In his capacity as CEO, Suliman oversees DHL’s operations across 19 markets and leads a strong team of 5,700 employees. He has been with DHL for 42 years and has held the position of CEO for the past nine years.
Previously, Suliman was the country manager for DHL Express Saudi Arabia, where under his leadership, the office consistently achieved stellar performances. He also managed the Bahrain business for eight years and prior to that held various managerial roles across other regional countries including UAE and Cairo.
eCommerce has been a key driver for DHL, and this has resulted in the firm increasing its capacity and enhancing its network to meet the demand.
Suliman tells LNME: “We’ve been investing in adding air capacity to enhance our network and better our capabilities to service high demand destinations with greater speed, reliability and efficiency. We have been upgrading our MENA airplanes and adding more intra-regional and intercontinental routes, connections, and flights to our portfolio to support the growing logistics needs of our clients.”
In April this year, DHL Express MENA began the expansion of its regional aviation fleet with the addition of seven new Boeing 767-300F freighters.
The technologically advanced, energy-efficient jets are based out of DHL’s regional aviation headquarters in Bahrain and have been converted from passenger to freighter configuration by Boeing, to fit the needs of DHL Express and meet the rising demand for express services.
These modern, cost effective and reliable aircraft will improve its air capability to better support the region’s logistical demands while supporting its GoGreen 2050 Mission.
Suliman said: “We are excited to introduce our new Boeing 767-300F freighters to the regional DHL Express air network. This investment reiterates our focus on continuously deploying innovative solutions and technologies to meet customer demands.
“Based on our performance in 2020, where we saw historic peaks in cross-border eCommerce volumes both globally and in the region, we anticipate this trend to continue, and our enhanced air capacities will enable us to handle the increased demand for delivery expertise in time-definite express shipments.”
He added: “The new planes will support our objective to maintain a well-connected regional network and optimise our operations whilst simultaneously improving our environmental footprint in line with our zero-emissions strategy.”
Under his able leadership, DHL Express MENA has further enhanced its last mile delivery solutions by enabling customers with more ease, convenience and control over pick-up and drop-off of their eCommerce parcels.
In March, the company signed a partnership with Fodel, the first Pick-up and Drop-off (PUDO) network provider in the GCC that, through an advanced PUDO technology platform, signs up and manages local merchants from across the region as alternative pick-up locations to home delivery.
DHL’s customers will benefit from these delivery points by choosing them as pick-up options for their shipments. The partnership with Fodel consolidates last-mile logistics and provides a more convenient delivery solution for DHL MENA’s customers that is faster and more cost-effective.