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DHL International Nigeria Limited

How to EnterCompany: DHL International Nigeria Limited. Lagos, Nigeria
Company Description: DHL International Nigeria Ltd is in the courier services business. DHL was incorporated in Nigeria in 1978, and has since expanded to cover all 36 states of the country. DHL has pioneered a number of innovations in Nigeria, the latest being the introduction of a Boeing 737 cargo aircraft (first in Nigeria) which has enabled us deliver timely and reliable services to every part of the country.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Turnaround of the Year

Nomination Title: DHL Nigeria - From Good to Great

Tell the story about how your organization has improved its sales performance since the beginning of July 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

BACKGROUND –

Nigeria, a large country with great human and natural resorces, and a growing economy of 5.6% GDP and under democratic rule, can only continue to grow. Challenges with infrastructure, security and corruption though. However, DHL performance in Nigeria as at 2011 was not impressive, as we were infact losing volumes.

WHERE TO START?

DHL Nigeria needed a Commercial Turn Around, as the third largest country for DHL Express in Africa we could not afford losing the opportunity to win in this market. We needed to start from the basics… In order for DHL Nigeria to become GREAT, it needed to support the company’s vision to become “The Logistic Company for Nigeria”. To achieve this they would need to deliver on each one of our FOCUS PILLARS:

Have “Motivated People” who deliver “Great Service Quality”, creating “Loyal Customers” that then turn us into a “Profitable Network”.

The commercial situation in Nigeria by the end of 2011 was far from great. DHL Express Nigeria had a disorganized sales force, there were no dedicated sales managers, and an endless rotation of expatriate Sales Directors to lead the team. There was a persistent poor performance of the team including the Global Sales Scorecard (GSS), which is DHL’s internal measurement benchmark for sales performance. In addition, there was no structured training process for the sales team. The team was demotivated, not achieving results, organizational pressure was mounting… a vicious cycle very difficult to break.

ACTIONS –

  • Creating a High Performing Sales Force: We appointed a local with 14 years experience in the industry to drive the turn around. In addition, he chose his team as deemed fit. Sales Managers were appointed, Lead Qualifiers, and industry segment experts like Life Sciences, Finance Services, Oil & Energy
  • Creating Certified International Specialists (CIS) During the review period, every sales staff went through this training, to ensure they are professional enough.
  • Coaching: Nigeria implemented the “Simplified Territory Planning Session” where the sales managers carry out a detailed territory review with each sales person once a month and actions are followed up weekly.
  • Monitoring Performance: DHL Nigeria implemented a relentless focus on daily/weekly deliverables like shipment numbers, First time buyers, competitors’ MUST win accounts, individual campaign performances among others.
  • Recognition: Nigeria implemented various forms of recognition to motivate the team, including DHL global program “Sales Champions Club – SCC”. The SCC recognizes the top 100 sales person globally within the DHL global network.
  • The Right Product: Chrys introduced a product called Express Easy to stimulate sales late 2012. It was widely accepted by our retail customers, so much that we achieved an impressive growth of 28%!
  • Must Win Program: Structured focus on major competitors account, as well as formation of a hunters squad to bring in new businesses. Our shipment numbers grew 17%, revenue grew 21% and active customers grew 27%.

After appointing Chrys we had a good 2012 -2013. Revenue grew 21%, while shipment numbers grew 17%. Nigeria produced a Sales champion for Sub Saharan Africa, active customers grew 27%, and Nigeria was selected as the African Commercial Country of the Year (2012) in Dubai.

 

Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated sales organization:

Chrysanthus Okereke was appointed to shoulder the responsibility of driving the turnaround of the DHL Nigeria Sales fortune in September 2011 as Country Head of Sales, based in Lagos Nigeria.

Chrys started his career in DHL Express as a Field Sales Executive 13 years back, and has managed various sales portfolios and channels in the Sales and commercial department before his appointment. Some of the roles he handled in DHL Nigeria include Sales Administrator for the Oil and Gas sector, Divisional Manager for 3 major areas in Nigeria, and Relationship channel Manager for the country.

In addition to his varied sales experience and good knowledge of the local business dynamics, Chrys has undergone extensive training programs on sales, Sales Management and coaching techniques.