DHL EXPRESS LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO SUPPORT CANADIAN SMES THROUGH PANDEMIC

• New Handle with Care program  is focused on helping local small businesses to promote their products internationally and will award two SMEs with a $20,000 CAD shipping and wellness stipend
• The program is one of the company’s latest initiatives to help local entrepreneurs as more than 80% of DHL’s business are SMEs
• DHL Express recognizes cross-border e-commerce as essential for business resilience during pandemic

DHL Express, the world’s leading provider of international express shipping services, launched a program aiming to help small and medium companies in Canada keep their businesses active during the pandemic, amid lockdowns and a grim forecast by The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which surveyed and found that one in six small business owners are now contemplating shutting down. 

“The pandemic has disrupted the way we all do business, but it has also generated a new spirit of creativity and perseverance in many small business owners who continue working hard for their business and their employees,” said Andrew Williams, CEO for DHL Express Canada. “For us at DHL Express, the lesson has been clear: in order to survive and thrive in the current economic downturn, businesses need an online strategy that includes a robust e-commerce plan with a strong cross-border component.”

Already offering services specifically tailored for SME’s to expand their markets and take their products internationally, DHL Express partnered with six small businesses to promote the importance of SME’s for the country’s economy, and the benefits of cross-border e-commerce, creating a contest to award two companies each with $10,000 CAD worth of international shipping and $10,000 in wellness stipend. 

With an estimated 2.1 billion shoppers online globally, and 18 million shoppers online in Canada -- of which 67% are cross-border buyers --  more than 80% of active customers for DHL Express are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the country. In the Americas, SME’s also represent more than 80% of active account customers for the company.

“We believe in the entrepreneurs of our country and we have the logistic expertise to help them take their products to the world. Smaller businesses don’t have the staff for an entire customs clearance department; their own transportation management team, or even market penetration assistance. Instead, they can partner with DHL, which is already present in over 220 countries and territories world-wide,” said Williams.

DHL Express reported a 40% growth in SME’s business in the last two years in Canada, and a significant B2C shipment volume increase of more than 35% in 2020 versus the year before, mostly due to the rapid growth of e-commerce, which was also catapulted during the shutdown as more people started shopping online.

“All business can benefit from this trend, regardless of their size. The barrier to entering global markets is less than many entrepreneurs might think,” said Williams.

In its recently published DHL Global Connectedness Index 2020, the first comprehensive assessment of globalization during the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, DHL found that stronger global connectedness could accelerate the world’s recovery from the pandemic, as countries that connect more to international flows tend to enjoy faster economic growth. 

“By selling their products online, globally, SME’s can potentially diversify their businesses, pivot more easily in the face of rapid changes, and chart a course to recover from the damages due to COVID-19,” Williams said.

The DHL Handle with Care Small Business Contest is open to any active business based, registered and operating in Canada with no more than 100 employees on its payroll, and there is no purchase necessary. 

Six SMEs partnered with DHL Express for the contest to share their experience with other SMEs after they took their business global: Milk Jar Candle Co., a local candle company from Calgary that creates an alternative to synthetic candles on the market; YNOT, an innovative SME focused on customizing products for daily travel tailored for adventure seekers; CDN, an apparel brand focused on reflecting diversity of people and lives thought their designs; LOHN, founded in Toronto in 2018 by two women to create unique essential oils and perfume blends; and Mary’s Brigadeiro, a Toronto-based small handcrafted chocolate business that brings the Brazilian brigadeiro to Canada.

The wellness award to the SMEs winners also includes sessions with Raia ‘Coach’ Carey, DHL’s sixth partner and a certified life coach, who will guide the winning companies through programs to take care of their employees.

For more details on DHL Express, the contest and the small business listed above, you can visit https://goglobal.dhl.ca/handlewithcare

*Source: Statista