CONTENTINTRODUCTION3Chapter I. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE ENTERPRISE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS ANALYSIS51.1Importance of finance and financial management in the world business51.2Concept, principles and forms of enterprise performance analysis14Chapter II. ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATION AND FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE ENTERPRISE DHL192.1 Short history of the enterprise DHL192.2 Financial and Economic Analysis of the enterprise DHL27Chapter III. STRATEGY AND LOGISTIC ACTIVITIES OF THE DHL MOLDOVA ENTERPRISE AND THEIR INTEGRATION IN GLOBAL BUSINESS44CONCLUSION55BIBLIOGRAPHY57

INTRODUCTIONThe present thesis is the result of an intense activity of documentation and scientific research during several years on main aspects regarding Analysis and management of financial resources of the enterprise. The analyze of this theme supposes, in my opinion, knowing a great number of techniques, methods, ways, regulations and commercial, international or civil usances which will allow to logistic to contribute to the intensification of international business of the companies in conditions of increased efficiency.This thesis focuses on a DHL company mainly to examine what reasons or factors make it one of the most successful logistics companies all over the world, and what competitive advantage DHL can gain through external analysis and internal analysis of marketing strategy. According to Aaker, external analysis is an exercise in creative thinking from different perspectives, such as competitor, customer, environment and etc. These perspectives can help define the relevant industry. On the other hand internal analysis identifies brand association, products quality and customer satisfaction of companies. In the end SWOT analysis would be used to summarize the companys strength, weakness, opportunity and threats. In this thesis, a brief introduction of external and internal analysis is given and it would be the main theory that can support carrying out the purpose of this work. According to Aaker and Gerhardt, external analysis can influence on business strategy if a company adapted it in current dynamic competition. when customer and competitor are researching and classifying by external and internal analysis, stronger strategies can be developed to sustain a companys growth. Thus, external and internal analysis is crucial process for business. This analysis can help companies to understand themselves better and deeper. Thereby the manager can use SWOT framework to analyze what strength, weakness (internal factors) the company has and what opportunity, and threats (external factors) the company faces. After that an appropriate market strategy can be developed and applied.In the paper we have started from the consideration that successes of the companies in their external activity can not be realized but by using a performing informational system of logistic service.Here, we have mentioned their role in taking decisions by the companies, main directions of informatization of these logistic services so that in the final to analyze the logistic informational system on fields of activity: international transport of merchandise and expeditions; supply, storage and delivery; customs integral.The aim of this thesis is to study what competitive advantage DHL can gain from external and internal factors and what DHL can learn by analyzing the competitive advantage.We have considered usefully that doctoral thesis be concluded with a chapter of final considerations which emphasis a set of general conclusions to which will be added own contributions as part of the paper.

Chapter I. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE ENTERPRISE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS ANALYSIS1.1 Importance of finance and financial management in the world businessFinance involves the evaluation, disclosure, and management of economic activity and is crucial to the successful and efficient operation of firms and markets.The same mechanisms that underpin the positive role of finance, however, are also a source of risk and fragility. The history of finance is full of boom-and-bust cycles, bank failures, and systemic bank and currency crises. Just as there is a comprehensive literature on the impact of finance on growth, there is an equally important literature that has explored the causes and socioeconomic costs of financial fragility, including systemic banking crises. Historic analyses and case studies have given way to more systemic cross-country explorations of idiosyncratic and systemic banking distress and their determinants.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Ibidem]

Given the importance of finance for growth, its inherent risks, and the large socioeconomic costs of banking crises, it is not surprising that the financial sector is often at the top of the policy agenda. However, the importance of access to credit as entry barrier into the real sector and the relative ease with which owners and creditors of financial institutions can be expropriated also makes financial sector policies an important tool in the political process. Subsidized credit programs and credit guarantees are often an easy and cheap tool of fiscal policy as they create contingent rather than real liabilities. The dependence of most real sector enterprises on access to external finance makes the financial sector critical in the attempt of ruling elites to entrench their socioeconomic dominance and prevent entry of competitors. The reliance of financial institutions and markets on contractual institutions makes them dependent on the political sphere.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Pearce, D., Barbier, E., Markandya, A & Aldershot, H. (1990), Sustainable Development: Economics and Environmental in the Third World, E. Elgar, London.]

The recent crisis has brought these issues to the forefront of the academic and also political debate. The crisis has also shed doubt on the previous findings of a positive impact of finance on growth. How much finance is good for growth? Are financial crises too high a price for having a thriving financial system? Are credit boom-and-bust cycles behind economic cycles? What is the politics behind financial development and fragility?Financial institutions and markets depend critically on contractual institutions, and this survey is thus closely related to the institutions and development literature. Specifically, given the intertemporal nature of financial contracts, the financial system is one of the most institution-sensitive sectors of the economy.The financial sector depends as much as contractual institutions on property rights protection and thus the political structures of societies.At the core of the existence of financial institutions and markets are market frictions, which financial institutions and markets can help alleviate, such as asymmetric information between contractual partners resulting in agency problems and risks of illiquidity and default.Building on the insights by Stiglitz and Weiss on the importance of agency problems, several articles have shown how financial institutions and markets can economize on screening and monitoring costs of many individual lenders and, by diversifying risk across many different projects, improve on a world without them.[footnoteRef:3] [3: Lieb, R. C. (2005), The 3PL industry : where it's been, where it's going, Supply chain management review, Vol.9 No. 6, pp. 20-27.]

By pooling savings across a large number of savers with differently timed liquidity needs, financial institutions can help overcome liquidity risks and ultimately provide savers with a higher return. Similarly, more liquid financial markets increase incentives for investors to relinquish control over their savings, as they are able to access them through financial markets on an immediate basis, while at the same time earning higher returns. The emergence of financial institutions and markets can thus be explained by the gains for economic agents, a theoretical argument that is consistent with the historical observance that financial institutions and markets have arisen at an early stage of human history and especially as exchange of goods and services across larger geographical distances and within larger societies or between societies has become more prominent.Finance is important to an organisation as the firm has to know how viable it is and balance profit with costs.The Role of the Finance Department can be summarised:Prepare and create financial accounts such as Trading, Profit and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet.Keep and maintain financial records sales figures and records of expenditure would be held by the Finance department and used by other departments also.Prepare and plan internal financial information this would mainly be performed in the case of a budget, which is a financial plan and can help managers take corrective action.Analyse current financial performance how the firm has done in trading or expenses would be analysed primarily using ratio analysis tools.Pay creditors Finance Department would ensure that bills are paid to people the firm owes money to.Pay employees wages and salaries running the payroll system is another important task for Finance to undertake.Managerial finance concerns itself with the managerial significance of finance. It is focused on assessment rather than technique. For instance, in reviewing an annual report, one concerned with technique would be primarily interested in measurement. They would ask: is money being assigned to the right categories? Were generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) followed? A person working in managerial finance would be interested in the significance of a firm's financial figures measured against multiple targets such as internal goals and competitor figures.They may look at changes in asset balances and probe for red flags that indicate problems with bill collection or bad debt as well as analyze working capital to anticipate future cash flow problems. Corporate finance is the area of finance dealing with monetary decisions that business enterprises make and the tools and analysis used to make those decisions. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize shareholder value. Although it is in principle different from managerial finance, which studies the financial decisions of all firms, rather than corporations alone, the main concepts in the study of corporate finance are applicable to financial problems of all kinds of firms. [footnoteRef:4] [4: Pearce, D., Barbier, E., Markandya, A & Aldershot, H. (1990), Sustainable Development: Economics and Environmental in the Third World, E. Elgar, London.]

The discipline can be divided into long-term and short-term decisions and techniques. Capital investment decisions are long-term choices about which projects receive investment, whether to finance that investment with equity or debt, and when or whether to pay dividends to shareholders. On the other hand, short-term decisions deal with the short-term balance of current assets and current liabilities; the focus here is on managing cash, inventories, short-term borrowing, and lending (such as the terms on credit extended to customers). The terms corporate finance and corporate financier are also associated with investment banking. The typical role of an investment bank is to evaluate the company's financial needs and raise the appropriate type of capital that best fits those needs. Thus, the terms "corporate finance" and "corporate financier" may be associated with transactions in which capital is raised in order to create, develop, grow, or acquire businesses. Sound financial management creates value and organizational ability through the allocation of scarce resources amongst competing business opportunities. It is an aid to the implementation and monitoring of business strategies and helps achieve business objectives.Financial management is the management of monetary resources. It involves planning accurately, directing the monetary resources at correct time and controlling the financial activities of a firm. Financial management is very important for a business to ensure it can run smoothly. Finance is an aspect which, if neglected, can lead to severe losses and closure of a firm.The financial matters are one of the most important matters when it comes to your business. Some people think that the business is all about marketing and selling the product and they start a business on this assumption that this knowledge will be sufficient for them in running the business. The ugly truth about starting a business is that the financial matters should be solved at the first priority, if you want your business to grow. At the start of the business, the financial managers and stakeholders will face problems that will require financial decisions. The questions such as where you should invest your money and from where the revenue should be generated are the questions that need to solve quickly in order to get maximum profit out of the business. To handle such matters, one should have extra knowledge in the field of finance. The specific field of knowledge can be termed as financial management.[footnoteRef:5] [5: Manzini, A. R., Pareschi & Persona, A. (2007), Logistics outsourcing: an examination of third-party providers, International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Vol. 3 No.2, pp. 125-157.]

Finance involves the evaluation, disclosure, and management of economic activity and is crucial to the successful operation of firms and markets.The endogenous emergence of financial institutions and markets does not in itself imply a positive impact on economic growth. A large theoretical literature, however, has explored several channels through which financial systems can help increase economic growth rates, both through improved capital accumulation as through higher productivity growth. On a broader level, these theories have shown how financial markets can help overcome the market frictions of indivisible projects and inability to diversify risks that have held back development in many developing economies. I discuss these different channels in turn.First, and on a very basic level, financial systems can support the efficient exchange of goods and services by providing payment services and thus reducing transaction costs.Financial services can foster specialization by enabling more transactions, thus fostering productivity growth.Second, by pooling savings from many individual savers, financial institutions and markets can help overcome investment indivisibilities and allow exploiting scale economies.This does not necessarily have to be national financial institutions but can be local coalitions of investors, as was the case in the early days of the Industrial Revolution for infrastructure projects.Third, by economizing on screening and monitoring costs and thus allowing more investment projects to be financed and, ex ante, increasing the aggregate success probability, financial institutions and markets can ultimately have a positive impact on investment and resource allocation. Similarly, by identifying the entrepreneurs with the most promising technologies, financial intermediaries can also boost the rate of technological innovation and ultimately growth. A similar argument holds for financial markets: in larger and more liquid markets, agents have greater incentives to invest in research on enterprises and projects, which produces information that can be turned into trading gains, ultimately improving resource allocation.[footnoteRef:6] [6: Pearce, D., Barbier, E., Markandya, A & Aldershot, H. (1990), Sustainable Development: Economics and Environmental in the Third World, E. Elgar, London.]

Financial management can be defined as taking financial decisions with the goal that they should maximize the stockholders wealth. Finance management is very important in the business and in the world of finance; financial management can be called by many names such as corporate management and managerial finance. Financial Managers ultimate goal is to maximize the stockholders profit but this goal is aligned with smaller goals and they collectively increase the profitability of the organization. Some other goals performed by the financial managers are increasing the day to day profitability, managing the funds of short term loans and managing daily finances. These goals can be managed by completing a lot of activities such as financial accounting, managerial accounting, risk management and auditing.[footnoteRef:7] [7: Kolter, P., Armstrong, G., Wong, P.V., Saunders, P.J & Wood, M. B. (2010), Principles of marketing pack, 5th ed, Financial Times/ Prentice Hall. London.]

These tasks are very difficult and a small businessman cannot spare time to perform all these functions. So, if you have a small company then you should contact the financial manager and seeks their help in managing the finance of the organization. Alternatively, businessmen may avail themselves of the services of a financial manager or seek the aid of companies providing financial management services. Some firms also take help form the financial management software. By purchasing such software, you will not have to contact the financial managers every time you face a financial problem. This financial software is expensive so it is advised that you should start with software which has basic features and then move on to the advanced one.[footnoteRef:8] [8: Bennett, R & Thiele, S.R. (2004), Customer satisfaction should not be the only goal, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 514-523.]

This financial software can help in preparing the bills and they can also be used for making invoices and generating payrolls. You should look for these features in the software because they will help you in daily work. Furthermore, if you are more oriented toward visuals, choose programs that make use of graphs and charts, as these probably will be easier for you to use.The Functions of Financial Management are as follows: Estimation of capital requirement: The main function of a finance manager is to estimate the costs of the firm. They must be capable to estimate the expected profits and future requirements of finance with regards to new policies, etc. This leads to an increase in the earning capacity of the firm. Determination of capital composition: The finance manager has to determine the ratio of capital involved in various projects. For example, the amount to be invested in short term projects and long term projects, what is the amount required to be kept for sundry expenses, staff salary, etc. If the money is short they must find out ways to increase the equity from outside resources. Investment decision: The finance manager is a key decision maker in terms of investment making. They should always be aware of all the monetary resources available with the business which can help increase the company's profit margins by investing it. Profit management: In case of surplus profit, the finance manager can declare either dividends or issue bonus shares.The importance of financial management can be stressed with the following points: Good reputation of the company: Proper financial management brings name, fame and good reputation to the company. Diversification: Funds can be diversified to various areas with proper management. Growth: Financial management leads to growth of the company. Survival: In this competitive time, financial management can help the company survive in the market.In a big organisation, the general manger or the managing director is the overall incharge of the organisation but he gets all the activities done by delegating all or some of his powers to men in the middle or lower management, who are supposed to be specialists in the field so that better results may be obtained.[footnoteRef:9] [9: Koh, S. C. L. T. (2005), Using e-commerce to gain a competitive advantage in 3PL enterprises in China, International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Vol. 1No.2, pp. 187-210.]

For example, management and control of production may be delegated to a man who is specialist in the techniques, procedures, and methods of production. We ma designate him Production Manager'. So is the case with other branches of management, i.e., personnel, finance, sales etc. The incharge of the finance department may be called financial manger, finance controller, or director of finance who is responsible for the procurement and proper utilisation of finance in the business and for maintaining co-ordination between all other branches of management. [footnoteRef:10] [10: Gerhardt, P.L. (2002), A paper presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements of OM 814 marketing strategy and practice, Journal of Service Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 8, pp. 150-160.]

Importance of finance cannot be over-emphasised. It is, indeed, the key to successful business operations. Without proper administration of finance, no business enterprise can reach its full potentials for growth and success. Money is a universal lubricant which keeps the enterprise dynamic-develops product, keeps men and machines at work, encourages management to make progress and creates values. The importance of financial administration can be discussed under the following heads:a. Success of Promotion Depends on Financial Administration. One of the most important reasons of failures of business promotions is a defective financial plan. If the plan adopted fails to provide sufficient capital to meet the requirement of fixed and fluctuating capital an particularly, the latter, or it fails to assume the obligations by the corporations without establishing earning power, the business cannot be carried on successfully. Hence sound financial plan is very necessary for the success of business enterprise. b. Smooth Running of an Enterprise. Sound Financial planning is necessary for the smooth running of an enterprise. Money is to an enterprise, what oil is to an engine. As, Finance is required at each stage f an enterprise, i.e., promotion, incorporation, development, expansion and administration of day-to-day working etc., proper administration of finance is very necessary. Proper financial administration means the study, analysis and evaluation of all financial problems to be faced by the management and to take proper decision with reference to the present circumstances in regard to the procurement and utilisation of funds. c. Financial Administration Co-ordinates Various Functional Activities. Financial administration provides complete co-ordination between various functional areas such as marketing, production etc. to achieve the organisational goals. If financial management is defective, the efficiency of all other departments can, in no way, be maintained. For example, it is very necessary for the finance-department to provide finance for the purchase of raw materials and meting the other day-to-day expenses for the smooth running of the production unit. If financial department fails in its obligations, the Production and the sales will suffer and consequently, the income of the concern and the rate of profit on investment will also suffer. Thus Financial administration occupies a central place in the business organisation which controls and co-ordinates all other activities in the concern.d. Focal Point of Decision Making. Almost, every decision in the business is take in the light of its profitability. Financial administration provides scientific analysis of all facts and figures through various financial tools, such as different financial statements, budgets etc., which help in evaluating the profitability of the plan in the given circumstances, so that a proper decision can be taken to minimise the risk involved in the plan. e. Determinant of Business Success. It has been recognised, even in India that the financial manger splay a very important role in the success of business organisation by advising the top management the solutions of the various financial problems as experts. They present important facts and figures regarding financial position an the performance of various functions of the company in a given period before the top management in such a way so as to make it easier for the top management to evaluate the progress of the company to amend suitably the principles and policies of the company. The financial manges assist the top management in its decision making process by suggesting the best possible alternative out of the various alternatives of the problem available. Hence, financial management helps the management at different level in taking financial decisions.f. Measure of Performance. The performance of the firm can be measured by its financial results, i.e, by its size of earnings Riskiness and profitability are two major factors which jointly determine the value of the concern. Financial decisions which increase risks will decrease the value of the firm and on the to the hand, financial decisions which increase the profitability will increase value of the firm. Risk an profitability are two essential ingredients of a business concern.The recent economic climate on St. Eustatius has resulted in many businesses and even non-profit organizations having to tighten their belt. Cost cutting measures are being implemented by key decision makers in the face of high inflation, a stagnant economy and uncertainty about the future.In light of recent developments, good financial management is becoming increasingly important in helping businesses on St. Eustatius make the best use of limited financial resources, whilst at the same time preparing for better times ahead.Good financial management is simply an effective approach of managing an organisation's money in-order to acheive its objectives. These objectives may include achieving a certain amount of profit for a business or keeping spending within allocated subsidy limits for a non-profit organization. In either case, the aim is to utilise financial resources as a means to achieving a predetermined end.There are three elements that lie at the heart of any sound financial management system namely; FP (Financial Planning), FC (Financial Control) and FA (Financial Analysis). We will briefly consider each of these elements.This process entails creating a budget, which is an estimation of an organizations' income and expenditure over a fixed period (e.g. 1 year). This projected analysis of how an organization will use its resources is important in preventing overspending, wastage and ensuring profitability. Budgets can also be invaluable in helping businesses create a financial roadmap which ensures that they accumulate sufficient capital over a period of time to invest in new opportunities.[footnoteRef:11] [11: Ahmed, P.K &Rafiq, M. (2003), Internal market issues and challenges, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37 No. 9, pp. 1177-1186.]

This aspect of financial management is concerned with ensuring that an organization lives within its means. This essentially involves monitoring an organization's actual spending against its budget and identifying spending variances (e.g. overspending or underspending). In-order to achieve this, a bookkeeping system is required usually in the form of an accounting software program to record financial transactions. It is important for key decision makers within the organisation (e.g. board members, directors) to receive periodic financial reports providing insight into the organisation's income and expenditures (profit & loss report) in-addition to an overview of its assets and liabilities (balance sheet). Last but not least is the important process of making decisions relating to investments. This involves careful consideration of the financial health of a business or organization typically by analysing its annual financial statements. It is important that directors and other decision makers (particularly from a non-financial background) have a good grasp of the concepts and terminology of financial management. This is important if they are to be effective in monitoring performance and making key financial decisions. At this stage it is not uncommon for organizations with limited internal accounting expertise to acquire assistance from external accounting firms.The financial manager plays a dynamic role in a modern companys development. This has not always been the case. Until around the first half of the 1900s financial managers primarily raised funds and managed their firms cash positions and that was pretty much it. In the 1950s, the increasing acceptance of present value concepts encouraged financial managers to expand their responsibilities and to become concerned with the selection of capital investment projects.Today, external factors have an increasing impact on the financial manager. Heightened corporate competition, technological change, volatility in inflation and interest rates, worldwide economic uncertainty, fluctuating exchange rates, tax law changes, and ethical concern over certain financial dealings must be dealt with almost daily. As a result, finance is required to play an ever more vital strategic role within the corporation. The financial manager has emerged as a team player in the overall effort of a company to create value. The old ways of doing things simply are not good enough in a world where old ways quickly become obsolete. Thus todays financial manager must have the flexibility to adapt to the changing external environment if his or her firm is to survive.[footnoteRef:12] [12: Bergman, B & Klefsj, B. (2010), Quality from customer needs to customer satisfaction, Studentlitteratur AB, Lund, Sweden.]

The successful financial manager of tomorrow will need to supplement the traditional metrics of performance with new methods that encourage a greater role for uncertainty and multiple assumptions. These new methods will seek to value the flexibility inherent in initiatives that is, the way in which taking one step offers you the option to stop or continue down one or more paths. In short, a correct decision may involve doing something today that in itself has small value, but gives you the option to do something of greater value in the future.If you become a financial manager, your ability to adapt to change, raise funds, invest in assets, and manage wisely will affect the success of your firm and, ultimately, the overall economy as well. To the extent that funds are misallocated, the growth of the economy will be slowed. When economic wants are unfulfilled, this misallocation of funds may work to the detriment of society. In an economy, efficient allocation of resources is vital to optimal growth in that economy; it is also vital to ensuring that individuals obtain satisfaction of their highest levels of personal wants. Thus, through efficiently acquiring, financing, and managing assets, the financial manager contributes to the firm and to the vitality and growth of the economy as a whole.[footnoteRef:13] [13: Aaker, D. A. (2001), Strategic market management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Courier-Westford, United States of America.]

1.2 Concept, principles and forms of enterprise performance analysisTerm analysis is derived from the Greek language which translates as divide, split. Any division allows for an insight into the inner parts of the object of study and to find out the meaning of each component. Analysis is in the wider meaning understood as the ability to cognise the subject and the phenomena of the external environment, based on the division of a single item into its component parts and their examination in its entirety.[footnoteRef:14] [14: WCED. (1987), Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford.]

Enterprise management is the process of implementation of the management functions. It is related with performance of numerous business transactions altogether comprising the business operations of the enterprise. Business performance analysis is carried out before the adoption of important decisions; it is used to justify management decisions and actions, and serves as a scientific substantiation in enterprise management, as well as ensures the objectivity and effectiveness of the decisions taken.Managers cannot rely solely on their intuition. Management decisions and action must be substantiated with accurate estimates and comprehensive economic analysis.Business performance analysis should always provide answers to the following questions: What happened? Why did it happen? What and how should be done in the future?The answer to the first two questions only provide with the statement of facts. The third question is the most significant one. To provide the answer to this question is exactly the purpose of the enterprise performance analysis.Management decisions and the consequences of their execution depend on enterprise performance analysis. Enterprise performance analysis should correspond to preset requirements (principles) and it should be as follows: Objective and definite based on clear, strongly tested measures Complex and systematic, i.e., every measure must be studied in combination with other related and analogue measures; Perspective all measures must be set for the perspective in order to be able to forecast what impact would be exerted on them by introducing novelties in technology, machinery, labour organisation of the enterprise as well as in the application of experience; Operative and timely requiring constant and daily control over enterprise activities, fast processing of data and implementation of the necessary measures; Specific the results obtained from the analysis should transform in real activities for the improvement of all areas of enterprise activities; Scientifically grounded; Practically applicable and usable; Effective.This is the only approach to the enterprise performance analysis that can make it effective and necessary for improvement of company activities. There is a certain information base required in order to perform analysis. Its quality depends on the overall enterprise financial accounting and the quality of reporting, and the extent to which the figures included therein are true and fair.[footnoteRef:15] [15: Pearce, D., Barbier, E., Markandya, A & Aldershot, H. (1990), Sustainable Development: Economics and Environmental in the Third World, E. Elgar, London.]

Each group of its users have their own interests in the enterprise, as well as their own object and target, for example, the main target for the enterprise owners is the dividends, therefore, the object of financial performance for them is the enterprise operating results, while the target for the suppliers is the payment for the goods, therefore, they are interested in the solvency status of an enterprise.The following data are used for analysis: accounting records, statistical reports; budgeted and standard materials (consumption standards of materials, estimates, payroll rates); contracts, orders, minutes of production meetings; individual studies of those performing the analysis, stock-take information.Business activities of an enterprise in a wider sense are comprised of several sub systems (operational, financial, investment etc.) Analysis may be aimed at one of the above mentioned sub-systems of business activities. In this respect analysis is further divided into the following: economic analysis; financial analysis; marketing analysis is used to research how the external environment is functioning. Measures in the raw materials market and the ready goods sales market, competitiveness of an enterprise, formation of the pricing policy, development of the strategy for marketing, enterprise SWOT analysis is being researched and analysed; investment analysis, which is used for the development of the investing operations programme and the assessment of its efficiency as well as for justifying of the optimal investment option; social analysis used for the assessment of further development opportunities in the social field. Studies the opportunities for improving the terms of employment, employee motivation incentives, increasing the efficiency of enterprise functioning; institutional analysis, which is used when assessing the political and organisatorial conditions affecting the activities of an enterprise. Here the legislative framework, the enterprise relations with the local government, business partners and competitors are studied Strategic policy in the area of business cooperation that influences the improvement of efficient functioning Economic analysis is the structural process of the research, as well as the assessment of exposure to changes in external and internal factors as well as to the impact of management.There are the two following types of economic analysis distinguished.of an enterprise is being developed. Macroeconomic analysis, which investigates the economic phenomena and processes across the world and within the economy of one state Microeconomic analysis which investigates the same processes and phenomena at the level of individual business entities. The last one is exactly what is called business performance analysis.The complex enterprise business performance economic analysis occupies the central place in the enterprise management system. Management decisions are developed andjustified based on this analysis. No organisational or operational decision may be executed until its economic usefulness is proven. Management decisions and actions must be based on direct estimates as well as on thorough and extensive economic analysis.[footnoteRef:16] [16: Novicevic, M.N., Harvey, M., Aurty, C.W & Bond III, E. (2004), Dual-perspective SWOT: synthesis of marketing intelligence and planning, Marketing intelligence & Planning, Vol. 22 No.1, pp. 84-94.]

Financial analysis is a component part of business analysis. Bringing the financial aspects in the forefront of a business entity performance as well as the increase in significance of the financial role is a characteristic trend across the world. Therefore the priority of an analysis grounded in the enterprise financial model is growing.[footnoteRef:17] [17: Thakkar, J., Deshmukh, S.G., Gupta, A.D & Shankar, R. (2005), Selection of Third-Party Logistics (3PL): A Hybrid Approach Using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Analytic Network Process (ANP), International Journal of supply chain forum, Vol. 6 No.1, pp. 32-46.]

The financial analysis of an enterprise may be performed not only by enterprise managers, but also by the existing and potential investors, banks, suppliers, and, therefore, it is possible to distinguish between the internal and external financial analysis according to the subject of analysis.Financial analysis can be defined as follows: accumulation, transformation and application of financial information for the purpose of: evaluation of the current and perspective financial position of an enterprise; evaluation of the possible and targeted speed of development of an enterprise from the point of view of the financial provision; clarifying the available sources of finance and assessment of their possibilities of mobilisation and usefulness; forecasting the status of an enterprise in the goods and capital markets.Financial analysis is based on the assessment of the financial statements.The goals of financial analysis are as follows: to establish the financial position of an enterprise and to identify the possibilities to improve the existing financial management methods, and to improve the financial status of an enterprise; financial analysis of an enterprise allows to establish and to measure by quantitative means the correlation between the enterprise performance final results and the resources used (material, financial, human etc. resources) that it uses in order to realise its current activities and enterprise development; to obtain the largest possible number of key measures that would allow for the most complete assessment of changes in the enterprise financial position, profit and loss account, structure of assets and liabilities; to early establish and prevent weaknesses in the financial and operating activities of an enterprise as well as to find the possibilities for improvement of the financial position.Upon the arrangement of the financial analysis of an enterprise business activities a firm should carry out the following procedures: select the methods for performance of analysis; identify the factors influencing the enterprise performance results; establish the trends of development of an enterprise by comparing the results of the financial analysis with the preceding period; develop an action plan for strengthening of the financial position upon completion of the analysis.The objectives to be achieved upon performance of the financial analysis are as follows: assess the efficiency of utilisation of the financial resources by performing analysis of the financial results of the enterprise business activities; prepare a forecast of the possible financial results, based on the existing business performance results and alternative options for use of the resources; design the activities for improvement of the financial position and further efficiency improvement of the use of financial resources.In free market economy the enterprise itself is an object of research by the environment that it operates in. Subjects of analysis are the users of information who are interested in the enterprise activities. Subjects of analysis are enterprise owners, investors (banks, stock exchanges), the management, employees, customers, suppliers and also the government (tax authority).The different groups of interest provide different input in the activities of an enterprise and they are each differently interested in the enterprise performance results. Each group has its own object of financial analysis.

Chapter II. ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATION AND FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE ENTERPRISE DHL2.1 Short history of the enterprise DHLDHL Worldwide Express, a privately held worldwide delivery service comprised of DHL Airways and DHL International, is the world's oldest and largest international air-express company. International shipping, courier, and packaging service. DHL was established in 1969 by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn. The name DHL is derived from the first initial of each founder's last name. DHL has numerous cargo transport systems including planes, trains, and boats. DHL serves more than 120,000 designations and 220 countries. As of 2002, Deutsche Post World Net owns the majority of shares the firm has grown phenomenally and dominates the global express marketplace, delivering to over 70,000 destinations in 227 countries.

DHL International OfficesDHL delivers both small and heavyweight parcels to destinations from the Middle East and Pacific Rim countries to throughout Europe and the United States. DHL's ever-expanding international presence prompted such stateside competitors as Federal Express and United Parcel Service, as well as the United States Postal Service, to join the fray of global express delivery.DHL was founded by three young shipping executives - Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn - who were casting about for a way to increase turnaround speed for ships at ports. They reasoned that if the shipping documents could be flown from port to port, they could be examined and processed before the ships arrived, and speeding up the process would decrease port costs for shippers. With this in mind, the trio combined the first letters of their last names to form the acronym DHL, thus beginning an air-courier company that revolutionized the delivery industry. [footnoteRef:18] [18: Jordan, G.J & Fortin, M-J. (2002), Scale and topology in the ecological economics sustainability paradigm, Econogical Economics, Vol. 41No. 2, pp.361-366.]

DHL rapidly developed into an express delivery service between California and Hawaii, then quickly expanded to points east. The company's primary customer was the Bank of America, which needed a single company to carry its letters of credit and other documents. DHL branched into the international market in the early 1970s when it began flying routes to the Far East. In addition, while competitor Federal Express was developing its domestic overnight delivery network, DHL focused on further developing its international service.In 1972, the three original investors recruited Po Chung, a Hong Kong entrepreneur, to help them build a global network. Chung started DHL's sister company, DHL International Ltd., headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Since that date DHL Worldwide has functioned as two separate companies, DHL Airways, Inc. based in Redwood City, California, and DHL International. While each company acted as the exclusive agent for the other, by 1983 DHL International had grown to be five times larger than its domestic counterpart. DHL International's rapid expansion continued throughout the 1970s, adding destinations in Europe in 1974, the Middle East in 1976, Latin America in 1977, and Africa in 1978.The 1980s would bring the firm increased growth as well as greater competition. During this time DHL continued to expand, by turns cooperating with competitors and warring with them. The company also sought new outlets for service, working out an arrangement with Hilton International Co. in 1980, agreeing to provide daily pickup of documents at 49 Hilton Hotels, arranging for international delivery--its couriers moving the packages through customs--then delivering them locally. It was a win-win situation as Hilton was able to offer its patrons a high-class delivery service and DHL was guaranteed new outlets for its business. The next year, 1981, DHL flew 10 million shipments between 268 cities and had approximately $100 million in sales. The following year, Lawrence Roberts, who had founded Telenet Communications Corp. and headed GTE, joined DHL Corp. as president.Although DHL had a strong international presence, business was occasionally made difficult because it was necessary for the company to negotiate with foreign governments. In 1982, for example, the French post office sought to reassert a monopoly dating back to the 15th century, and DHL--possessing 80 percent of the French market--was ordered to halt operations outside Paris. What could have been a potential crisis for the company was, however, favorably resolved.

DHL intercontinental direct distributionDHL continued to expand its horizons, though, adding Eastern bloc nations in 1983. Prior to 1983, DHL had not pursued much business in the United States, leaving the field to Federal Express and United Parcel Service (UPS). Despite counting 97 percent of the nation's 500 largest companies among its customers, DHL still held only a minuscule share of the overall domestic market. To bolster its share of the American market, DHL installed two major hubs at airports in Cincinnati and Salt Lake City, and added nine mini-hubs in major cities across the country. The company also bought three Boeing 727s and seven Learjets, as well as new sorting equipment. In addition, in 1983 DHL Worldwide started using helicopters in New York and Houston to expedite documents during rush hour and the following year initiated helicopter service in Los Angeles as well.Once the hubs had been installed, DHL Airways began offering point-to-point overnight service between 126 American cities. Still, for the year ending in 1983, DHL reached only two or three percent of the domestic market--yet had more than 5,000 employees with 400 offices in over 90 countries. As in its earliest days, banks accounted for a large portion of its business; other common shipments consisted of computer tapes, spare parts, and shipping papers. That year, DHL estimated it carried 80 percent of the bank material traveling by courier from Europe to the U.S. and revenues were approximated at $600 million. In 1984, as former courier-driver Joseph Waechter became president of DHL Airways, DHL provided service to more than 125 countries, and its 500 stations were handling 15 million international and domestic shipments annually.But just as DHL was looking to cut into the business of its domestic competitors, those same companies were aiming to siphon off portions of DHL's international business. In 1985 both Federal Express and UPS entered the international express market. As competition became more intense, DHL increasingly began to cooperate with businesses in similar areas. The company teamed up with Western Union to deliver documents generated on Western Union's EasyLink electronic mails, allowing people to send documents via courier without having to hand-deliver material to the courier's office. The next year, 1986, as DHL International formed its first joint venture with the People's Republic of China, known as DHL Sinotrans, Charles A. Lynch was named chairman and chief executive of DHL Airways, replacing Roberts. Lynch remained with the company just two years and was replaced by Patrick Foley, the former chairman of Hyatt Hotels. Meanwhile, FedEx and UPS were eroding DHL's market share, which fell from 54 percent in 1985 to 50 percent in 1987. However, an important competitive battleground existed in Japan, and while FedEx and UPS gained footholds in that country in the 1980s, by 1988 DHL still controlled 80 percent of the Japanese overseas market.As the world economy boomed in the 1980s, DHL followed suit, even breaking new ground in the Communist-bloc countries. The company had first cracked the eastern bloc in 1983, when it began delivering packages to Hungary, East Germany, and several other countries. DHL Airways was not slouching either, reporting that between 1986 and 1987 alone, its volume rose 34 percent; in 1987 it was the 318th largest private company in the United States, with 5,000 employees and estimated sales of $375 million. Revenues for the entire DHL network, in 1988, were calculated to be between $1.2 and $1.5 billion, helped in part by another joint venture with a Hungarian company to create DHL Budapest Ltd. That year, DHL controlled 91 percent of the packages bound for Eastern Europe from the West and 98 percent of all outbound shipments.[footnoteRef:19] [19: Reisch, L. A. (2001), Time and wealth: the role of time and temporalities for sustainable patterns of consumpetion, Time & Society, Vol. 10 No ., pp. 367-385.]

Name DHL worlwideIn 1989, DHL Worldwide was the 84th largest company in the United States with 18,000 employees, more than 50 million shipments, and service to 184 countries. However, though DHL's international success was becoming firmly established, the company was not making the headway it had planned in the United States. As of 1989, DHL had only five percent of the domestic market. To bolster its name recognition in the United States, the company turned to innovative advertising techniques, including the use of humor. Cartoonist Gary Larson, creator of the wildly popular comic "The Far Side," was employed to draw cartoons for use in DHL advertising, and in 1990 the company introduced a campaign featuring flying DHL vans whizzing past competitors' planes. DHL also took an unusual approach to air delivery. Although the company used its own fleet of planes within Europe and on some major routes, DHL often used scheduled airlines to carry its shipments. Federal Express, in contrast, maintained its own fleet and seldom used other airlines. Rather than purchase its own planes, DHL chose instead to invest its capital in technology and ground-handling equipment, spending some $250 million on those areas in 1990 and 1991 alone.In 1990, in order to infuse the company with fresh capital and take advantage of the resources of larger airlines, DHL International sold parts of its business to three companies. Japan Air Lines and the German airline Lufthansa each purchased five percent, while Nissho Iwai, a Japanese trading company, purchased 2.5 percent. Each firm also had the option of buying greater shares. In addition, the three companies also own a combined stake of 2.5 percent in the U.S-based DHL Airways. The sale of these closely held interests brought $500 million in capital into the firm. The same year, despite a 60 percent share of the international overnight delivery market, the company began to expand into new areas of business. To keep up in an increasingly competitive industry, DHL Worldwide entered the freight services industry and began carrying heavier cargo. In the company's 20-year history of carrying small packages--generally under 70 pounds--this was DHL's first major departure from its core business. In 1991, DHL Worldwide had revenues of $2.3 billion, and was the 59th largest private company in the U.S., its 21,000 employees handling more than 80 million shipments.[footnoteRef:20] [20: Jordan, G.J & Fortin, M-J. (2002), Scale and topology in the ecological economics sustainability paradigm, Econogical Economics, Vol. 41No. 2, pp.361-366.]

In June 1992, all three of DHL's major shareholders exercised their option to increase their shares in DHL International; Japan Air Lines and Lufthansa each increased their stake to 25 percent, while Nissho Iwai's holdings grew to 7.5 percent. This was also the year DHL began service to Albania, Estonia, Latvia, and Greenland, and reestablished ties with Kuwait. In addition, in an unusual move DHL signed an agreement to share transatlantic and European aircraft operations with one of its competitors, Emery Worldwide. The economic recession and an overcrowded North Atlantic airway were cited as the reasons behind these cooperative measures, which would allow greater operating efficiency and expanded service. The arrangement represented the first of several alliances between integrated carriers, due to increasing pressure from other competitors, including Airborne Express and TNT. In 1993 as revenues hit $3 billion, DHL commenced a four-year $1.25 billion capital spending program to step up its technological capabilities, automation, and communications.By 1994, DHL Worldwide's 25-year anniversary, the company controlled 52 percent of the Asian express shipment marketplace, with FedEx and UPS garnering a 24 percent slice each. The next year, DHL poured over $700 million into expansion of its Pacific Rim operations. DHL was not only shoring up facilities in Hong Kong and Australia, but venturing into 16 new cities in China, India, and Vietnam. A new $60 million hub at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport was scheduled to open in late 1995, with additional facilities slated for Bangkok, Tokyo, Auckland, and Sydney. In the midst of its ambitious expansion, DHL was rocked by the news of founder and majority shareholder Larry Lee Hillblom's death. Known as an avid though reckless pilot (he had survived a previous crash and had his pilot's license suspended), Hillblom, who had withdrawn from DHL's daily operations in 1980, was killed in a seaplane accident near Saipan where he lived.The management at DHL was soon embroiled in an ugly controversy after Hillblom's 1982 will was released, as a spate of paternity claims and lawsuits were filed. Lurid details of Hillblom's penchant for young island girls reached the press, including an in-depth expos in the generally staid Wall Street Journal. Since Hillblom had retained a mighty 60 percent of DHL Airways and 23 percent of DHL International (valued conservatively at the time at around $300 million), the company's officers scrambled to exercise an option to repurchase his shares. Yet financing and a host of complications held up the buyback and soon the entire estate was a miasma of lawsuits, bad judgement calls, and island politics.Yet 1995 was still a good year for DHL Worldwide, as the company debuted its web site (www.dhl.com) and experienced an overall 23 percent growth in revenue to $3.8 billion, with an incredible 40 percent surge in volume in its Middle East operations. In response to the encouraging numbers, DHL broke ground on a new $4 million state-of-the-art express facility at the Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates in 1996. The new 42,000-square-foot hub was to complement DHL's existing facilities in Bahrain. Over on the Asian continent, DHL broke with its longstanding tradition of leasing planes to buy its own cargo fleet. Though DHL International's previous strategy of leasing out cargo space had proved both successful and prudent, Chairman and CEO Foley told the San Francisco Business Times the company needed to control its own destiny, and having its own fleet would help alleviate the space limitations and scheduling snafus of commercial flights.[footnoteRef:21] [21: Lieb,K.J & Lieb, R.C. (2010),Environmental sustainability in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 40 No 7 pp. 524 - 533]

In 1996, DHL was looking to the future again by announcing plans for a $100 million hub in the Midwest to carry the company through the next two decades. While its Cincinnati "superhub" handled around 45 incoming flights every night, and sorted over 135,000 pieces at a rate of 60,000 per hour--DHL believed its growth would soon outpace the facility. The same was true for the San Francisco area, where Silicon Valley shipments represented 40 percent of DHL Airways' business in the Bay Area. Internationally, DHL was still growing at the speed of sound with expansion in the former Soviet Union to 37 branches, a new facility at Ferihegy Airport in Budapest, and the acquisition of Shigur Express in Israel. Though DHL had worked with Shigur for years, the $3.5 million purchase gave DHL a firmer presence in the country's emerging market. By 1998, DHL served 227 countries with 2,381 stations in cities from Paris and Prague to Bombay and Bangkok with over 53,200 employees. Stateside, however, DHL Airways still represented less than two percent of the market, though the California-based company got a boost from the Teamsters' strike against UPS.As the 1990s came to a close, DHL International announced its intention to sell a 22.5 percent stake in the company to Deutsche Post AG, for an infusion of funds and to strengthen its presence in Germany. With the air cargo industry projected to grow at an annual rate of 6.7 percent for the next dozen or so years, DHL International continued to stave off competitors and dominated global express shipments with over 40 percent of the market. Its U.S.-based sibling, DHL Airways, maintained a healthy bottom line and was positioned to carve away at the market share of FedEx and UPS.Deutsche Post DHL is the worlds leading mail and logistics group offering expertise in express, air and ocean freight, overland transport, contract logistics solutions as well as international mail services linking 120,000 destinations in more than 220 countries and territories with a network of about 6,500 offices, a fleet of nearly 76,200 vehicles and about 420 aircrafts (DHL, 2012).While looking at the 2008 industry figures it is worth noting that difference in terms of revenue between the 1st and 10th globally rated company is more than 13 times. A considerable difference when global logistic market in 2008 generated total revenue of $ 3566 billion, show casing how fragmented the industry is (Data Monitor, 2009) and (World Logistics Council).

DHL is one of the largest 3PL company in the word founded by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn in San Francisco in 1969and DHL is a part of the Deutsche Post DHL group. According to Dirk, DHL is made of DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Suplly chain and DHL Mails. Since 1969, DHL employees were more than 285,000 people and provides its service in 220 countries all over the world. For its contributions in past 40 years, DHL has become the global leader of the International express and logistics industry.Depending on its deep understanding of global Internet and local market, DHL provides professional services in express, air freight and ocean shipping, ground transportation and international postal service areas, etc. In addition, supply chain and enterprise information solution are two important business issues which DHL deals with in connection to contract logistics and enterprise solution services.According to the growing British network shopping market, DHL Mail launched a new cross-border service for American electronic retailers and mail-order companies Track UK. As a personal parcel delivery service, Track UK offers customers a cheap, speedy, mail-tracking and customer-oriented service which fulfils the needs of American companies. Along with this service, DHL finds another way to help customers to expand their international business. Nowadays, more than 32 countries mail-tracking service is established in DHL.[footnoteRef:22] [22: Shapiro, C. (1982), Customer information, products quality and seller reputation, The Bell Journal of Economics, the RAND Corporation.]

According to Dirk, DHLs recent task is to focus on developing Asian market. DHL has built six distribution centers in Hong Kong, Singarpore, Bangkok, Soul, Sydney and Toykyo.Imports and exports are the two important components of a foreign trade. Foreign trade is the exchange of goods and services between the two countries, across their international borders.'Imports' imply the physical movement of goods into a country from another country in a legal manner. It refers to the goods that are produced abroad by foreign producers and are used in the domestic economy to cater to the needs of the domestic consumers. Similarly, 'exports' imply the physical movement of goods out of a country in a legal manner. It refers to the goods that are produced domestically in a country and are used to cater to the needs of the consumers in foreign countries. Thus, the imports and exports have made the world a local market. The country which is purchasing the goods is known as the importing country and the country which is selling the goods is known as the exporting country. The traders involved in such transactions are importers and exporters respectively.2.2 Financial and Economic Analysis of the enterprise DHLDHL has customers cover all over the world according to Sara Arrhenius. DHL accept any kinds of delivery requirements no matter who the clients are.According to Yunfeng Gao, DHL in order to know customer life cycle deeply, DHL segments its customer into different groups. According to different customer needs, customers are segmented as: strategic customer; long-term relationship customer; and normal customer. Strategic customer is someone who has large amounts of logistics needs or complex supply chain requires. Usually strategic customer group is made up of top 250 customers in the world.[footnoteRef:23] [23: Wright, S. Pickton, D.W & Calliw, J., (2002), Competitive intelligence in UK firms; a typology, Marketing intelligence & Planning, Vol. 20 No. 6, pp.349-360.]

DHL customers in the world Long-term relationship customer is someone who asks DHL to serve for them regularly and frequently, but their logistics needs are simpler than strategic customer. In terms of normal customer, they are not loyal which means they can choose another 3PL company if they like. In general understanding, DHL always provide best technology and service to strategic customer to build strong cooperation relationship with them. However, the main task for DHL is to focus on long-term relationship customer, in order to achieve profit maximization. And DHL can do something for normal customer to turn them into loyal customer.As the worlds biggest logistics company, the main service of DHL is to deliver goods or mails all over the world. According to Dirk, the DHL staff can speak local language to ensure the communication between customer and them is easy. In each of European countries DHL Freight has a terminal in business centres to ensure the convenience and efficiency of transportation (Figure 2). The main transportations are through air, ocean, road and rail. With the extensive range of delivery service, DHL is able to satisfy all kinds of requirements and needs by linking professional experts idea and latest technology, while it brings benefits to its customer as well (Figure 3). Addtional, the DHL staffs are very patient when they talk with customer. For example, Sara Arrhenius, our interviewee who is very kind to accept our interview. Even though she was busy, she answered our questions with comfortable attitude every single time.[footnoteRef:24] [24: Walliman, N. (2005), Your research project-a step guide for the first time researcher, 2nd ed. London Thousand Oaks New Delhi: SAGA Publication.]

Moreover, Dirk believes that DHL would be the prior choice due to high quality service. Dirk provides a few of examples that what benefits DHL can be brought to customer:1) Professional advice on all matters pertaining to customs, import VAT (value-added tax), excise duties and security via DHL consultancy services;2) Full transparency of your flow of goods;3) Bonded warehouses for easier import, export and transit operations and etc.

Figure 2 DHL Freight subsidiariesSource: DHL road & rail service.

Figure 3 DHL transport solution for every needSource: DHL road & rail service.According to Yunfeng Gao, there are six factors can infulence DHL service: 1) indvidual skills and knowledge; 2) system of organization; 3) equipments; 4) technological process; 5) measurement and testing; and 6) working condition. So far, DHL has tried its best to ensure any little detail wok well by concerning these six factors. However, the situation may be diifferent in another place. It also depends on different region and differet place.By deploying proactive solution DHL enables more flexible and faster response to dynamic marketing and finish a specific requirement to customer. Regarding automotive business demand, DHL has controlled every single component, such as shorter delivery times, low cost, supply chain process and transportation improvement. As a result, DHL ensure other companies to work with their suppliers and customers closely.DHL measures customer satisfaction in different ways and sometimes it even differs between regions and countries. For example: DHL Express in Sweden has processes, i, g, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure customer satisfaction (for instance, measuring how fast DHL pick up the phone, first time resolution of customer query), and it can also handle customer complaints. The compalints should be dealt with within a specified timeframe and resolved according to agreed timings. According to Sara Arrhenius and DHL official website, in 2011 DHL Express won customer service award for the best B2B customer service in Sweden. However, DHL does not provide more detail about customer satisfaction.[footnoteRef:25] [25: Qureshi, M.N., Kumar, D & Kumar, P. (2007), Selection of potential 3PL services providers using TOPSIS with interval data, IEEE, India.]

DHL develops strong customer relationships to understand and know customer views. By good understanding of customer, the company can adapt the specific service to fulfill customer needs. Usually, DHL plays the role of a dependable partner when customer needs them. The company always finishes their service optimally due to its excellent personal approach. For instance, according to Dirk, the customs experts of DHL see to it that customers goods get to their final destination with maximum reliability. Consequently, DHL generates the trust and expectation to their customer. In addition, the Global Customer Solutions which is launched for top 100 customers also make a great contribution to company and customer to create win-win situation. Air freight logistics has become an important factor in supply chain management, keeping up the pace with the changing world market, and ensuring costly backlogs or shortages are kept to a minimum. DHL Global Forwarding carrying 12% of the air freight worldwide market, the air freight operations are managed through DHL private network that including 7,000 specialists in 600 offices from over 150 countries. According to Yunfeng Gao, DHL owns exclusive airplanes (air bus A300, Boeing 757 mainly). The core air center is in Brussels, Belgium. All air freight services are time-defined, and by working together with carefully selected preferred carriers. However, although DHL has exclusive airplanes, but sometimes these airplanes wont be arranged to delivery DHL goods or mails.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is mainly used by DHL HR department. It is a professional HR tool to estimate employee issues, including absences, health and occupational safety, employee turnover, vocational training and further training for employees, and employees ideas. Figure 4 shows the KPI index comparison which made by annual Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) between 2009 and 2010. Basically, this survey help DHL understand and know employees view so that company can determine and create follow-up strategy.[footnoteRef:26] [26: Lovelock, C & Wirtz, J. (2011), Services Marketing People, Technology, Strategy. 7th ed., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.]

The high values recorded for Customer Promise (77 %), Cooperation (74 %) and Working Conditions (73 %) emphasize where DHL major strengths are to be found. The KPI also indicates that 73 % of participants are generally satisfied with employees job. Additional, Dirk indicates that more and more employees satisfy with their working condition. The working environment makes employees feel comfortable. Nevertheless, EOS Follow-up Measures (53 %) and Living First Choice (59 %) continue to indicate that there is a room for improvement.

Figure 4. Employee estimation by KPI (2010)Source: Deutsche Post DHL official website-DHL employee.Based on customer needs, the DHL workforce is diversity. DHL launches diversity strategy which emphasize equality of opportunity, balancing work time with family life and supporting womans careers generally. There is no prejudice or any kinds of discrimination existing in DHL, each employee can get opportunity to develop his or her career without barriers.

Figure 5 DHL Sickness rateSource: Deutsche Post DHL official website-DHL health managementHealth and safety at work as the joint statement in DHL, it sets high standard of health and safety for all workforce. According to figure 8, the sickness rate of DHL employee was 5.4% in 2010. By comparing to 2009, the rate was decrease. DHL is trying to reduce the sickness rate.Eeven though the progress is not obvious, DHL still wants to take care of its employees health.Yunfeng Gao told something about salary. In China, most of DHL employee think the salary is ok, at least it is higher than competitors. Further, sometimes they can get extra economic compensation, such as: bonus, dividend, and overtime pay. Thus, DHL can provide a comfortable life for its employee. However, it also depends on individual skills and experiences.The main product of DHL group is delivery service and the company is active in below divisions, targeting both B2B and B2C customers:a) Mail - Providing Mail and Parcel Services mainly in Europe and from Europe.b) Express - Providing courier, parcel and express services by rail, road and air.c) Global Forwarding and Freight - Providing International air and ocean freight as well as European overland transportation services.d) Supply Chain - Tailor-made contract logistics services and Corporate Information Solutions.

Deutsche Post Mail provides 6 different products in the market, as discussed below (Deutsche Post AG):a) Mail communication deals with mail products, special services, franking and philately with revenues for H1 2013 at 2804 million euros.b) Dialogue marketing deals with advertising mail and tailored end-to-end solutions with revenues for H1 2013 at 1121 million euros.c) Press services deals with nationwide distribution of about 2 billion newspaper and magazines annually with revenues for H1 2013 at 371 million euros.d) Parcel Germany deals into inbound and outbound parcels with revenue of 1770 million euros for H1 2013.e) Global Mail deals with cross border mail and parcels with revenue of 877 million euros for H1 2013.f) Pension services deals into database administration and payment processes with revenue of 45 million euros for H1 2013.DHL express has three product to offer namely Time definite, Same Day and Day definite with Time definite international delivery being the core product. The revenues from this product are spread geographically with revenue spread (H1 2013) as mentioned below (Deutsche Post AG):a) Europe contributing 2902 million euros.b) Americas contributing 1106 million euros.c) Asia Pacific contributing 2102 million euros.d) Middle East and Africa contributing 466 million euros.DHL Global forwarding and freight has two core products to offer global forwarding and freight with revenue contribution as mentioned below (Deutsche Post AG):a) Global forwarding has operations in more than 150 countries and revenues for H1 2013 at 5306 million euros.b) Global Freight has operations in more than 50 countries with revenues for H1 2013 at 2096 million euros.DHL Supply Chain provides solutions in warehousing, distribution, managed transport, value-added service, business process outsourcing and supply chain and management consulting with focus sectors being direct consumer, retail segment, technology, life science and healthcare, automotive and energy. The revenues generated by this division are split between two sub-division :a) Supply chain contributed 6407 million euros for H1 2013.b) William Lea services which deals into marketing and office document solutions contributed 629 million euros for H1 2013.To explain the above product portfolio the figures have been explained in a chart below for quick synopsis (refer Chart-1).

Chart 1. Gist of above discussed revenue in graphical representationThe primary modes or vehicles of DHL group for attaining the above needed market and geographical segment has mainly been a balanced mix of organic (own point of sales or outlets and franchisee) and inorganic {acquisitions}. Deutsche Post AG (now known as Deutsche Post DHL) progressively acquired DHL as global air express service provider from 1998 to 2002 and enhanced its expertise by purchasing other leading logistics companies, e.g. 1999 acquisition of Danzas, 2004/2005 acquisition of 88 percent of shares of Indian express company Blue Dart, end of 2005 acquisition of Exel (Deutsche Post DHL, 2013).The key differentiators of DHL group are its geographical coverage where it has unique pan-European coverage with more than 200 offices in 25 countries and in cases where it does not have its own freight presence, it has an alliance or co-operations in place to ensure its services are provided to its customer. Broad range of services where DHL provides one stop shopping services to its customers from import and export to custom consultancy and excise duty handling; the vast fleet of DHL group adds to the list of differentiator where it uses alternative transport modes like intermodal, short sea, conventional rail to provide weekend deliveries (improved transit time than others). Innovation where the group through the GoGreen program, has not only pioneered the growth of more environmentally friendly products and services in the mail and logistics sector, it is also trying to transform the way they do business, with phenomenal increase (387%) in sales figures (refer figure 1) achieved within the groups Gogreen product range shows growing demand for more sustainable options by consumer and the business side (Deutsche Post AG, 2010).

Fig.1 Image Source: Deutsche Post AG (2010), page 50The key points which we can infer from above are that it is the brand, customization and innovation which are key differentiator for the group (Diallo, 2012).The speed of expansion of DHL group was foresighted and fast which we can analyze from its acquisition planning where when the World Bank in 2005 raised its forecast for East Asia to 7.8% from 6.6%, DHL had already initiated discussions to acquire companies which would help create synergy and market expansion for the group.[footnoteRef:27] [27: Storbacka, K & Lehtinen, J.R. (2001) Customer Relationship Management: Creating Competitive Advantage through Win-win Relationship Strategies, McGraw-Hill, Singapore.]

The company has positioned itself as a premium service provider to achieve its return and profitability. They demand premium from customers as they can provide reliable service, customise solutions (as already discussed in differentiator section) and provide superior account management services (DHL, 2012) and (Diallo, 2012). We can also infer this information from article by Reid (2012) where he discusses the service bifurcation amogst top three players UPS, Fedex and DHL, where DHL is only catering to the premium segment.

Image source: http://www.iglobalexports.com/internationalblog/2012/01/05/international-shipping-services-for-ups-fedex-and-dhl/

Present analysis about share of search or media mix modeling or upstream and downstream traffic or task completion or other such things.DHL has a wide product portfolio and to understand the lifecycle of the customers segments, they have bifurcated their B2B & B2C customers into three different groups: strategic customer; long-term relationship customer; and normal customer. Strategic group consists of customers with large amount of logistical needs or complex supply chain requirement with usually top 250 customers globally, long-term customers are those looking for regular and frequent service from DHL but with simpler logistical needs than strategic customers and normal customers are the one who are not loyal and can choose any other company if they want to. To support this wide variety of customer base with customised requirements, DHL required timely acquisitions (staging and vehicle) to fulfil the demand of its customer requirements. These acquisitions have helped DHL to expand its geographical base and technological skills (differentiator) to focus on long term relationship building with customers, this focus will help them achieve profit maximization (economic logic) by providing premium and customized services (Wen, 2012). Overall, they have consistent elements of strategy.[footnoteRef:28] [28: Thakkar, J., Deshmukh, S.G., Gupta, A.D & Shankar, R. (2005), Selection of Third-Party Logistics (3PL): A Hybrid Approach Using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Analytic Network Process (ANP), International Journal of supply chain forum, Vol. 6 No.1, pp. 32-46.]

With growing changes in environmental sustainability and increase in costs of fuel DHL is looking at efficient usage of their transport [example - optimizing the aerodynamic drag of the truck helps DHL save 10% - 20% of fuel efficiency and 11.3% of CO2 efficiency] (Deutsche Post AG, 2010). DHL consolidated 700 inbound deliveries a week into 300 outbound runs; the centre achieved significant environmental and operational benefits.

Fig.2. Image source: Towards Sustainable Logistics by Deutsche Post AGIt has been estimated that in 2012 up to 30% of finished products already involve some kind of 3D printing which by 2016 is expected to rise to 50% and potentially up to 80% by 2020 (John Manners-Bell, 2012) and (Deutsche Post AG, 2010). Even though threat by 3D manufacturing is seen not to effect in the short term but in the medium term (coming 10-15 years)3 it is expected to have some effect, where DHL has already started preparing itself to work on hybrid model (refer figure 3) to counter the impact of this technology in future.

Fig.3.Image source: Towards Sustainable Logistics by Deutsche Post AG; Page 122The company is efficiently exploiting its resources by smart and effective usage of transportation and other resources like infrastructure, and regularly investing in technology and innovation to come up with niche products4 which are rare but not costly to imitate for the key competitors like UPS who have equivalent or better cash flows (refer figure 4) of DHL and are looking for expansion in similar areas but these resources are effectively exploited by DHL as an organization.[footnoteRef:29] [29: Rahman, S., (2011), An exploratory study of outsourcing 3PL services: an Australian perspective, An International Journal, Vol. 18 No: 3 pp. 342 . 358.]

Source: (DHL, 2012), (UPS, 2012) and (FedEX, 2012). The figures of DHL have been converted from Euro to USD from xe.com as of 05-05-2014 12.30 p.mBasically, all logistics company do the same or similar job in the market. But the main competitors of DHL are UPS and FedEx. Though UPS has more manpower which can be advantageous for them as the industry is majorly manpower driven but this also means increase in costs for DHL if it tries to compete on basis of manpower, instead DHL is trying to automate its logistics to an extent possible for effective use of manpower. Looking at the key differentiator of company, branding is the area which has helped DHL improve its presence in certain market where they wanted higher market share, Silverstein discusses article published by BusinessWeek that DHL had about 40 percent market share in both Europe and Asia, but had only 7 percent market share in the US before it launched the campaign.According to Sara Arrhenius, the main competitors are UPS and FedEx. Dirk Klasen considers TNT is another significant competitor. Thus, the comparison among these four companies is made (see Table 1). By considering the features of logistics industry, several significant issues are picked up to make a comparison, such as: safety & insurance, service of company, environmental policy and company structure.Size/No of employeesPositionSafety/ InsuranceService/ LogisticsEnvironmental policy/ Sustainable strategyOrganization/ Company structure

DHLInternational large logistics company with 285,000 employees in 220 countriesNo. 1 in logistics industryCustoms- Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT); a growing network of highly secured locations worldwide; satellite networks; GPSShipping; tracking; export & import service; freight and etc.DHL GOGREEN; DHL in-house Carbon Management; environmental management system (EMS) and etc.DHL Express

DHL Global Forwarding

DHL Supply chain

DHL Mails

UPSInternational large logistics company with 426,000 employees in more than 200 countriesa leading global freight provider with access to almost any kind of aircraft or vehicle around the worldAuto Liability Insurance; property insurance; cargo insurance and etc.Shipping; tracking; critical freight; LCL and etc.Carbon impact analysis; package design and test lab; transportation managementU.S. Domestic PackageInternational Package Supply chain & Freight

FedExInternational large logistics company with 80,000 employees in 220 countriesA younger logistics companyAuto Liability Insurance; property insurance; cargo insurance and etcPackage, envelope or freight express; freight shipment; provide special supplies etc.Earth Smart Solutions; Earth Smart @ Work; Earth Smart OutreachFedEx ExpressFedEx GroundFedEx FreightFedEx Custom Critical

TNTTNT Express employs over 75,000 people in 200 coutriesthe world's leading business to business express delivery companyClaim programme;'Managing Safely' training programmeTime critical service; special handling etcPlanet Me ProgrammeTNT Express

Table 1. the comparison between DHL, UPS, FedEx and TNTSource: DHL offical website, UPS official website, FedEx official website and TNT official websiteAccording to DHL official website and Sara, DHL was founded in 1969, DHL has gained No.1 in the industry. UPS was founded in 1907, nowadays UPS has been a leading global freight provider with access to almost any kind of aircraft or vehicle around the world. FedEx was founded in 1971. Regarding the size and employee, UPS has more employees than DHL and FedEx, but the service region is almost same, which means around 220 countries. TNT Express employs over 75,000 people, TNT operates 26,000 road vehicles and 47 jet freighter aircraft. Its worldwide network has over 2,300 company owned depots in 200 countries.Regarding service, these four companies provide similar service to customer. For instance, their main tasks are to deliver goods and mails via air, sea or land to another place as customer requirement. UPS Critical freight consists of multiple transportation modes: air, surface, charter, and hand carry; advanced tracking accessible via the internet; specialized equipment and value added services. FedEx offers a variety of shipping supplies including an assortment of corrugated box sizes, padded envelopes, plastic bubble wrap, mailing tubes, packing tape and more. Especially for high-tech items, such as cell phones, laptops and MP3 players, FedEx offers a specially designed and cushioned FedEx Laptop Box and Small Electronics Box. DHL can use different high-techs to track goods and mails. TNT is good at managing special handling, for example: TNT tranported two pandas half way around the world.[footnoteRef:30] [30: Sahay, B.S & Mohan, S. (2006), 3PL practices: an Indian perspective, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 36 No.9 pp. 666 . 689.]

By combining all the external and internal factors discussed above, SWOT matrix of DHL (see Table 2) is made to show what strength, opportunities, weakness, and threats DHL has.Competitive advantagesCompetitive disadvantages

STRENGTH1) customer satisfaction2) hi-tech service3)green performance4) salaryWEAKNESSES1) the total number of employees2) liability insurance3) price4) attitude of staff

OPPORTUNITY1) learn from competitors2) cooperation improvement3) innovationTHREATS1) maintain the leading positin2) tough competitors

Table 2 SWOT matrix of DHLSource from authors ownUsing the SWOT analysis and Value Chain Analysis I have identified the main DHL Express objectives and goals. Increase profitability and productivity Work on further growth despite economic crisis and invest into emerging markets Balance the economic decline by restructuring and cost-cutting initiatives Remain preferred provider and retain market share Remain technology leader and improve relationship with suppliers Specialize and customize products to achieve customer satisfaction Differentiate by expansion of climate-neutral and climate-friendly products Provide services in high quality and efficiency Use Research & Development organization and improve products and services through innovation Invest into strategic programs Use power of Sales & Marketing and communicate with customer and educate employees and become their first choiceThe strength and opportunities would be regarded as companys competitive advantages. For instance, the competitive advantages of DHL are customer satisfaction, hi-tech transportation service, good salary and sustainable program - GOGREEN. If DHL can study from other companies or improve teamwork it will be more successful.[footnoteRef:31] [31: Walliman, N. (2001), Your research project, 1st ed. London Thousand Oaks New Delhi: SAGA Publication]

Strength- According to Berry (1999) company should concentrate on customer; build long trust with its closed customer. DHLs customers are everywhere. As a global player, DHL is acting all over the world with understanding and respect for different cultures. DHL always listen to its customers voice. In 2011 DHL Express won customer service award for the best B2B customer service in Sweden. Further, DHL provides short time delivery, safety insurance service with hi-tech equipment. It brings customer satisfication and high efficiency. On the other hand, regarding GOGREEN programme, all transport-related emissions of carbon dioxide would be offset through external climate protection projects. Therefore, balancing sustainability efforts with customer expectation can be achieved by DHL. DHL can satisfy most employees with a good salary, it stimulates employees to work hard. Threats- The biggest challenge for DHL is to keep the leading position. And there are many competitors are trying to catch up with DHL all the time, such as: FedEx, UPS and so on. As Thakkar (2005) statesthe relationships associated with 3PL are typically more complex than any traditional logistics supplier relationships. Therefore, the competitor can be friend of DHL one day. On the contrary, friend could also turn to your competitor. It means that it is possible to feed competitor by working together by sharing knowledge, skills, resource and etc. Weakness - DHL does not have employees as many as UPS. Which means UPS is able to exploit its rich human resource to accomplish more tasks than DHL does. Comparing to comparing with DHLs competitor, DHL lacks liability insurance. Probably it might cause customer loss someday. The most serious problem is price. Indeed, DHL is more expensive than its competitors. And in some areas, the quality of service is difficult to guarantee. Especially some staffs bad attitude would have significant influence on company image.