DHL, a leading logistics partner in the rapidly growing Dutch e-commerce and mail order sector, pools services for online retailers, including warehousing, order picking, packing, shipping, door-to-door delivery and returns management. Increasingly, customers are demanding shorter delivery times and greater flexibility.

Since 2008, DHL Global Forwarding has leased several locations from Prologis in the Netherlands: 17,700 square meters at Prologis Park Venlo III and a new 45,000 square meter distribution center in the city of Venlo, less than 5 kilometers from the German border. The new building is one of several facilities comprising Trade Port West business park, a major industrial hub under development along the eastern border of the Netherlands. In 2013, DHL renewed its contract with Prologis for Schiphol DC3, a 19,435 square meter facility. Schiphol DC3 is a modern cross dock facility near Amsterdam, located in the immediate vicinity of several air freight handlers at the Netherland’s primary airport.

DHL is a long-term Prologis customer with facilities around the world, so it was natural for DHL Supply Chain to seek Prologis’ assistance for additional capacity. DHL Supply Chain leased space in an existing building, but further growth warranted commissioning of a build-to-suit facility. Prologis developed a 23,000 square meter distribution center in Nieuwegein, near Utrecht. Prologis’ unique capacity to align timelines for growth with development ensured a smooth transition to the new facility. The central location for national distribution makes the logistics center a perfect base for DHL’s customers.

With completion in the second quarter of 2017, Prologis increased its Utrecht portfolio to more than 100,000 square meters.