processes with the help of our First Choice initiatives. is improves customer
satisfaction and reduces our costs at the same time. Our earnings projection already
incorporates expected cost savings.
Opportunities from pending legal proceedings
On  January , the European Commission issued a ruling on the formal
investigation regarding state aid that it had initiated on  September . It con-
cluded that Deutsche Post  had received illegal state aid, which it is to repay to the
Federal Republic of Germany; in addition, it must also be ensured that no benets are
received in the future which could be considered illegal state aid. Deutsche Post  is
of the opinion that the state aid decision cannot withstand legal review and has led an
appeal with the European Court of Justice. e Federal Republic of Germany has like-
wise appealed the decision. To implement the state aid ruling, the federal government
called upon Deutsche Post  on  May  to make a payment of  million,
Glossary, page 
Objectives and strategies, page 
92 Deutsche Post DHL 2013 Annual Report
Opportunities and Risks
Opportunities
Group Management Report