DHL to open new service centers

JAKARTA (JP): Leading courier service company PT Birotika Semesta/DHL Worldwide Express plans to open new service centers in Semarang and Medan this year ahead of an expected economic turnaround in Asia, an executive said on Tuesday.

The center in Semarang will be operational in May and the one in Medan in September, senior technical advisor Mike Fitzpatrick said after the company accepted an ISO 9002 quality standard certification at Shangri-La Hotel.

The Semarang and Medan facilities are part of DHL's infrastructure investments in Indonesia to get ready for the turnaround of the Asian economy, Fitzpatrick said.

"We're hoping that's going to be later this year, we've already seen signs of things improving," he told The Jakarta Post.

The new centers will complement DHL's existing 66 facilities throughout the country.

DHL also plans to open its second airport facility at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, in April, Fitzpatrick said.

Its first airport facility at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was opened in December.

The ISO 9002 award was presented by Singapore's Certification International representative Dave Cheng Loon to Birotika managing director Louise Pesik.

Fitzpatrick said DHL would strive to improve its services by organizing customer focus groups at least twice a month.

The company plans to focus this year on the development of its Asian services following successful campaigns to boost its services to the United States in 1998 and Europe last year.

DHL Worldwide Express claims to hold about 50 percent of the Indonesian market share. (10)