Ain’t no package strange enough

Ain't no package strange enough

Transport certainly is the backbone of any economy as it keeps everything moving. But occasionally some quirky and strange things need to go from point A to B and beyond – which DHL Express will gladly handle …

The company has released its annual list of quirky, strange and speedy delivery requests for 2013, which definitely includes some weird and wonderful items.

“One unique shipment is a 32 kg consignment of haggis which was moved from the United Kingdom (UK) to Tanzania for an event,” Sumesh Rahavendra, head of marketing for DHL Express sub-Saharan Africa, points out. “The Scottish delicacy was swiftly transported through customs and delivered in time for a prestigious event.”

He adds that, in Kenya, live human eyes are transported on a regular basis. “Understandably, the corneas are highly perishable and therefore have an extremely short lifespan, which poses a significant challenge to us.”

Rahavendra continues: “What adds to the complexity is the fact that the recipient is prepped for surgery while the cornea is in transit. The success of these deliveries relies on prior arrangement of customs releases, dedicated delivery vehicles and a passionate team of certified international specialists on the ground. When there is no margin for error and the result could affect another person’s opportunity for sight, every stop is pulled out from pick-up to delivery.”

Another unusual personal delivery was for a customer who shipped his laundry from the UK to a southern African country … for dry cleaning.

On the conservation front, an interesting delivery in Kenya included the transport of butterfly larvae. “Any delay in the transport process would have resulted in the premature hatching of the butterflies, from which they wouldn’t have survived,” Rahavendra explains. “Following a similar operational process as the transport of the aforementioned corneas, another unique delivery was successfully completed.”

He concludes: “From election ballots to presidential documents, DHL Express is trusted to pick up and deliver shipments as fast as possible around the world on a scheduled express network. The customer is at the centre of everything we do and it is this customer-centric approach that drives us to deliver two million packages across the globe on a daily basis, no matter how unique the package might be.”

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Focus on Transport

FOCUS on Transport and Logistics is the oldest and most respected transport and logistics publication in southern Africa.
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