DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company, has been recognized and applauded by readers of Lloyd’s Freight Transport Buyer Asia (FTB Asia) at the Asia Logistics Awards 2006 for its innovation, service excellence and commitment to providing customers with superior express and logistics solutions.

DHL was named Express Operator of the Year, Airfreight Forwarder of the Year, and 3PL Operator of the Year – the only company to be conferred multiple awards this year. Together, these awards reinforce DHL’s position as the market leader in the express and logistics industry in Asia Pacific.

The awards ceremony, held in Singapore last night, recognized leading companies shaping the most dynamic logistics region in the world. DHL was also a finalist in 3 other categories: Sea Freight Forwarder of the Year, Project Forwarder of the Year, and Ethical Responsibility. The accolades reaffirm the value of DHL’s relentless pursuit towards product and service enhancements to offer customers a global platform and a stronger product portfolio.

Appropriately, the criteria for Express Operator of the Year focused on reliability, cost and level of customer service. “We are honored to receive this coveted award, which underscores our number one priority of making our customers successful, mostly because it came from the most important stakeholders – our customers,” said Scott Price, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific. “This is a fitting tribute to the dedicated teams at DHL who put tremendous effort every day to ensure that we continue to provide superior value proposition and more innovative customized solutions.”

“We are delighted to receive this award for the fourth consecutive time,” noted Peter Landsiedel, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific, of DHL’s fourth Airfreight Forwarder of the Year win in as many years. “With shortening product lifecycles and growth in demand for outsourcing, air freight logistics has become increasingly sophisticated over the past years. We believe this award is a significant testament to our capability and flexibility in managing our customers’ changing requirements efficiently.”

One of the more tightly contested awards with 5 finalists, 3PL Operator of the Year also had one of the most interesting criteria: ‘ability to understand the client’s business’. “The award speaks volumes of our commitment to respond to the evolving needs of our customers,” remarked Humberto Florez, CEO of DHL Exel Supply Chain Asia Pacific. “We will continue to leverage synergies between the different business units to deliver industry-specific end-to-end logistics solutions across all industries, as our customers have come to expect from us.”

The awards follow a series of recent DHL initiatives to tap growth opportunities in Asia Pacific, especially in China. Recent developments include a US$110 million expansion of the Central Asia Hub; the launch of a strategic alliance with Transmile to boost current service offerings; a US$3 million build-to-suit facility in Cengkareng, Indonesia; a US$1.58 million cargo hub facility at the Incheon International Logistics Center in Seoul; and a state-of-the-art Asia Healthcare and Life Sciences Hub in Singapore.

The annual awards ceremony is organized by Lloyd’s Freight Transport Buyer Asia (FTB Asia). Through votes cast by readers of FTB Asia and the Asian readers of Containerisation International and International Freighting Weekly, finalists were short-listed in each of the 15 categories – ballot forms are numbered and traceable to prevent companies voting for themselves or voting more than once. An independent panel of 15 judges then selected the winners.

Other prestigious accolades that DHL has clinched this year include: Airfreight Forwarder of the Year at the inaugural FTB Asia China Logistics Awards; Best Express Operator for the 20th consecutive year, Best Lead Logistics Provider (4PL), Best 3PL, Best Air Freight Forwarder, Best All Cargo Airline, and Best Air Cargo Carrier – Europe at the renowned 2006 Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards; CIO Award at the CIO Asia Conference and Awards; and the Platinum Award at the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Awards – the first company to have won it for two consecutive years.