companies provided Deutsche Post with a dense transport network as well as an impressive portfolio of value-added services. The partnership with DHL International, which began with the acquisition of a minority interest in 1998, was expanded and intensified in 2000. Negotiations were then concluded, allowing Deutsche Post to establish a majority interest from 1 January 2002. In July 2002, Deutsche Post acquired a 25-percent share in DHL from Lufthansa Cargo and increased its majority stake to 75 percent. At the time, DHL Worldwide Express had more than 71,000 employees worldwide. A pioneer in global express shipping, DHL's international network linked over 220 countries and territories. DHL became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group in December 2002 after Deutsche Post acquired the remaining shares from two investment funds and Japan Airlines. In December 2005, Deutsche Post acquired the British logistics company Exel for 5.5 billion euros. At that time, approximately 111,000 employees worked for Exel in 135 countries. The company concluded the first half of 2005 with a 55 percent leap in profits to 172 million pounds (251 million euros). In 2006 Deutsche Post took a majority stake in Williams Lea, a business process outsourcing (BPO) provider specializing in document management and mail services. In July 2011, DHL acquired Tag Worldwide, an international provider of marketing execution and production services. In 2017, DHL sold the combined Williams Lea Tag business to Advent International. In May 2018, DHL Supply Chain strengthened its presence in Latin America by acquiring Colombian logistics company Suppla Group. At the time of the acquisition, Suppla employed over 4,500 employees in 25 cities of Colombia. Regions and sectors DHL Supply Chain is organized into six regions: North America, South America, APAC (Asia Pacific), Greater China, MLEMEA (Mainland Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and UK&I (United Kingdom and Ireland). The Exel brand was retained for North America (USA and Canada), with the headquarters for the region in Westerville, Ohio. In 2016, the Exel brand transitioned DHL Supply Chain for the North America region. DHL Supply Chain trades in six focus sectors: AEMCE (Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing, Chemical and Energy) Consumer, Retail, Technology, Service Logistics, Life Sciences and Healthcare. Consumer and retail Consumer and Retail are two of DHL Supply Chain's largest sectors. Both of these offer major growth potential for the division, since DHL manages the supply chains all the way from the source of supply to the end