According to Sumesh Rahavendra, Head of Marketing for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), within the SSA region there has been an increase in strange food delivery requests with each passing year. He says that it is now becoming an increasingly interesting exercise to pin-point which deliveries stand out above the rest.
DHL Express had a 32kg consignment of Haggis which was moved from the UK to Tanzania for an event. The Scottish delicacy was swiftly transported through customs and delivered in time for the prestigious event.
Alan Cassels, Country Manager, DHL Express Kenya says that in Kenya, live human eyes are transported on a regular basis. “Understandably, the corneas have an extremely short life span and are therefore highly perishable, which possess a significant challenge to us“.
According to him, what adds to the complexity is the fact that the recipient is booked and prepped for surgery while the cornea is in transit.
Another unusual personal delivery was for a customer who shipped his laundry from the United Kingdom to a Southern African country….for dry cleaning.
For many people, a wedding is one of the most important and special days of their life, and the price of one’s happiness on ‘the big day’ is immeasurable. DHL Express delivered 1.7 tons of fresh flowers from Johannesburg to Douala in Cameroon for such an occasion. This personal request came from a customer whose two sons were getting married on the same day. A few short hours later, a splendor of colour was delivered to the event in time for the all important nuptials.
Alan added that on the conservation front, an interesting delivery in Kenya included the transport of butterfly larvae. “Any delay in the transport process would result in the premature hatching of the butterflies, from which they would not have survived. Following a similar operational process as the transport of the corneas previously mentioned, another successful, yet another unique delivery was completed”.
“From election ballots to presidential documents, DHL Express is trusted to pick up and deliver shipments as fast as possible around the world on a scheduled Express Network. The customer is at the center of everything we do and it is this customer centricity that drives us to deliver two million packages across the globe on a daily basis, no matter how unique the package might be. Although sometimes challenging and stressful, such requests certainly help bring a smile to our faces on a busy day”, concludes Alan.
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