Location
260-009, Owen G. Glenn Building
Start Date
12-15-2014
Description
As “the most international company on earth,” DHL Express promised to deliver packages between almost any pair of countries within a defined time-frame. To fulfill this promise, the company had introduced a set of global business and technology standards. While standardization had many advantages (improving service for multinational customers, faster response to changes in import/export regulations, sharing of best practices, etc.), it created impediments to local innovation and responsiveness in DHL Express’ network of 220 countries/territories. Reconciling standardization-innovation tradeoffs is a critical management issue for global companies in the digital economy. This case study describes one large, successful company’s approach to the tradeoff of standardization versus innovation.
Recommended Citation
Mocker, Martin; Ross, Jeanne; and Ciano, Pablo, "Building a Global Process Standard at the Most International Company on Earth: DHL Express" (2014). ICIS 2014 Proceedings. 14.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2014/proceedings/ISCurriculum/14
Building a Global Process Standard at the Most International Company on Earth: DHL Express
260-009, Owen G. Glenn Building
As “the most international company on earth,” DHL Express promised to deliver packages between almost any pair of countries within a defined time-frame. To fulfill this promise, the company had introduced a set of global business and technology standards. While standardization had many advantages (improving service for multinational customers, faster response to changes in import/export regulations, sharing of best practices, etc.), it created impediments to local innovation and responsiveness in DHL Express’ network of 220 countries/territories. Reconciling standardization-innovation tradeoffs is a critical management issue for global companies in the digital economy. This case study describes one large, successful company’s approach to the tradeoff of standardization versus innovation.