How Granteq created the integrated technology environment behind one of DHL’s four global Innovation Centers.
There is a fundamental difference between putting technology inside an innovation center and creating a space that actually feels innovative.
At the DHL MEA Innovation Center in Dubai, technology is everywhere. But ideally, visitors barely notice it.
They notice the content.
They notice the conversations.
They notice the ideas being exchanged.
That was precisely the objective.
As one of only four DHL Innovation Centers globally, the Dubai facility serves as a regional hub where customers, colleagues, partners, startups and industry leaders can explore emerging logistics technologies, engage with DHL thought leadership and collaborate on the future of supply chains.
Creating that experience required an AV environment capable of doing far more than supporting meetings and presentations.
It needed to support discovery, storytelling, collaboration, live events, broadcasting, content creation and global communication — while remaining intuitive enough that the technology never interrupted the experience.
Granteq was selected to help make that possible.
The Experience Starts at the Door
The technology journey begins as soon as a visitor enters the Innovation Center.
A visitor management system provides a streamlined arrival experience, while digital signage communicates information about events and activities taking place within the facility.
From there, visitors encounter a prominent feature video wall introducing technologies and ideas available throughout the Innovation Center.
It establishes the tone immediately: this is not a conventional corporate facility.
It is an environment built around discovery.
A Digital Canvas for Innovation
The main showroom is where DHL demonstrates some of the latest ideas shaping the logistics industry.
Granteq created a flexible digital canvas that allows DHL to distribute content seamlessly across displays using unconventional formats and aspect ratios.
Multiple interactive screens positioned throughout the showroom allow presenters and visitors to explore content directly, turning presentations into more engaging conversations.
Rather than simply telling visitors about innovation, the space allows DHL to demonstrate it.
From Showroom to Live Event Venue
The Innovation Center also needed to transform into a venue capable of hosting medium and large-scale events.
A large-format LED display provides the main visual focal point, supported by professional cameras connected to a production system for live broadcasting and streaming.
High-performance ceiling loudspeakers and subwoofers deliver event audio throughout the space, while RGB stage lighting allows the atmosphere of the showroom to change depending on the occasion.
A technology showcase one moment can become a presentation, panel discussion or live-streamed event the next.
That flexibility was fundamental to the design.
The Control Behind the Experience
Behind the showroom sits the operational heart of the AV environment.
From here, the DHL team can monitor what is happening throughout the space and control cameras, video sources, audio and lighting.
Video production and switching, audio mixing, studio monitoring and lighting control are integrated within a centralised technical environment, with system control powered through Q-SYS.
The sophistication of the infrastructure is considerable.
For the user, however, the experience remains simple.
And that distinction was critical.
As the DHL team explains in the case study, the goal is for people to focus on the conversation or content rather than thinking about the technology enabling it.
Collaboration Without Complexity
That same philosophy extends to the meeting environments.
The boardroom combines a 110-inch display with Cisco video collaboration technology, ceiling loudspeakers, a Shure ceiling microphone and intuitive room control through Cisco Navigator.
Users can walk into the room and collaborate without navigating a complicated AV system.
Elsewhere, divisible meeting rooms provide another layer of flexibility.
The space can operate as two independent rooms or combine into a larger collaborative environment. Microphones, loudspeakers and cameras automatically work according to the selected room configuration.
Changing between combined and individual modes requires only a touch.
Room status can also be monitored through the Cisco Navigator interfaces and remotely across the network.
Complex integration sits behind a remarkably simple user action.
A Studio Connected to the World
Content creation was another important part of DHL’s vision.
The Dubai Innovation Center includes a dedicated virtual studio equipped for professional video production, podcasting and communication with DHL’s other Innovation Centers around the world.
The studio incorporates dedicated lighting, RGB illumination, professional microphones and a three-camera production setup.
Its production workflow integrates with vMix — the same platform used within DHL Innovation Centers in Bonn, Chicago and Singapore.
That common technology platform enables the centers to connect, collaborate and create content across locations.
The Dubai Innovation Center is therefore not simply a physical destination.
It is part of a global innovation network.
Technology Was Fundamental, Not Optional
Perhaps the most important part of the project was understanding what the technology represented.
An Innovation Center exists to demonstrate what is possible.
If technology feels unreliable, complicated or disconnected, it undermines that entire proposition.
Visitors begin forming an impression from the moment they enter the building, and much of that impression is influenced by how naturally the technology around them behaves.
That meant reliability wasn’t simply an AV requirement.
It was part of the visitor experience.
With senior decision-makers, customers and partners regularly using the facility, there could be no moments of stopping a session because a system needed to be restarted or reconfigured.
The technology needed to work — consistently and almost invisibly.
A Partnership Built Around the Outcome
The technical complexity was only one part of the challenge.
The project involved numerous stakeholders, evolving requirements and considerable coordination. At the same time, DHL was undertaking another major project in Germany, meaning parts of the Dubai project had to progress without constant on-site oversight.
That placed significant importance on trust.
According to the DHL project team, Granteq’s approach stood out because discussions were focused on achieving the right outcome rather than simply delivering equipment.
Issues were identified early. Solutions accompanied the problems. Communication remained clear, pragmatic and realistic.
For DHL, the relationship was ultimately value-driven rather than price-driven.
The objective wasn’t simply to install an AV system.
It was to understand how the Innovation Center would actually be used and create enough flexibility for experiences and requirements that might not even exist yet.
Creating Space for What’s Next
The Middle East is an important strategic market for DHL, and the Dubai Innovation Center gives the organisation a physical platform for deeper engagement across the region.
It brings together customers, DHL teams, technology partners, innovators and startups.
Ideas discovered within the Center can move far beyond Dubai. DHL cites examples of startups participating in regional innovation initiatives whose solutions have subsequently been deployed in other global markets.
The Center becomes both a destination and a gateway.
A place for discovering what is next — and potentially turning those ideas into future-ready supply chains.
Even the outdoor areas have been incorporated into the AV strategy, with installed loudspeakers extending the event capabilities beyond the walls of the building.
From arrival to showroom, meeting spaces, virtual studio and outdoor events, the technology operates as one connected experience.
And perhaps that is the strongest measure of success.
The visitor does not walk away thinking about microphones, displays, control processors or cameras.
They remember the conversation.
They remember the ideas.
They remember the experience.
That is what great AV integration is ultimately designed to achieve.
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