PLANTATION, Fla. & HEREDIA, Costa Rica--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DHL, the world’s leading international logistics provider, has recently opened an expanded facility in Heredia, Costa Rica, that will bring together many key support functions previously separately located under one roof and will serve much of the company’s Americas Region and beyond.
The new DHL Customer Support facility, a 6,610-square-meter building located at Zona Franca El Cafetal 2 Corporate Center, Edificio E, La Ribera de Belén, Heredia, will house Finance Services, Customer Service, IT Services, and Human Resources Operations departments. The move representing a space increase of 45 percent over previous facilities represents a capital investment on the part of DHL of EUR13.7 million.
“Our divisions are growing, bringing more jobs into Costa Rica as the need for support in various areas increases,” said Mike Parra, CEO, DHL Americas Region. “This new DHL Customer Support facility also reflects the shift of DHL to more value-added activities, such as digitalization in Customer Service to enhance the customer experience.” The center’s Customer Service operation manages several CS operations areas such as chat and assisting Spanish-speaking customers in the United States.
The new facility also signals expanded opportunities for staff, with the current 650-plus workforce expected to grow to 800 within the next two years.
“The new DHL Customer Support facility is a reflection of the growth in international shipping throughout the Americas and the proactive measures that DHL has in place to support both current and future growth,” Joe Joseph, Global CFO for DHL. “Bringing together our people from various disciplines under the same roof helps strengthen the way we work as one, ensuring consistent high quality service for our customers.”
The Finance Services division serves 33 countries within the Americas, covering transactional, process optimization and digitalization activities from Costa Rica to the rest of the world. IT Services range from service desk to operational infrastructure to project management, covering Americas, Europe and Asia. The Human Resources division provides international training and development services, in addition to various payroll functions. Recruitment is also a key function.
The new facility is LEED certified, supporting the company’s goal to reduce all logistics-related emissions to zero by the year 2050.
The DHL Customer Support facility is multicultural and multilingual, with employees who speak Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. Women are well represented among the workforce, comprising nearly 70 percent of employees, and more than 40 percent hold leadership positions.
DHL has an active social responsibility program in Costa Rica, working with TECHO to build houses for those who would otherwise go without. The company also maintains an ongoing relationship with SOS Children’s Villages, helping the young people there develop both study skills and job skills.
“Some of the employees in our new DHL Customer Support facility are ‘graduates’ of SOS Children’s Villages,” said Carla Carrillo, Americas Finance Services Head. “We’ve provided internships for more than 150 of these young people and hire several of them every year. It’s part of our deep commitment to the Costa Rica community and the wonderful people here.”
DHL – The logistics company for the world
DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL family of divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 360,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology, life sciences and healthcare, energy, automotive and retail, a proven commitment to corporate responsibility and an unrivalled presence in developing markets, DHL is decisively positioned as “The logistics company for the world”.
DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 60 billion euros in 2017.