DHL, the world’s leading postal and logistics company, is present in over 220 countries and territories and has approximately 500,000 employees worldwide.

Throughout the UK and Ireland, DHL has around 600 locations, more than 51,000 customers, and approximately 60,000 employees. Its ground fleet in the UK and Ireland, including more than 22,000 vehicles, ships more than 6,000 tons of freight daily.

Worldwide, DHL drives for excellence in all areas of its business and throughout its operations. DHL’s “Strategy 2020.Focus.Connect.Grow” includes connecting across the organization as one global team. This collaborative focus is reflected in the company’s approach to risk management.

Accordingly, in the UK and Ireland, DHL sought an efficient way to centralize its loss data and risk information.

Historically, while DHL maintained the vast volume of loss and claims data on a legacy system, its growing focus on safety, risk management, and collaboration called for a provider that could not only deliver more robust data capture, sharing, and analytical capabilities but had the advocacy and support of these concepts ingrained into its DNA.

New cloud-based risk management information systems (RMIS), such as the software as a service (SaaS) provided by industry leader Origami Risk, proved to be a game-changer, offering a way for DHL to gain control of its loss information and promote a culture of safety throughout its extensive UK and Ireland operations. Origami’s RMIS, Claims Management System, and Policy Management System offer speed, flexibility, automation, data import, and export tools, claims management tools, analysis, and reporting tools.

At the start of 2015, DHL began implementing Origami Risk’s RMIS throughout its self-administered cargo claims operations in the UK and Ireland. As part of the first phase of its implementation, the Origami Risk RMIS is being used within both DHL’s cargo and casualty claim operations throughout the UK and Ireland. DHL now uses the RMIS in the following ways:

• Capture a wider array of claims and loss-related data to facilitate more robust analytics
• Collect and consolidate all data analytics for its cargo and casualty claims in the UK and Ireland on one system
• Maintain all insurance policy and coverage information for its UK and Ireland employer’s liability, general liability, cargo, and motor insurance
• Retain and manage all documentation with respect to claims being handled in the RMIS
• Provide live, real-time access into DHL’s exposure data to the company’s third-party administrators (TPA) to facilitate more effective claims management
• Provide instant access by risk management, facility, and operations leaders to loss data and claim trends by location, operation, division, job function, and workgroup for review and analysis
• Facilitate timely reporting of accidents (within 60 minutes, the “golden hour,” of occurrence) and other individual claims to reduce costs, obtain a faster resolution, and facilitate better outcomes
• Conduct loss trend comparisons across similar operations throughout the UK and Ireland to identify best practices and target locations and areas for improvement
• Take advantage of real-time user-friendly dashboards and interfaces to enable individual leaders from varied disciplines and locations across the UK and Ireland – including risk management, finance, facility managers, and safety – to access and share accurate loss information, identify loss trends and collaborate on safety, risk control, and related initiatives to generate measurable improvements
• Allocate loss costs to individual cost centers to provide incentives to reduce accidents, and drive safety and loss prevention

Design, refinement, and implementation support

Origami Risk’s agile approach to the implementation created an environment in which everyone operated as a single unit, sharing ideas to improve results and outcomes. Origami Risk’s business model of providing highly experienced risk professionals paired well with DHL’s risk management needs. Origami’s team was able to quickly get up to speed with DHL’s highly organized criteria and deliverables, and immediately begin delivering iterative solutions whereby they configured the application while DHL was using the system. The immediate feedback loop provided the ability to quickly implement, all the while giving DHL’s risk management professionals “on-the-job training” in using and configuring Origami – all before the system was in production.

Results to date

Using the Origami Risk RMIS, DHL has been able to accelerate the processing and resolution of individual claims, understand and analyze loss trends, identify best practices and share information to promote safety, allocate costs to specific cost centers, manage documentation, contracts and insurance policies more effectively. Overall, the company has been able to leverage the technology to drive efficiencies throughout its cargo claims, improve safety and performance. At the same time, DHL has been able to improve the experience of its claimants in dealing with the firm.

Pilot program

A new area for innovation involves a pilot accident reporting program with Origami Risk. Given its fleet of more than 22,000 vehicles throughout the UK, reporting and documenting accidents and vehicular damage for claims purposes can pose a challenge. To address this challenge, DHL has installed dashboard cameras (dashcams) in many of its vehicles to provide timely information from accidents. Because of the variety of different camera technology being used in DHL, file sizes, formats and delivery varies widely.

 As a cloud-based solution, Origami has provided the ability for DHL drivers to upload accident footage from an accident or vehicle damage on a timely basis. The capability enables accident-related video to be uploaded into the Origami system by DHL sites, and seamlessly made available to internal and external claims handlers instantly.

Significantly, the system tracks which vehicles have cameras fitted, and automatically monitors for outstanding footage. It sends reminders and escalations if video files are not supplied quickly. This solution has been in place for nearly a year and its success is leading to its expansion.

Building on success

DHL and Origami Risk are continuing to expand the implementation of the RMIS to additional areas where the ability to capture and analyze large volumes of data will enable DHL to drive further improvements in safety and loss control, performance, and risk management across its operations throughout the UK and Ireland. In addition, DHL has begun to implement Origami Risk in DHL operations in Eastern Europe.

In launching Origami in Slovakia, DHL found that despite language and differing country-specific requirements, the template it established in the UK and Ireland was readily adaptable in Eastern Europe. As a result, DHL was able to fast-track the implementation in Slovakia with little direct involvement of the Origami team. It is now moving on to other countries in Eastern Europe where the risk management team also anticipates ease of implementation and significant improvements in its claims management, safety and loss control processes, and overall performance.

 Award-Winning Partnership

 Origami Risk and DHL Win CIR Magazine 2016 Risk Management Award

LONDON, 11 November 2016 – Origami Risk, the award-winning risk management Software as a Service (SaaS) and DHL, the world’s leading global delivery and logistics company, have been recognized by CIR (Continuity, Insurance & Risk) Magazine as winners of the publication’s 2016 Risk Management Award for “best implementation.”

Now into their 7th year, the Risk Management Awards recognize those individuals, organizations, and teams that have significantly added to the understanding and practice of risk management. Judged by an independent panel of experts for exceptional performance, the awards provide an opportunity for organizations and individuals to showcase their best products, projects, and people.

According to CIR Magazine, the award for best implementation “is presented to the company that has most successfully implemented a piece of risk management software and are able to demonstrate a measurable return on investment, as evidenced by key milestones and evidence of targets achieved.”

“We are honored to achieve this recognition together with DHL, which reflects the highly effective team approach deeply ingrained in the cultures of both organizations,” said Robert Petrie, CEO, Origami Risk. “What distinguishes Origami Risk most from other firms in our industry is our ability to deliver superior client service, fueled by a steady stream of innovation and thought leadership. In this case, the DHL risk management team’s strong safety culture and keen understanding of its information management needs enabled us to work together to fast-track implementation and quickly seize opportunities to build on the success we achieved.”

“We are proud of this achievement and thankful to CIR Magazine and the judges for this recognition,” said Julian Thomas, Regional Head of Process & Systems – UKI, EE & EMA, DHL Insurance & Risk Management. “Our effective collaboration with Origami Risk is bringing numerous benefits to our risk management initiatives and shows the impressive gains that can be made when two firms work together seamlessly and share an identical mindset about technology, service, and performance.”