Airbus has signed a five-year agreement naming DHL as the aircraft manufacturer's lead transport provider. DHL will implement its full transportation system, lead logistics provider control tower and optimization program to streamline the flow of materials to Airbus manufacturing plants.

The control tower will manage a significant part of inbound transportation, including air and ocean freight, road freight, customs and value-added services.

"We are delighted to foster closer partnership with Airbus with this significantly enlarged business portfolio. This win is a testimony of our relentless focus on delivering the best for customers like Airbus," says Rolf Habben Jansen, DHL's chief executive for Global Customer Solutions.

The GCS unit has been serving DHL group's major customers through a dedicated customer management organization since 2004. Industry experts within GCS act as empowered single point of contact along the entire supply chain of the individual key customers. The team of experts also continuously develop the group's business in line with changing market conditions and customer needs.

In an unrelated development, DHL has announced the latest version of its EasyShip PC-based shipping solution. EasyShip Connect 8.0 permits customers to perform all shipping functions, from printing waybills to tracking shipments and shipment management reporting.

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