DHL Supply Chain held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday at Singapore’s Tampines LogisPark to unveil the blueprint of its Advanced Regional Center, a build-to-suit logistics warehouse.
DHL has invested more than S$40 million (US$32 million) in the warehouse, while Cache Logistics Trust, a logistics real estate services provider, contributed more than S$120 million (US$96 million).
With a warehouse floor area of over 90,000 square meters (968,751 square feet), the DHL Supply Chain Advanced Regional Center will occupy the largest parcel of land in Tampines LogisPark. It is set to increase DHL Supply Chain’s warehouse capacity in Singapore by 40 percent.
The facility will also house Asia Pacific Solutions & Innovation Center, a joint development with the Singapore Economic Development Board.
“This S$40 million, state-of-the-art facility will enable DHL’s regional customers in the aerospace, health care and technology sectors to benefit from the advanced technology and automation solutions,” Jason Goh, managing director of DHL Supply Chain Singapore, said. “Coupled with the improved workflow processes, the automation technology will reduce the time required to pick, pack and ship items, enabling faster order fulfillments. Our continued focus on improving workflow processes has already resulted in a 25 percent growth in topline revenue in Singapore since 2008.”
Construction of the new facility is expected to be completed by the second half of 2015. DHL’s Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa regional office and Singapore country office will then be relocated to the premises.
DHL expects its Singapore staff to reach over 2,000 upon completion of this facility. These numbers will bolster the company’s regional goal of 25,000 staff by 2015, representing an increase of 65 percent in regional staff strength from 2013.
Cache Logistics Trust is the appointed developer of the facility.
“We are honored to be selected by DHL as the preferred logistics real estate solutions provider for this prestigious and strategic development,” said Daniel Cerf, CEO of ARA-CWT Trust Management (Cache) Limited and manager of Cache Logistics Trust. “Working hand in hand with our partners and sponsor, CWT Limited, we look forward to delivering an outstanding property and the opportunity to partner with DHL in their growth throughout Asia Pacific.”
The Asia Pacific Solutions & Innovation Center will be the first center of excellence for innovative logistics services in the region. The facility will serve as a regional platform to engage customers, industry partners and the Singapore research and government community on business and innovation-related matters.
One of the first competence centers to be established under the Asia Pacific Solutions & Innovation Center umbrella will be the Center of Excellence for Automation. The facility will be designed for multi-sector and multi-user operations.
“DHL’s continued pursuit of achieving operational excellence and productivity is clearly demonstrated in its latest investment in sophisticated automated warehousing solutions. We also welcome its first innovation center outside its global headquarters, which marks another significant milestone in the strong partnership between DHL and Singapore,” said Kelvin Wong, assistant managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board. “This development fits well with our vision for Singapore to be a thought-leader in supply chain innovations and applications.”