Ever-growing lead times are causing DHL to rethink how long it runs its trucks for. "From what I have been told, the situation is not going to get any better over the next 12 to 18 months either," explains DHL Exel Supply Chain engineering director David Potter. "As a result we are going to manage the longevity of the trucks better.
Whereas we would generally keep them for three, four or five years, we may look at further utilising these vehicles in the short term." Potter says although
DHL is in the same boat as everyone else, it does have the advantage of running an exceptionally young fleet.
"We also have significant buying power," he adds. However, he says having to deal with lead times varying from 26 weeks to over a year is still proving a significant challenge. "We will work closer with both our customers and suppliers in order to avoid any potential problems," says Potter.
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