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What are the four ingredients needed to become carbon neutral? We asked Markus Voss, the global CIO and COO of logistics gigant DHL Supply Chain to share his recipe for developing innovative solutions to sustainability challenges.
Within the pages of CIONET Cookbook No. 3, discover a compilation of success recipes shared by 21 of today’s most influential and dynamic information technology leaders across all business sectors. This unique volume presents new recipes for digital success based on CIONET TV interviews with top digital leaders across Europe.
Right now, it’s clear that we all face extraordinary technical and business challenges. This third edition of the Cookbook presents further insights into the best practices required to flourish in a new digital era.
Meanwhile dive in to the next recipe with our Master chef Markus Voss, Global CIO & COO at DHL Supply Chain.
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Markus Voss is global CIO and COO of logistics giant DHL Supply Chain. A scientist by trade, with a PHD in physical chemistry from the University of Cologne, Markus began his career with Accenture. He joined DHL almost 20 years ago. Having held a range of positions across IT and strategy, he assumed his current role in 2017.
Deutsche Post DHL employs about 600,000 people globally. Each business within the group, such as Deutsche Post and DHL Express, uses DHL Global Business Services’ 5,000-strong IT organisation. At DHL Supply Chain, Marcus manages 1,800 IT specialists who work with 140,000 colleagues to run their clients’ supply chains. The business operates more than 2,000 warehouses globally, where goods are stored, picked, packed, received and shipped.
DHL Supply Chain is driven by sustainability. Logistics is responsible for 20% of global carbon emissions and the business wants to deliver net-zero logistics through the effective use of digital technology. DHL Group is investing €7 billion through 2030 to drive down its carbon footprint and DHL Supply Chain has committed to being carbon neutral by 2050.
Progress has been significant – more than 50% of the organisation’s warehouses are already carbon neutral. Another priority area is road transport: DHL Supply Chain has committed to electrifying 60% of the last mile of deliveries by 2030. To meet these targets, the organisation is exploring sustainable fuels, such as biogas, and also electric vehicles and hydrogen.
The company’s first fully electric-powered flight took place recently in Seattle. Markus says the organisation is “technologically open” to any solutions to sustainability challenges. While hydrogen-powered vehicles are a potential game-changer in the longer term, bridge technologies – such as electric vehicles – will play a crucial role in the short term.
Data is critical to helping DHL Supply Chain meet its sustainability goals. Standardisation is at the forefront of this work. Markus’ team uses data to ensure trucks that deliver goods don’t return to base empty and are instead used to make another delivery on the way back. His team has also worked with an automotive customer to show how emissions can be reduced by 40% by optimising routes and shifting transport modes, such as from air to road or rail.
A core team of data engineers and scientists builds the environment to power this analytical effort. The organisation uses this architecture to ensure information is used in a decentralised but secure manner. This harmonised approach means it’s easier to develop standardised data-led products that meet the supply chain requirements of customers.
Markus has an all-encompassing leadership role that spans operations, digital and service design. It’s still rare for European CIOs to reach the heights of COO. Markus was asked to lead operations because technology was seen as fundamental to the company’s day-to-day work. Bringing IT and operations together makes it easier to deliver standardisation: “I have a passion for technology that drives value for the organisation.”
In his joint role, Markus has been able to prove the benefits of innovative technology to operations and ensure service design is considered from the outset of every business project. The pace of digitisation across logistics continues to increase. DHL Supply Chain will invest €2 billion in digital solutions through 2025. Despite the increased use of automation, Markus believes the “winning formula” will involve a balance between people, who do the thinking, and bots, who complete repetitive tasks: “We strongly believe strongly in collaborative robots.”
DHL Supply Chain pursues a cloud-first strategy. While back-end processes, such as finance and human resources, are fully in the cloud, Markus says many third-party partners that support supply chain systems are not yet ready for the cloud. These systems, covering warehouse and transport management, require low latencies and huge availability and resiliency.
To boost operational effectiveness, the company has built its own Internet of Things (IOT) platform. The firm tags thousands of assets and supports billions of connected devices. As an example, DHL Supply Chain used sensors to track temperature control for two and a half billion vaccines during the coronavirus pandemic. Markus says IoT will be a big driver for future success. The company is building a digital twin to scope-out supply chain enhancements: “Being able to play through the impact of ‘what-if’ scenarios is very exciting.”
The company, in short, is increasingly reliant on the data it collects. However, it can’t allow this reliance on data to compromise its stated aim of acting in a sustainable manner. Markus, therefore, ensures IT sustainability is prioritised. Code for internal applications is optimised and end-of-life legacy systems are rearchitected on modern platforms. He also looks for cloud suppliers that power data centres in an energy-efficient manner. The company has started a certification process to ensure partners in all business areas work in a sustainable manner.
Markus hates standing still. He relishes any opportunity to synthesise the things he’s learnt into a vision. He spends a lot of his time defining the future strategy and making the organisation excited about the journey to digital transformation.
A collaborative management style is crucial to success. Markus says that being stubborn in an international business is a recipe for disaster. He works with local leaders to deliver constant improvements using her personal mantra: “Every day, a little better.”
Markus advises next-generation digital leaders to stay curious. Don’t just focus on your own career; develop the people you work with because you will be judged on the opportunities you create for others. His organisation has created a ‘a passport for success’, which highlights when each individual learns new things and achieves targets.
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