What Does DHL Mean? (Founding History, Corporate Culture and More)

Are you stranded with what DHL means and what it stands for? Thus, this article will share a bit of DHL's history and everything linked to the company, from the slogan to the Urban Dictionary definition.

While you know that DHL, as a logistics company, is based in Bonn, Germany, the firm is owned and managed by Deutsche Post. But understand that today, the company is decisively European; it is still written in history that its roots are traced from Francisco in California.

Besides business savvy, the founder also lent the firm their name, giving rise to DHL. If you are wondering what DHL means and stands for, you are at the right place. We will detail the history, the meaning of this acronym, what it stands for, and many more facts. Therefore, if you are curious about the company, keep reading the article with us. We will get started exploring in the next section.

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What Does DHL Mean?

DHL is an international courier, parcel, and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL. The name DHL was coined from the initials of the company's three founders. The founders are Adrian Dalsey and Larry Hillblom, alongside Robert Lynn. The company comes with multiple slogans throughout its operation. Among these are ‘ we move the world, excellence, simply delivered,’ etc. Conversely, the logo features the acronym, which intersects with the three stripes.

From the information we have found online, the three stripes symbolize forward motion and speed. Thus, DHL stands for Dailsey, Hillblom, and Lynn, the last names of the 3 co-founders behind the company. The firm is profound around the world and focuses on world-class carriers as well as shipping services. Anytime you wish to deliver your ideal file, documents, and necessary package, your items will pass through DHL.

The company has done a lot to ensure they are easily accessible by everyone as long as they need the service. Multiple million customers trust the company so far. We intend to share many more DHL facts in this article, such as the logo, slogans, etc. If you are curious, then keep reading until the end.

About DHL Founders

The term DHL stands for Dalsey, Hillblom & Lynn. They are obtained from the last three names of the founders. Considering the history of these founders, Hillblom began working as the carrier of a particular insurance company known as Michael, Poe, and Associates-MPA, where he was still doing his law course at the Berkeley University of California.

Immediately after the graduation, they met Adrian Dalsey with his friend Robbert Lynn. These three wanted to ensure they expanded the MPA delivery services to reach other enterprises. Being their vision, they took it as a business opportunity. There are so many more you can still learn about this from.

Definition of DHL from the Urban Dictionary

From the history of DHL, we are all aware of the term DHL, and it remains unquestionable. It means Dalsey, Hillblom, and Lynn. However, many other related speculations and acronyms have surfaced online in the past few years.

Amongst the definition and acronym always tend to make it fun, and while poking, they target the services. Some of these Urban Dictionary acronyms are:- SDrop it, Hide it and Lose it, Day and a Half Late, Delivery Halfway Lost, Dumped, Hidden or Lost, Delivery Here Late, etc. There are still many more that you can refer to from the internet just for fun.

DHL Logo and Its Meaning

To date, DHL has featured at least three different logo versions. This has been traced since its inception in 1969. However, the logo has remained consistent in a few elements. Some of these consistent aspects are the italicized and bold fonts. However, a few elements have charged relatively over the years. Looking at the original logo designs from 1969 to 1983, the DHL logo featured a white name with a bright red background.

Every letter on the logo was unique, separated by a white line. From the Intra-US expansion in 1983, the DHL logo coincided with the new logo luncheon. The new logo version featured the three stripes. This aimed at bringing in a sense of the motion. Still, besides introducing the three stripes, where lettering expresses Worldwide it still became part of the logo.

Its purpose was and is still to explain the business and operation of the company’s mission. This aims to serve and give hints to people unfamiliar with the firm and its DHL abbreviation. Thus, the current logo was launched in 2002. This was after Deutsche Post acquired the company. The latest version retained the three stripes with the unique and italicized font. However, they changed the background color to yellow. This is a whole new error with stiff Competition. You can relate to Yellow, The New Brown, from the DHL slogan.

The DHL Slogans

DHL is one of the most popular shipping carriers and has numerous slogans. In this section, we will highlight just a few of these slogans to help you understand the main vision and goal of the company. Thus, here are some of the sayings and what they mean

1. Excellence, Simply Delivered

This is one of the DHL slogans that surfaces through their operation. The firm states that the slogan is more than you take as a simple tagline. It is more of the approach of living & carrying out business. The company aims to become the best in the world. They focus on enhancing the service to improve and connect the lives of their customers and the people around them. For DHL to actualize its goals and objectives, it heavily invests in the workforce through employee training to clarify its purposes and core values.

2. We Move The World

This is the second DHL slogan. It becomes essential when transporting packages as the firm's main service. It also highlights a hint about the significant company's goal: keeping international trade and the economy active and functional.

3. Yellow, The New Brown

This is also another slogan that DHL uses. This alone is a clear sign that DHL is attempting to overtake the UPS in the operation and when it comes to the carrier services. They aim to become a significant logistics firm in the United States industry. There are many other slogans that you can search online and understand in detail. Among other relevant DHL slogans in today's operation are ' We Keep your promises' and 'Competition. Bad for them. Great for you.'

The 5 Corporate Divisions of DHL

Since the acquisition, DHL group has been operating through their unique and organized five operating divisions. The company provides integrated services that are tailored and, in the long run, customer-focused solutions. These aim to manage and transport information, goods, and letters. There are two robust brands in this case, and the largest of all is Deutsche Post, the leading postal service provider in Europe and the German mail industry. as an international service portfolio, here are the five operating division

1. Express

This division ventures into transporting and delivery of urgent goods and documents. It is not only reliable but also effective for door-to-door service delivery. It is time for a definite international primary shipment service provider. It contributed a consolidated revenue of 228.6% in 2022.

2. Global Forwarding and Freight

This division deals with international forwarding services covering the ocean, European overland freight, and air. It has consolidated a shared revenue of 30.5% in 2022.

3. Supply Chain

This is a simple division that offers value-added transport and warehousing services. Hence, combining these provisions, they have presented personalized supply chain divisions with guaranteed solutions. All these follow the global requirements solutions.

4. eCommerce

Though this division is well known for engaging in domestic last-mile parcel delivery, they are only available in the selected countries based in the US, Europe, Asia, etc. The service covers all the non-TDI cross borders, which are from and to as well as within the European region.

5. Post and Parcel Germany

This division focuses on shipping and delivery services of goods and documents for people based in Germany. They are also experts in other regions of the world. They are also experts in dialogue marketing, which is their spectrum of mail & services. Note that each of the above divisions features separate managers, headquarters, and relevant subdivisions.

The DHL Values and Meaning

DHL's main aim and goal is to become the outstanding post office for German customers and the leading logistics firm worldwide. Therefore, they have stipulated a few of the mission statements to consider for the company to achieve the goal. There are four elements or values concerning the DHL. These values, mission statement, and elements include:-

Contributing to a better world by thinking ahead.
Committed team-making employees, investors, and customers are more successful.
A responsible company simplifies and facilitates the lives of customers
Growing together- showing respect to achieve high standards.

If you want to learn more facts, fun, and achievements of the DHL so far, keep reading our articles. We will still keep you updated with everything. Check out why the company is considered bad, how it delivers, the delivery time, and e-commerce. Keep checking the site often.

Conclusion

DHL is a San Francisco, California-based carrier company that has traced its inception to a humble beginning. The company has grown, expanded its reach, and has become the global market leader in the logistics industry as well as parcel delivery. The name DHL pays much homage to the 3 founders, whose logo, pillars, mission statement, and slogan indicate the value and goals of the company they aim to achieve soon. Hence, DHL is simply Dalsey, Hillblom, and Lynn.