DHL eCommerce has launched its fulfillment centre in Sydney to support growing Australian demand for overseas goods.

“E-commerce has gone borderless, and order fulfillment needs to do the same,” said Charles Brewer, CEO of DHL eCommerce. “Our Australian facility adds another node to our standardized global network of fulfillment centres located in the US, Mexico, India, Hong Kong and Central Europe, eliminating the need for e-commerce merchants to hunt for new logistics partners as they look to expand their global reach.”

According to DHL, the new facility integrates inbound freight, inventory and last-mile delivery into a single consolidated service, operating under the same service level agreements, management platforms and customer support as the rest of the DHL eCommerce fulfillment network. All services will be offered on a pay-per-use basis.

“Australian shoppers are the second-most likely in the world to buy online from overseas merchants, and the significance of their purchasing power will only increase as cross-border e-commerce grows at an average of 29% per year until 2020,” said Damien Sheehan, managing director of Australia at DHL eCommerce. “Online retailers need to overcome the traditional problems associated with overseas expansion -- finding new suppliers in each market, delivering shipments within days not weeks, and keeping costs in check -- if they want to stay competitive in this borderless future. The launch of our Australian fulfillment centre gives our customers immediate access to one of the world’s most mature and fastest-growing e-commerce markets, with the scalability and quality needed to reach Australia’s highly savvy online shoppers.”

Malcolm Monteiro, CEO of Asia Pacific at DHL eCommerce, said that cost-effectiveness and scalability are the most critical issues for online retailers in Australia because the value of the country’s e-commerce sales is expected to grow by almost 50% between now and 2020.

“Whether it’s extending into new channels, offering more delivery options, or simply increasing inventory and warehouse capacity, global brands need fulfillment solutions that can adapt to their needs without requiring hands-on intervention every time a change occurs,” he said. “Global e-tailers can access our latest fulfillment centre for simplified nationwide inventory and last-mile delivery and also as part of a rapid and painless global expansion.”