January 22, 2020: DHL Freight, one of the providers of road freight services in Europe is creating a single transport management system (TMS) for all DHL Freight operations throughout Europe. The IT system, called EVO as a reference to "evolution," combines all functions for the core business operations. EVO has now been implemented in all terminals in France. Turkey is set to be the next point of implementation.

"EVO is a great example of how we can benefit from the digitalisation in our business. The availability of data and data quality are becoming increasingly decisive factors. A single, unified platform across Europe increases our efficiency even further and eases the daily life for our employees at the same time. Everyone can access consolidated customer information in real-time, affording transparency for the operational staff throughout the entire production chain," stated Uwe Brinks, CEO, DHL Freight. "This also enables a high degree of automation and reduces administrative work."

Based on an existing framework, EVO has been developed entirely in-house to match the specific requirements of DHL Freight operations. The platform unites IT processes spanning from order entry to invoicing in administration and from pickup to delivery in operations. Using a single IT platform for all core products will help DHL Freight increase efficiency and facilitate international coordination. The implementation of this new TMS allows the customers more efficient and better coordination of their shipments as well as improved customer service due to increased visibility.

"The first week of December we have linked with Marne-la-Valle not only our last but also one of our biggest terminals in France to the new EVO transport management system. It was an exciting journey so far with intensive training and review sessions for our employees across the country. We are already now observing higher speed and process efficiency in interaction throughout our terminals in France and are looking forward to the further roll-out connecting us to other countries," said Claude Brigand, CEO DHL Freight France.

Rolling out the new TMS country by country will enable DHL Freight to limit the risks before increasing the complexity as part of a European-wide roll-out. The full roll-out of EVO and replacement of former systems should be successfully completed by 2022.

"Having EVO up and working in France marks an important step in DHL Freight's FREIGHT 2025 strategy," said Stefano Arganese, chief digital officer, DHL Freight. "Further harmonising our systems environment will allow us to deliver the best possible service quality for our customers."

EVO is one of the many initiatives that tie into Deutsche Post DHL Group's "Strategy 2025 - Delivering excellence in a digital world". By 2025, Deutsche Post DHL Group will have invested EUR 2 billion on initiatives designed to enhance customer and employee experience as well as improve operational excellence. Comprehensively modernizing the company's IT systems is an elemental part of the strategy, which also focusses on increased automation, robotics, and data analytics.