The company has its origins in several independent warehouse and transportation management companies in the United States which were acquired in 1985 by NFC plc. The new company was re branded Exel and the Americas headquarters was established in Westerville, Ohio, in 1992. By the year 2000, Exel had grown and expanded operations to include Canada, Latin America and South America. Its portfolio of solutions also grew to include transportation management, freight consolidation, contract packaging, contract manufacturing, demand planning and other supply chain services. In May 2000, NFC plc merged with Ocean Group plc and, adopting the name of its American subsidiary, became Exel plc. In August 2004, Exel plc acquired Tibbett & Britten, a leading contract logistics business based in the United Kingdom, for $710m. On 14 December 2005, Deutsche Post announced the completion of the acquisition of Exel plc. In January 2016, Exel changed its name to DHL Supply Chain: North America.
In August 2011, the main distribution center for Hershey candies was subjected to a strike by about 400 young foreign workers brought to the United States under the J1 "cultural exchange" visa program. The center in Palmyra, Pennsylvania was run for Hershey by Exel. Exel in turn subcontracted the staffing of the center to another firm SHS OnSite Solutions based in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania. The students were recruited by yet another organization called the Council on Educational Travel. In February 2012, the Department of Labor'sOccupational Safety and Health Administration fined Exel almost $300,000 for wilfully failing to record and report on the job injuries for four years. In 2011, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Contrice Travis, sued Exel for sexual discrimination alleging that Exel failed to promote a female associate to a supervisory position. In July 2013, during a four day trial in Atlanta Georgia the jury heard evidence such as, "Travis's former supervisor testified that when he recommended Travis for the position, the general manager informed him that he would never put a woman in that position." The jury found the charges to be true, and awarded Travis $25,000 in compensatory damages and $475,000 in punitive damages plus back pay.
