DHL (originally named after Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational logistics brand, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

[5] It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, delivering over 1.7 billion parcels per year.

DHL also operates a separate parcel service targeting the German consumer market in conjunction with Deutsche Post.

The company DHL itself was founded in San Francisco, United States in 1969 and expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s.

[7] The company was primarily interested in offshore and intercontinental deliveries, but the success of FedEx prompted DHL's own domestic (intra-US) expansion starting in 1983.

[7] They shared a Plymouth Duster that they drove around San Francisco to pick up the documents in suitcases, then rushed to the airport to book flights using another relatively new invention, the corporate credit card.

Adrian Dalsey and Larry Hillblom personally oversaw the daily operations until its eventual bankruptcy closed the doors in 1983.

The only major competitor in the overnight market was Federal Express (FedEx), which did not open its first international service until 1981, expanding to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In 1999, Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN) purchased the Belgian shipping company Van Gend & Loos as well as Swiss freight forwarder Danzas.

[12] DHL Airways, Inc., which handled all US domestic flights, was renamed ASTAR Air Cargo in 2003, following a management buyout.

[14] On 21 October 2004, DHL Express announced that it planned to move its European hub from Brussels to Leipzig, Germany (Vatry, France, was also considered but rejected).

[15] On 8 November 2004, DHL Express invested €120 million in an Indian domestic courier, Blue Dart, becoming the majority shareholder in the company.

[16] In 2005, Deutsche Post made an offer to buy the contract logistics company Exel plc, which had just acquired Tibbett & Britten Group.

In 2006, DHL won a ten-year contract worth £1.6 billion to run the NHS Supply Chain, part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

[17] In December 2007, DHL became the first carrier to transport cargo via wind-powered ships, flying MS Beluga Skysails kites.

[32] In October 2021, DHL said that it would raise its rates for customers in the United States by an average of 5.9 percent, starting on January 1, 2022.

Major competitors include FedEx, UPS, and national post carriers such as United States Postal Service (USPS) and Royal Mail.

DHL offers worldwide services, including deliveries to countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Myanmar (formerly Burma).

[37] In December 2014, Deutsche Post DHL purchased the StreetScooter company, a small manufacturer of electric vehicles as part of its long-term goal to reach zero emissions in its delivery operations.

[41] As of 2016, electric vans with a much greater range were to be required to achieve the long-term goal of replacing the entire Deutsche Post and DHL Express fleet of approximately 70,000 vehicles with StreetScooter models.

[43] As of 2017 the Deutsche Post/DHL GoGreen program planned to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and local air pollutants; The long-term goal, summarized by Frank Appel, chief executive officer, was more aggressive.

We are setting the standard for the future of the transport sector and doing our part to help the world community reach its goal of limiting global warming to less than two degrees Celsius.

[54][55] In 2014, the company sponsored, with IMG Fashion, DHL Exported, which was aimed at "assisting designers who are already successful locally to gain momentum internationally".

[56] Expanding its support to various cultural endeavors, in 2014 DHL signed on as the official logistics partner for Cirque du Soleil.