Deutsche Post DHL outlines Celonis EMS use cases for its HR processes

Deutsche Post DHL outlined at Celonis World Tour 2022 Munich how it improved its hire-to-retire human resources processes and now plans to expand use of the Celonis Execution Management System (EMS) and automation via the Action Engine.

Speaking during the Celonis World Tour 2022 Munich keynote, Deutsche Post DHL's Dirk Hein, Shared Services Lead at Deutsche Post DHL in Germany, said the company's vision is to deliver simple processes and services that make work easier for employees daily.

Also see: Celonis World Tour 2022: Everything you need to know

Hein was joined during the keynote by Celonis Co-CEO Bastian Nominacher and Celonis CTO Martin Klenk along with other customers and partners. Uniper, an international energy company, also outlined how it has used Celonis to optimize maintenance for its international power plant fleet as well as its energy trading and purchasing businesses. 

The HR Shared Service Center of Deutsche Post DHL started working with Celonis in 2019 after a proof of concept and they are currently planning to scale usage across other business units and processes beyond human resources. Hein explained the initial goal was to improve data quality, standardization and efficiency for the HR processes at Deutsche Post. 

Initially, the company focused on hire-to-retire and multiple subprocesses. Hein said a total of 8 use cases were created for the launch and the project was challenging at first, but both teams worked through the implementation. 

In 2021, the Celonis Team of Deutsche Post DHL HR Shared Service Center along with Celonis identified other areas where Celonis EMS could be of use in HR. Hein said his team is working on a global HR case management integration and working on its HR data quality enhancements for Deutsche Post DHL with almost 50 Active Engine skills within Celonis EMS. 

According to Hein, there are plans to scale Celonis EMS beyond its German HR shared service center and internationally with Celonis as a strategic partner. Hein added that first expansion proof of concepts across the company are underway. 

During the keynote chat, Hein had a handful of key takeaways. Among them:

• Celonis has enabled Deutsche Post DHL HR Shared Services to measure process gaps with in HR and provide transparency to stakeholders quickly. This approach allows to repair processes quickly and lead to value including improved cash flow as well as reducing the stress of employees. 

• The HR Shared Service Center automatically scans its HR master data system for incorrect placements and errors daily. 

• Action Flows within Celonis EMS are enabling Robotic Process Automation (RPA) by triggering actions, meaning correcting the errors automatically. 

• The Celonis implementation was done with its own resources, which helps the team develop its skills, which are needed for further scalability. 

• Process mining is part of Deutsche Post DHL's broad technology stack. 

• You need an open culture of error that isn't afraid to try something new. 

• Don't underestimate change management and start your journey with 2 or 3 use cases that help employees, reflect that you understand their pain points and show value.  

More customer stories from World Tour 2022:

• Uniper process excellence in power plants yield safety, financial gains

• Deutsche Post DHL outlines Celonis EMS use cases for its HR processes

• Mars creates Process Intelligence Hub to drive value realization with Celonis

• Reckitt eyes supply chain transformation, sustainability

• How AB InBev eliminates fraud in its supply chain with Celonis

• Kraft Heinz, Delphi Technologies highlight Accounts Payable process excellence

• How Malvern Panalytical revamped its Accounts Payable processes with Celonis EMS

• Repsol outlines Source-to-Pay gains

• Nationale-Nederlanden Bank deploys process mining for mortgage loans

• The LEGO Group lays building bricks to scale Celonis

• How Huntsman scaled process excellence, use cases

• Splunk and Celonis: 6 best practices for process mining and execution management success at scale

• How LinkedIn IT operations gave 300,000 hours back to employees using process mining and execution management

Larry Dignan

Editor in Chief (former)

Larry Dignan is the former Editor in Chief of Celonis Media. Before joining Celonis, he was Editor in Chief of ZDNet and has covered the technology industry and transformation trends for more than two decades, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine.