DHL Middle East, a leading express and logistics provider, has launched a regionwide door-to-door heavyweight shipment delivery service, XL Express.

“The focus on ease of use for the customer is highlighted by the fact that DHL promotes and executes the delivery of this service in a ‘One Country’ perspective,” the company said in a statement.
“The service means that customers can now ship heavyweight goods in the same way as smaller, lighter packages. The benefits include day-definite transit times and no hidden charges. This demonstrates DHL’s expertise in managing customers’ requirements, irrespective of size or volume, with the minimum amount of paperwork and a one all-inclusive dollar per kilo priced invoice.”  
Phil Couchman, regional director, DHL Middle East, said: “Effectively we are treating the region as one country with XL Express. Utilitising our regionwide experience we guarantee our customers’ heavyweight shipments are treated with the same level of expertise as smaller packages. It’s about providing our customers with a simple and convenient solution so goods can be transported throughout the region as easily as if it was one country.”
The XL Express service utilises the great expansion in DHL’s road freight network. The company’s Jebel Ali hub, which handles over 60 per cent of all Middle East imports, acts as a catalyst for its growth, alongside other distribution centres spread across the region including Amman and the regional hub in Bahrain.
Currently, DHL has access to a dedicated fleet of 250 vehicles for the XL service, a large number of which are owned.
The XL Express service is available at 100 DHL offices across the region. New routes to Europe and North Africa through Istanbul and Cairo have been recently introduced and future route developments include Iran, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Russia.
In another DHL-related development, DHL Bahrain, announced it has received the prestigious Tapa Classification “A” Certificate that is awarded to facilities that comply with the very highest standards of security.
Tapa, the Technology Asset Protection Association, is an association of professional high-tech companies promoting higher security standards in the international shipping and air cargo industry. In an ever-changing global market environment, security is a vital concern and a definite competitive advantage within the express logistics industry.
Couchman said: “As the first and only express logistics provider in the Middle East to receive the highly sought-after Tapa Classification ‘A’ Certificate, we have once again proved our dedication to continuously improving our services for maximum customer benefit. DHL’s investment into enhancing security standards contributes to a better and safer global service offering for our customers.” Earlier, DHL UAE was awarded the certificate.
Mardi Back, DHL Bahrain hub security manager, said a high level of security was key when handling customer’s valuable consignments.