This very website went live a year ago today, and since then we have provided leading industry news, in-depth articles, one-on-one video interviews, event reporting, and filmed coverage from popular conferences such as World Mail & Express Europe, World Mail & Express Americas and the Mail & Express Delivery Show.

So far, Post&Parcel has provided more than 2,000 entries consisting of breaking news stories in the mail and express sectors, in-depth features, interviews with leading industry figures, and video streams. In addition, all of our published content has been distributed daily and weekly via an e-mail newsletter to our loyal recipients - giving readers easy access to the latest developments around the world. But the hard work as only just begun. If you haven’t already done so - please subscribe using the subscription box on the homepage.

Post&Parcel editor Chris Dolan said: “We are very proud of what the portal has achieved to date. Now, as the mail and express industry enters a new era - prompted by the e-commerce boom, technological advancement, and expanding retail and financial services - we hope that Post&Parcel grows with it. The next year will be very exciting as we look to improve our current service, adding to what is already an essential industry tool.”

Furthermore, we are on the look out for industry commentators across the world to provide analysis and news for Post&Parcel - as the website aims to expand its global presence.

If you would like to contribute to Post&Parcel in any capacity - either supplying us with news, writing a feature, being interviewed, blogging or idea generation - please feel free to contact Chris Dolan (chris.dolan@triangle.eu.com)

Views from across the industry:

Paul Ridden, managing director of Skillweb: “Post&Parcel offers the ideal means of keeping up-to-date with the latest developments in the marketplace. Not only does it make for an interesting read, but also provides an effective way of publicising our latest company news and industry successes.”

Tubbs Rooprah, managing director of Keymail UK: “KMUK was first introduced to Post&Parcel through Triangle Management Services, who we have been supporting for many years. One of the most benefiting factors we found through Post&Parcel was the ability to reach out and also to convey gathering for networking and other events. I have found this to be a good platform, not to mention the information/updates it provides to businesses like us and the industry. The editorial is very helpful and they are always there to support the industry in more ways than one. Well done and keep up the good work to all involved.”

Charles Prescott, editor of The Prescott Report: “Post&Parcel has a well-deserved right to toot its own horn… The Prescott Report looks forward to continuing to collaborate with this excellent resource.”

Tom O’Connor, managing director of Ctrack: “Congratulations to Post&Parcel. The mix of up-to the-minute news and in-depth features means there is always something of interest for businesses operating within the mail and express sectors.”

Dan Derry, managing director of OPS Logistics: “Post&Parcel has become an essential part of daily life; insightful, informative and relevant - enabling me to keep up-to-date on events, innovations and changes within the market. It is definitely one to be bookmarked on the web browser.”

Head of Estonian Post postal services division Jaan Vainult, said: “So far we have trained more than 200 post office employees. The list of post offices offering the service can be found on the Estonian Post website. Post offices providing the service will be recognised by the IIZI stickers on the post office door.”

Estonian Post said the main interest will be in rural areas where insurance companies are sparsely represented.

Today, 177 post offices can provide the insurance service, but the company aims to expand this service to every branch in the country.

Customers can choose the most suitable offer from seven different insurance companies and pay for the policy on the spot.

“Cooperation with Estonian Post is a good option for those who do not have internet access at home,” said Irmeli Karja from IIZI Insurance Broker.

As well as sending letters, customers will be able to receive payments, facsimiles, and conduct money transfers.

The move forms a part of an overall plan to modernise Russian Post, and to provide a number of mini post offices in shopping centres.

A further two branches are likely to open this autumn in Moscow’s Mega Teply Stan and Europark.

The service will allow customers to choose which of GLS’s parcel shops they would like their package to be delivered to, allowing them to collect their goods at a convenient time.

The consumer will be notified by SMS or email when the package is available to be retrieved. GLS has more than 5,000 package stores.

“ShopDelivery provides customers maximum flexibility in receiving their goods,” said Klaus Conrad, managing director of GLS Germany.

Conrad said the service will be more flexible and therefore much more effective for certain groups of people.

In 2009, a GLS survey showed that 76% of respondents wanted to use the ShopDelivery Service.

DHL was selected over other competitors to manage a full range of services from product receipt, storage, pick & pack including inspection through to verification of returns. The logistics provider will also support Christmas gift-wrapping, packaging recycling and multiple order placements.

FitFlop’s operations director Gary Cann said: “We are delighted to be entering this partnership with DHL. The team’s understanding of our business will enable them to support our needs both at launch stage and as we grow.”

John Boulter, managing director non food retail, DHL Supply Chain UK, added: “With this new agreement DHL will provide a flexible solution for FitFlop Footwear, avoiding the need for high initial investment. It gives them a new route to market and makes use of our shared user facilities, allowing for expansion as their multi-channel business grows”

Launched to the UK market in 2007, the FitFlop has become a footwear phenomenon. Described as footwear with the gym built-in, they have been designed to help trim, tone and tighten leg muscles, providing wearers with a work out all year round.  As the world’s fastest growing health and wellness footwear brand, FitFlop is building a multi-channel business to better connect with its loyal consumers.

PostFinance has released the application today (September 6), which is free to download from the App Store.

It is the only application in Switzerland that allows users to transfer small amounts from one postal account to another. The sender registers directly in the iApp once for the payment function and can then transfer money quickly and easily by selecting the currency (euro or Swiss franc) and entering the beneficiary’s account number.

Once the beneficiary has also registered, the money can be sent to his mobile phone number. The amount is debited to the sender’s account in just a matter of minutes and credited to the beneficiary’s account.

For security reasons, the maximum amount is CHF 100 or EUR 66 per day. Up to CHF 400 can be used to top up one’s own talktime credit or that of a third party for prepaid mobile phones.

The finance app from PostFinance also includes an account balance and transaction function: users can call up their account balance in seconds and see if their salary has already been credited to their account.

The app is particularly useful for searching post office locations. Google Map shows Postomats, PostFinance branches and post offices, indicating the shortest route to them.

The PostFinance application also offers access to price information for 15 stock exchanges around the world.

These gains, for marketers and service providers alike, suggest a strengthening rebound.

Marketers appear more optimistic about their future profitability, as their focus continues to shift steadily to digital channels including online display advertising, search, email, mobile, and other digital media.

“This report highlighted some positive and important information for all of us,” said Yoram Wurmser, director of research for DMA.  “Since the recession in 2008, marketers have been able to maintain profits mostly by vigilantly cutting costs.  Marketers in Q2 finally have enough faith in their future profitability to start spending again, albeit cautiously.  The rise of spending suggests the economic rebound that started in late 2009 has continued steadily.  This spending is due in large measure by improved data analytics and confidence in new media channels, two factors that will be instrumental in future success and an economic recovery.”

“Given the sluggish pace at which the broader economy has rebounded, it’s certainly a good sign to see the direct and digital marketing community reporting two consecutive quarters of positive growth,” added Jonathan Margulies, a director at Winterberry Group. “It’s now clear that the digital revolution-driven by the maturation of online marketing channels such as search, display advertising and e-mail-is leading the recovery effort. We absolutely expect to see more marketer emphasis on data, technology and other critical ‘digital drivers’ in subsequent periods.”

Some key findings include:

- Channel specific return on investment sustained its growth from last quarter across all direct and digital channels.

- As in previous quarters, digital marketing channels continue to command the lion’s share of new marketing investment - with the email; social; search; mobile; and online display approaches joining the direct mail (non-catalogue) and teleservices channel among those that grew in adoption versus both Q1 and the SQLY.

- Marketers cited improved data analytics tools and processes as the leading driver of new or expanded direct/digital marketing activity.

- Both marketers (53%) and suppliers (53.6%) noted that second-quarter profitability improved (in the aggregate) versus the previous quarter and SQLY.

This is the Alliance’s final step before the PRC announces its decision on October 4.

“Our comments make the same case that businesses and working families are making all over the country,” Cerasale said.  “The Postal Service’s proposed rate hike is unreasonable, unhelpful, and unlawful, and the more than 1,000 members of the Alliance are not going to let the Postal Service take advantage of its customers.”

Formed in response to the Postal Service’s July 6 announcement that it would seek to raise rates, the Affordable Mail Alliance grew from a small group of concerned USPS customers to a membership of more than 1,000 in less than two months.  The Alliance has been gaining momentum in the wake of recent PRC, and this most recent action provides a strong argument to the PRC in advance of its coming decision on the issue.

In the meantime, the new logo will be gradually affixed to trucks, motorcycles and post offices.

The company was formally known as La Poste-De Post.

The media campaign’s slogan is “The Post is bpost - ready for tomorrow.”

Approximately 4.5m households have already received a letter from CEO Johnny Thijs explaining the reasons for this change of name.

Through this media campaign, bpost says the rebranding reflects a process of modernisation, with the company now prepared for full liberalisation of the postal market in 2011.

Thijs said that the new identity will be introduced very gradually to reduce costs to a minimum. The new name and new logo will be affixed as much as possible on cars, motorbikes, buildings and the red box at the time of replacement or renovation. Existing stocks (letterhead, brochures, uniform, etc.) will be used until exhausted.

“Customers and employees understand that we have become a new company and a new name is logical. We will now make sure to gradually introduce the name and logo. It is a process that lasts several months and even years, but we will severely limit the additional costs,” Thijs added.

La Poste said in a prepared statement that if the two companies reach an agreement, a common subsidiary would be created, of which La Poste would hold a majority stake.

Financial details were not made available.

Ongoing and completed cost reduction programmes in the areas of logistics and letter post also impacted positively on profit. In the same period the headcount increased by 562 full-time equivalents.

Swiss Post said it expects a good full-year result. The Group is continuing its efforts to generate results in line with the industry standard in all four markets.

From January to June 2010, Swiss Post generated Group profit of 484m francs. That is 126m francs or 35% more than in the same period last year (358m francs).

The increase was primarily attributable to a rise in customer deposits, considerably higher net interest income than in the first six months of the previous year, and the improved economic situation, one result of which was greater volumes of promotional mailings and parcels.

Overall, operating income (sales) rose by 105m to 4.3bn francs (previous year: 4.2bn). At the same time, expenditure fell, mainly due to efficiency gains - from the new letter centres and cost reductions in logistics - as well as currency effects.

In the communication market an operating result of 79m francs was generated, mirroring that of the previous year. The decline in addressed letters continued, albeit at a slower pace; the volume of mail was 2.6% lower by the middle of the year than it was at the same time a year before. The price cuts introduced on 1 July 2009 and the assumption of VAT also had a negative impact on the figures. However, an increase in unaddressed promotional mailings and the effects of various cost-reduction measures stemmed the fall of the PostMail operating result; it was 109m francs (previous year: 127m). At Swiss Post International, the difficult economic environment in some countries affected the result, which was just below that of the year before at 27m francs (29m last year). Swiss Post Solutions generated a break-even result, thanks mainly to cost-reduction measures (previous year: minus 10m francs). Post Offices & Sales improved its result by 10m francs thanks to cost reductions and increased revenue from non-postal items, generating minus 57m francs.

In the logistics market the result rose from 15 to 76m francs. PostLogistics benefited from an increase in parcel volumes (+4.5%), thanks in part to the improved economic situation and electronic trade, as well as to considerable efficiency gains. The retail finance market (PostFinance) made the largest contribution to the Group result, 274m francs (previous year: 198m francs). Higher customer deposits and higher net interest were the main drivers of this increase. In the continually expanding market for public passenger transport, PostBus achieved an operating result of 17m francs (previous year: 24m francs). The decrease in comparison to the previous year is due to, among other factors, the enhancement of the PostBus offering.

Key figures for the Group

¹ Operating result corresponds to result before consideration of non-operating financial result and taxes (EBIT).
² Investment in tangible fixed assets, participations & intangible assets.
³ Average workforce in full-time equivalents.

Selected key figures for segments (Group units) 30 June 2010

Selected key figures for segments (Group units) 30 June 2009

¹ Operating result corresponds to result before consideration of non-operating financial result and taxes (EBIT).
² Figures for previous year only comparable to a certain extent due to changes in allocation of products.
³ Previous year’s figures for SPI adjusted as a result of restatement.
⁴ In the field of regional public transport, PostBus is subject to the DETEC ordinance on the accounting of licensed companies (REVO). Results prepared in accordance with REVO and IFRS differ.
⁵ Includes management and service units such as Real Estate, Information Technology, etc.

The fixed rate cuts apply on all ranges up to 85% LTV across two, three and five year options. Lifetime trackers are reduced at 80%, 85%, and 90% LTV. The reductions further consolidate Best Buy table positioning. Examples of the best rates on offer include:

• Two year fixed rate at 3.94% (85% LTV)
• Three year fixed rate at 4.69% (85% LTV)
• New buy to let lifetime tracker at 4.99% (75% LTV)

Post Office director of personal lending, Marco Hughes, said: “We constantly review our mortgage range to ensure we are offering customers choice and value for money. Through these latest reductions, customers can benefit from our lowest fixed rate ever, at just 2.85% for two years.”

“All Post Office customers benefit from a low revert rate, which provides genuine value, not just for the initial period but throughout the life of the mortgage. The addition of a 65% LTV deal and the recent launch of the 90% LTV range gives customers, including first time buyers increased choice and great value.”

In addition to the new buy to let lifetime tracker, rates have also been cut across the three year and five year fixed options, by 0.64% and 0.60% respectively.

More than 800 new locations will be added to Kazakhstan’s transfer network, whilst the agreement will see Moldova’s total offices reach almost 2,000. More than $1.5bn of remittances was received via those two markets over the last year.

Last week, MoneyGram International announced that it has signed a multi-year contract extension with the United Kingdom’s Post Office. According to the World Bank, over $4.6b was sent from the UK in 2009.  Countries which receive from the UK are the Caribbean, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and Eastern Europe in particular.

The service is offered in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal as well, though Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, the North West and the Western Cape have yet to come on stream.

Motorists must produce a printed renewal notice to renew a motor vehicle licence. Those without a renewal notice can fill in the relevant documentation at the Post Office for the license to be processed, but would also need their identity document. Motorists renewing licences at the post office immediately receive a valid licence disk and receipt.

Ndala Mnisi, head of consumer services at South Africa Post, said that the Post Office partners with government to make service more accessible to the public.

Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping is one of the best options for small businesses and consumers alike. With Flat Rate Boxes, customers pay one, low rate to any state without worrying about weighing the package - and there are no surcharges when using Postal Service shipping products.

“We’re excited to extend some of the best shipping values in the country to Office Depot customers, at a time and place that’s convenient to them,” said Susan Plonkey, acting president, Mailing and Shipping Services. “Small businesses, especially, will be able to compare shipping companies side by side and see for themselves that Postal Service prices are very competitive and affordable.”

The partnership with Office Depot is one more example of how the Postal Service is adjusting products and services to better fit the changing needs of its customers, while finding creative solutions to generate much needed revenue. As an Approved Postal Provider, Office Depot is the first national retailer to offer Postal Service shipping products and services.

Expanding access to products and services is one of the key components of  “Delivering the Future,” the Postal Service’s action plan for the future. That plan also identifies shipping as one of the key growth opportunities for increased financial stability.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

The partnership with the United Kingdom’s Post Office is MoneyGram’s longest-standing post office agent relationship. As part of its growth strategy, MoneyGram strategically aligns itself with post offices, providing consumers with convenient access to reliable and affordable money transfer services close to where they live and work. Other post office systems in MoneyGram’s network include Canada, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Italy, Jamaica, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Moldova, Poland, and Ukraine.

According to the World Bank, over $4.6b was sent from the UK in 2009.  Countries which receive from the UK are the Caribbean, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and Eastern Europe in particular.

In total, MoneyGram has over 13,000 locations throughout the UK.  Additional agent partners include Cheque Exchange, Going Places, Money Transfer International and Thomas Cook.

Users select an image from their image library or snap a photo on their phone and write a message to appear in the card. They then add the delivery address, view a preview of the card and pay for it with their credit card. Standard data traffic charges from internet providers will also apply.

NZ Post market engagement manager Fiona Woolley says it wants to make it easy for people to send cards and postcards. “We had feedback from lots of people saying they still liked - if they’re sending things to husbands, wives, kids at university or nanas - getting things out of the letterbox. It’s the tangibility of it. “So if you’re an American tourist standing at the top of Mt Cook, you can take a photo on your iPhone and just send it straight off.”It’s instantaneous and it’s fun.”

Stefan Korn, an e-commerce analyst, says NZ Post is trying to leverage off new technology without letting go of its “snail mail” business model.

NZ Post says there are 38 million iPhone users around the world and the potential for its service is huge, but Mr Korn says few people outside New Zealand would know of NZ Post.

UPS began testing the service last year with a few retailers such as BuySeasons, the largest retailer of costumes and party supplies on the Internet. Because of the positive customer response, UPS now is making the returns service more broadly available.

UPS Returns Flexible Access utilizes the Postal Service’s Parcel Return Service, combined with UPS’s own drop-off locations and delivery network, to provide retailers’ customers with increased convenience when returning items. Customers of participating retailers receive special package labels that allow them to enter returns packages in more than 150 million postal access points - including personal mailboxes - for their postal carrier to pick up.

Consumers also can drop the package off at their local U.S. Post Office, in postal collection boxes or at traditional UPS drop-off locations including The UPS Store, UPS drop boxes, UPS customer centers, third-party retailers (Office Depot, Staples, and Authorized Shipping Outlets) or hand it to a UPS driver.

After a returns package is transported to a Postal Service location for dispatch to UPS, a UPS driver picks it up and transports the package back to the retailer via the UPS ground network. This offers retailers an inbound view of returns packages, facilitating improved customer service and cost savings due to better inbound operations planning.

UPS Returns services feature better time-in-transit than traditional returns consolidators. In addition, most UPS Returns services are available internationally, simplifying the returns process from 98 countries or territories around the globe. The UPS Developer Kit enables customers to integrate UPS Returns into their own Web sites and enterprise applications.

“I heard some clear messages today. One is ‘don’t be shy about getting into the digital world,’” John Potter, postmaster general, told the group after hearing input from breakout sessions. “Maybe we have been too cautious in this area, given what we think the law says. But you sent the message repeatedly today that we have to be part of the solution going forward.”

The USPS held the event in conjunction with the regular quarterly meeting of the postmaster general’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC). Susan Plonkey, acting president of mailing and shipping services for the USPS, said the Postal Service came up with the idea for the symposium after Potter held a series of brainstorming sessions with CEOs of major companies.

Potter said he was pleased to hear that customers want the USPS to be aggressive in retail. Customers suggested the Postal Service provide other governmental services at retail outlets; create communications hubs at retail centers; or franchise out the front end of retail centers to allow other business to operate there.

“We may have fallen into the trap of thinking of them [retail centers] as a cost center, and we need to think about them as a revenue center,” he said. “So, we will attack that mind-set”.

“This will be a game-changer in the [domestic e-commerce] industry because it fulfills the nation’s call for secure and reliable online shopping,” TOM Group’s chief executive Ken Yeung Kwok-mung told the South China Morning Post. “Who can compete against China Post and all the resources at its disposal?”

China Post has 46,000 post office locations and a further 36,000 postal bank savings locations. The JV will also inherit 17 aircraft, 50,000 corporate clients, 56,000 postal vehicles and some 150,000 postmen. That infrastructure will be the key to getting products to customers. China Post account holders can already access the service via desktop, mobile phones, customer service hotlines, or over the counter. Operational partners of the JV also include Nike, Adidas, Samsung, Avon, Shisiedo, Giordano and LG.

“TOM has had a tough time of it in recent years, and has been patient with China in developing relationships and strategies. However, this massive deal comes at a very fair investment price and may turn out to be something of a bargain,” comments Chris Devonshire-Ellis, principal of Dezan Shira & Associates. “Joint Ventures have always had a place in the investment arsenal for China, especially for strategic deals, and quite frankly no one else is able to match China Post’s national reach. It’s an exciting development and I expect to see more high profile JVs between China’s SOEs and international businesses in the future. The game is now China nationally, and such investments pave the way.”

Stefan Jütte, chairman of the management board, is confident that fiscal year 2010 will produce “a positive result overall. However, based on the current cautious assessment, we do not expect the earnings level of the first six months to continue in the second half of the year.” According to Jütte, the reasons for this are the very positive development of income in the first half of the year, ongoing uncertainty regarding the development of risk positions and the recent investment in the branch network, which is likely to lead to higher administrative expenses in the second half of the year.

Postbank made further progress with implementing its Postbank4Future strategy program: it has taken over 277 branches of Deutsche Post and restructured its key product, the checking account. As a result thereof, Postbank has improved its customer services and its competitive position. In its customer business, the bank posted a substantial increase in sight deposits and strong new business in the area of home savings contracts and securities in the first half of 2010.

The number of existing private checking accounts remained virtually unchanged as against the end of the previous year at over 4.9m. Thus, Postbank maintained its position as largest provider in the German market. Its market share is around 5.3%.

Sight deposits of private and business customers were up 11.4% to €19.5bn compared with June 30, 2009. Since the end of the year alone, sight deposits have increased by around €1bn.

Savings deposits totaled €56.4bn at the end of June 2010, an increase of 0.9% compared to the June 2009 figure. Gross new business slowed down as expected, amounting to €4.1bn, after the record volume of €9.4bn achieved in the same period of the previous year.

From 2 August, OfficeMax’s 10,000 products will be available on the Australia Post website at www.auspost.com/stationery, where they can be purchased and delivered straight to the customer’s door.

“Australia Post is delighted that our extensive delivery network will be used in partnership with OfficeMax to deliver affordable office and technology products to workplaces across the country,” said Australia Post merchandise services manager, Rowan Howarth.

“Every day we deliver 20m items to Australian addresses and our partnership with OfficeMax will enable us to deliver a range of affordable office products around Australia”.

The online store will be available for once-off purchases, but is expected to be of particular value to businesses who seek the convenience of online retailing for their everyday office needs.

“Australia Post is excited to offer a secure online shop for our customers, which will save them time and make stocking their office a lot easier,” said Howarth.

The products available through the online store range from desk stationery through to technology hardware, consumables, cleaning items and even furniture.

“OfficeMax is thrilled to offer Australia Post customers all the products they need for their offices through a contemporary online store,” added OfficeMax managing director, David Armstrong.

“It’s an excellent desk-to-door service, allowing busy people to focus on their work.”

Post Bank would be wholly publicly owned and run through the trusted network of 11,500 post offices - the biggest single retail network in the UK. Metro Bank is fulfilling a role for the banking needs of central London but Post Bank would serve the whole country, from city centres to rural areas and would help to safeguard the post office network from further closures, said the organisation.

Lindsay Mackie, secretary of Post Bank Coalition, said: “We’ve seen that it is possible to set up a new bank in the UK. Metro is starting small and is intended to make a profit for its backers- while this brings a bit of diversity to the banking system, it by no means has the reach, social purpose and huge public trust which a Post Bank would embody.

“Post Bank provides the best opportunity to bring affordable and trusted banking services to communities across the UK by using our amazing network of post offices. The government gave us a commitment to Post Bank and it’s time to make that promise a reality - particularly since 78% of the public according to our polling want a new model of bank run in the public interest.”

PostFinance said it enjoys a high level of trust among the public. This is seen clearly in the trend in average assets under management, which amounted to CHF 81.6bn in mid-year or CHF 8.3bn more than the 2009 yearly average. The growth trend during the first six months was very steady. PostFinance has therefore succeeded in further increasing customer deposits, after the peak of the financial crisis.

The mortgage volume rose in the reporting period by CHF 251m to CHF 2.92bn (end-2009: CHF 2.67bn). Together with extensions for existing customers, the volume of mortgages granted amounted to CHF 576m. Despite fiercer competition among mortgage lenders, PostFinance will continue its conservative approach to risk together with its partner, Münchener Hypothekenbank. This approach is paying off, as PostFinance has not reported any mortgage defaults so far.

PostFinance has been one of the biggest employment providers in Switzerland for years. This encouraging trend has continued this year. With 158 new jobs created, headcount throughout Switzerland has risen to 3,200.Since the end of 1998, PostFinance has doubled the number of employees. Headcount continues to expand: over the next few years, there are plans to develop sales for private and SME customers and customer service.

The number of planned building developments in the UK rose by an impressive 34% between April and May of this year, the barometer has revealed. June’s figures show further increase, as well as a 37% rise year on year.

These latest figures indicate a turning point for the construction industry, after a consistent drop in developments over the last two years. There was a 25% year on year drop between June 2007 and 2008, and a 55% fall between June 2008 and 2009.

Numbers are consistently positive across the UK, with East Anglia in particular showing a significant increase. New building developments in this area have doubled year on year, with 2,058 registered in June 2010 compared to 1,002 in 2009.

Royal Mail’s address data plays an important role in the building development process, especially for those companies that deliver materials to building sites. Further down the line, accurate address data allows businesses to communicate directly with new homeowners and for them in turn to order goods and services, either online, by telephone or via a catalogue, where a valid postcode is vital to completing the order.

Royal Mail manages the UK’s most complete and up to date address and postcode database.  Its Postcode Address File (PAF®) contains all 28m UK residential and business delivery addresses and postcodes. It also has information on over 1.3m business names.

Steve Rooney, acting head of the Address Management Unit, Royal Mail, said: “Our postcode database holds the details of all proposed and current delivery addresses in the UK, and also provides a comprehensive view of the trends in building developments. These addresses offer up a wide range of opportunities for a host of UK industries and government services wishing to reach and communicate with new customers. The latest figures certainly indicate a positive trend in the construction industry at the start of the current financial year”

Nick Hardy from TSH Architects added: “At TSH Architects we’ve certainly seen a notable rise in enquiries over the past couple of months, and this is currently showing no signs of slowing down. Looking at the latest Building Barometer figures, this upturn seems to be taking place throughout the UK rather than focussing on London, which is very positive news for everyone involved in the construction industry.”

Things Box distributed on a limited basis to selected subscribers is a box of assorted items from multiple consumer organisations.

Steve Ng, vice president (marketing) of SingPost said: “Marketers are always looking for new ways to build brand awareness for their products. Things Box, a creative direct mail initiative of SingPost, provides another innovative and refreshing approach to direct mail, helping customers to reach their targeted audience. It is a box full of interesting things that recipients can play with, read or use as decorative displays. Our message is clearly to look out for pleasant surprises in Things Box.”

In the inaugural Things Box, 5,000 subscribers who fit the pre-determined demographics will receive a limited edition magnet, a hamburger designed stress ball, a miniature herbs sample, a fan, a platinum beauty salon membership card, and cosmetic samples from 13 July to 26 July 2010.

The 2nd Things Box is expected to be released in December 2010.

The latest issue, subtitled ‘On Track for 2012′, goes on sale on 27 July and features a fresh set of ten dynamic images championing Olympic and Paralympic sports.

The stamps feature established Olympic and Paralympic sports like hockey, goalball and football, and more recent additions including taekwondo and BMX cycling.

Philip Parker, Royal Mail Stamps spokesperson, said: “This series of stamps is creating a fascinating montage of the sports which make the Olympics and Paralympics one of the greatest events on the planet.

“In addition to appearing on millions of letters, the stamps also form part of a wonderful sporting collection to celebrate the 30th Olympiad.”

“Getting Started in Catalogues” is a USPS promotional campaign featuring a “Catalogues and e-tailing” instructional DVD and a live webinar series taking place this summer. The DVD features testimonials from widely recognised companies such as Dell and Zappo’s, who built their businesses into market leaders within their respective industries by adding catalogues to the marketing mix.

“Putting a focused, attractive catalogue in the hands of your customers has a unique ability to engage their attention, and prompts them to browse your site and place orders,” said Steve Hernandez, acting vice president, Sales. “For e-tailers looking to push their sales to the next level, catalogues are a proven medium for delivering transactions and enhancing customer loyalty.”

“With our proven expertise in automotive logistics, we also specialise in the transport of individual extraordinary and high-value cars. That is why we are very pleased that Daimler entrusted us with the distribution of their brand new sports car,” said Volker Oesau, CEO DHL Global Forwarding Central Europe and Global Sponsor Automotive.

“Customers have been awarding DHL these contracts due to our strong industry network that includes teams of qualified experts. It enables us to provide quick, reliable and consistently high-quality service to our customers,” said Charles McGurin, Global Automotive Sector head, DHL Global Forwarding.

The Automotive Competence Team of DHL Global Forwarding developed a customised transport concept. A special packaging solution ensures that the precious collectors’ vehicles can be loaded safely and efficiently as ocean and airfreight shipments. To start with, the sports cars are picked up at the production site of the car manufacturer in southern Germany.

Those vehicles that are not forwarded to their final destinations directly can be stored temporarily in a secure area of the DHL Automotive Competence Center (ACC) in Frankfurt. The ACC is responsible for the steering of operations and the global distribution of every single Mercedes-Benz Gullwing in coordination with the regional DHL Competence Centres. To provide all parties with full visibility of every step of the whole transport process, all the relevant delivery data are fed into the customer’s track and trace system, where 24/7 online access to the data is ensured.

On one side of the plastic bottle there is a photograph from Iceland and on the other there is the addressing label.

The message in a bottle is available with two different photographs, from the eruption on Eyjafjallajökull or the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).

The bottle contains a sheet of paper for the sender to write on. The sheet is then inserted into the bottle; the bottle is sealed and then mailed. Iceland Post will then deliver the message in a bottle to the intended recipient anywhere in the world.

Australia Post’s executive general manager of retail services Christine Corbett said the announcement was evidence of a solid and ongoing partnership with NAB.

“Like Australia Post, NAB is a strong supporter of small business. This initiative will make business banking easier and more convenient for customers,” said Corbett.

“Australia Post serves around one million customers every weekday through the largest retail network in Australia.  By continuing to extend our services, we can offer the community a wide range of everyday financial services across the country, and cement Australia Post outlets as community hubs providing essential services.”

NAB’s executive general manager of small business, Glenn King, said while the deal was not a large financial investment for the Bank, it was a large investment in terms of supporting businesses with more convenient banking channels.

“We’re focused on delivering quality services to all our business customers and the agreement with Australia Post is yet another example of how we’re providing more options and convenience for our customers to carry out their banking needs.

“We have a wide range of banking channels to choose from including branches, business banking centres, direct banking and through our specialist agribusiness and health business bankers.  Now, with greater access to Australia Post outlets where Bank@Post is enabled, our business customers won’t have far to travel to conduct their banking,” King said.

Australia Post operates the largest retail network in the country with coverage in regional and rural areas. The additional outlets will be added in a phased approach over the coming 12 months.

“Due to our vast retail network, including in remote areas where services can sometimes be limited, we perform a wide range of agency services for more than 750 Australian businesses and government bodies,” said Corbett. “Our banking service is a great example of this.”

“We’re making secure written communication on the Internet possible for everyone - this is a revolution,” said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL. “This innovation fits to our Strategy 2015 like a glove: It will make our customers’ lives easier and strengthen us to remain THE Post for Germany.”

The “E-Postbrief” allows private individuals, companies and public authorities to communicate securely with each other on the Internet. The “E-Postbrief” is just as binding, confidential and reliable as a letter - and just as quick as an e-mail.

“We’re bringing the confidentiality of letters to the Internet,” said Jürgen Gerdes, board member in charge of MAIL. “The ‘E-Postbrief’ will make our most successful product, the letter, even better. It is still a letter, but will be even quicker.”

An “E-Postbrief” will cost exactly the same as a traditional letter - 55 euro cents. Users can choose whether their letter will be delivered electronically to another “E-Postbrief” account or be printed out by Deutsche Post and delivered by the mail carrier.

The price remains the same in each case. Additional services like registered letters or color-printed copies will be charged extra.

Gerdes added: “Whether our letter is in physical or digital format, it is based on a high-quality service from one single source. And it’s very attractively priced as well.”

Deutsche Post is staging one of the largest media campaigns of the year to mobilise Germans in favour of the “E-Postbrief”. At www.epost.de users can reserve their personal “E-Postbrief” address free of charge. The address consists of a first name and a surname and the ending @epost.de. A number behind the surname prevents confusion when two people have the same surname. Anyone who registers quickly can secure the number he wishes, or may even get an address without a number - provided he is the first person to use that name.

All users must identify themselves by using the Postident procedure with their personal identity cards or their passports in a Deutsche Post retail outlet - only then the “E-Postbrief” account will be activated. Thus the identity of the users can be confirmed beyond all doubt - and anonymous e-mails, spam or address theft are impossible with the “E-Postbrief”. In the initial phase after the name reservation, users will have an activation code sent to them by letter. In the run-up phase, Deutsche Post is working to create an evenly-spread use of the system’s capacity, in order to avoid any overloads. From November this intermediate step will cease to apply.

A Deutsche Post statement said: “Companies and public authorities can distinctly improve their customer service with the “E-Postbrief” and save money at the same time. The cost of postal processing can be cut by up to 60% by using the “E-Postbrief”. The interest shown by business customers in the new product is accordingly high. Deutsche Post has two other important partners, SAP and Allianz, who have decided to collaborate on the “E-Postbrief”.”

SAP, with an annual turnover of more than EUR 10bn, making it the third-largest independent software supplier in the world, is planning to integrate the “E-Postbrief” into its HR management software SAP ERP HCM. So, companies can send pay slips to their employees electronically and securely, or as a hybrid “E-Postbrief”. In addition, SAP will be checking software application scenarios for public authorities.

“Integrating the ‘E-Postbrief’ into SAP software represents, in our opinion, an important step towards creating continuous electronic business processes between companies, their employees, public authorities and citizens,” said SAP’s Kerstin Geiger, head of industry solutions.

Allianz too intends to integrate the “E-Postbrief” into its communication systems. In Germany alone, the insurance giant has more than 19m customers and rapid communication is a crucial success factor in the interaction with customers.

Ralf Schneider, head of IT and CIO of Allianz Deutschland, explained: “In the digital age, customer communication is changing rapidly. Customers are increasingly coming to expect immediate answers. So electronic interaction with the “E-Postbrief” for the first time offers us the opportunity of secure, binding written customer contact via the Internet.”

“We are delighted that SAP and Allianz, two more top players in German industry, have opted for the ‘E-Postbrief’,” remarked MAIL boss Gerdes.

Cooperation partners of “E-Postbrief” include the Hesse state lottery, Mercedes Benz motor sport, the German Soccer Federation and the Zürich Group, Germany.

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Triangle Management Services has published a study of hybrid mail. It examines, not only, its development since its conception, but also its impact on the future, as technological advancement promotes more efficient and environmentally-friendly mailing techniques. For more information on the report, click here.

It allows customers to track postal items, search for a postcode, locate a post office and pay a bill.

Australia Post’s general manager, internet and contact centre, Brady Jacobsen said the launch of the Mobile Website and iPhone application showed a commitment to customers who want to interact with Australia Post’s services, wirelessly.

“This new application, which is free to download via iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or smartphones will allow customers to look up the address and the working hours of their nearest post office or post box and track a letter or a parcel. In addition they can look up post codes and directly access POSTbillpay services,” he said.

Australia Post says that the successful take-up of postal iPhone apps in other countries is an indicator of its potential in the Australian market.

“When French postal organisation Le Poste launched their iPhone app on 19 April it was downloaded 75,000 times on the first day, so we’re expecting our customers to take to the technology with equal enthusiasm.”

“Currently almost 3% of hits to our website are via smartphone devices and the launch of the mobile website and iPhone application is expected to grow the demand for mobile-enabled services.”

Today, 80% of smartphone visitors to the Australia Post website use iPhone devices.

“This new tool will increase customer convenience for the 50,000 customers that currently access the Auspost website from a smartphone device,” said Jacobsen.

The £2.6m investment will see the hours of around 650 delivery offices - almost half of Royal Mail’s UK-wide network of 1,400 sites - extended to 8pm on Wednesday evenings and 2pm on Saturdays to make the collection of items even more convenient for people who are not at home during the day.

Today (Wednesday 14 July), more than 200 delivery offices will open their doors until 8pm and around 350 offices will join the programme later in the summer. This follows a successful trial at 100 delivery offices in May.

Mike Brown, Royal Mail’s fulfilment director, said: “The majority of items ordered online are delivered first time but this investment by Royal Mail will help people who are not at home during the day to receive their item in cases where it is too big to go through the letterbox or needs a signature.

“With online sales continuing to grow, this initiative demonstrates our determination to develop products and services that help both retailers and their customers have greater choice and control over the delivery of items.”

The investment in extended opening hours builds on the choices already available to people who are not at home when delivery is attempted.

Customers can arrange a redelivery to their home or a neighbour via www.royalmail.com/redelivery or ask for items to be taken to a Post Office® branch, through a service called Local Collect.

Royal Mail Tracked, a new service recently launched by Royal Mail, also enables retailers to give their shoppers the ability to specify an alternative safe and secure delivery point, such as a porch or neighbour, should they not be at home when delivery was attempted.

David Smith, managing director of IMRG, the industry body for online retailing, said: “As a result of the close partnership between Royal Mail and the online retail industry, shoppers now have more control over the delivery of their items than ever before.

“More than half the UK adult population now shops online and this latest initiative provides even greater choice and convenience for them. It will help support even greater satisfaction levels and deliver an even more positive online shopping experience consumers.”

Commenting on the extension of Royal Mail opening hours, Clare Gilmartin, managing director of eBay UK, said: “Flexible delivery options are hugely important to the digital economy as more and more people choose to shop online or via a mobile shopping app for the convenience it provides.

“Online businesses equally rely on dependable and flexible delivery services to maintain a good reputation and retain the loyalty of customers. The majority of the 140,000 businesses that sell via eBay use Royal Mail as their delivery provider and the extended opening hours announced today will be welcomed by the small and medium sized online business community.”

According to Trend, Mammadov said: “The introduction of financial services in the branches of the postal operator will be implemented in stages, in Baku’s post offices and regions. The branches and subsidiaries’ appeals on preparedness in connection with the provision of banking services will be considered individually, followed by permitting of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA). The appeals of the Absheron, Sumgait and several regional branches of Azerpoct are under consideration.”

“The agreement is the perfect realisation of how competitors can forge cooperative partnerships to benefit customers,” said Nick Kepf, BBH general manager and executive director of Business Continuity and Production Services. “We look forward to working with Gunther International and in supporting their customers’ business objectives.”

“Gunther has built a solid reputation for meeting the most demanding standards for productivity and integrity,” said Nic Viens, Gunther International executive vice president. “We’re very pleased to be working with a partner who shares the same exacting standards for quality in disaster recovery services.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Gunther International will market BBH disaster recovery services directly to its customer base. Gunther International will install its systems in the BBH facility in Bethlehem, Pa., and train BBH technical teams on systems operation.

This week, TNT announced that it will press ahead with a job cutting programme that could see thousands positions being lost. The company has recently struggled with the world recession, the rise in e-substitution, and liberalisation of the European mail markets. TNT could reportedly cull 6,500 to11,000 full-time jobs, and currently employs around 160,000 staff. It said it will aid departing employees in finding new positions outside of TNT. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Harry Koorstra, managing director of TNT’s mail division said: “We hope that around 50% of the cuts can be made through natural attrition, but there could be forced redundancies and unions knew this.” Earlier this year, TNT announced that it plans to separate its mail and express businesses. This comes in the same week as Swiss Post announced cuts too - will there be more to follow?

Jetting over to Asia now and Korea Post has said it will expand financial services to mid- and low-income customers. This forms a part of an effort to support the underprivileged and maintain its status as profit-seeking public firm, according to The Korea Herald. The newspaper said that “Namgung Min, president of Korea Post, told reporters on Wednesday that the agency will begin fund sales and issue credit cards soon after consulting with related ministries and financial regulators. Korea Post needs to get licenses to operate both financial businesses as a card issuer and fund sales agents.” The agency currently under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy will take risks in asset management to keep its interest rate high for low-income customers, the CEO said. Korea Post has been making stable investments mostly to national or public bonds and some to companies and local securities market,” Namgung was quoted as saying.

Back to Europe, and UK Mail has joined the European distribution network Eurodis, as a shareholder, in a strategic new agreement designed to extend service offerings to brand new markets overseas.UK Mail will exclusively provide collection and delivery services for the UK and Ireland and the linehaul that connects it to the Eurodis network. The Eurodis consortium consists of key shareholders including Sernam in France, trans-o-flex Logistics Group in Germany and Benelux, Redur in Spain and Portugal, as well as Österreichische Post AG who further strengthen the network with its parcel and logistics subsidiaries, mainly in South Eastern Europe - all working together as one network. All the shareholders come together as a network of organisations who are recognised operators in their own domestic markets.UK Mail’s CEO and now vice chairman of the Eurodis Supervisory Board, Guy Buswell said: “In times of globalisation, no logistics company will be able to fulfill customers’ requirements without being connected to a powerful international network.”

And finally…

Remember to check www.postandparcel.info throughout the week for all the big industry news stories, and also why not follow us on Twitter? We are ‘@Post_and_Parcel’, where we will stream live breaking news straight through to you. Lucky things!

When shipped UPS Ground service, the luggage box is competitively priced with the airlines’ baggage fees, especially when compared to the major airlines, many of which are charging well over $100 for comparable baggage. Additionally, members of the Automobile Association of America (AAA) can receive a 15% discount off the full retail price of The UPS Store eligible products and services and five percent off domestic US UPS shipping costs.

The new luggage box comes as the AAA predicts an increase in summer travel this year.

Namgung Min, president of Korea Post, told reporters on Wednesday that the agency will begin fund sales and issue credit cards soon after consulting with related ministries and financial regulators. Korea Post needs to get licenses to operate both financial businesses as a card issuer and fund sales agents.

The agency currently under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy will take risks in asset management to keep its interest rate high for low-income customers, the CEO said.

“Korea Post has been making stable investments mostly to national or public bonds and some to companies and local securities market,” Namgung said.

“But we will face risks in asset management from now on by investing in overseas funds and securities market to guarantee high returns for our customers in times of low deposit interest rates,” he said after his presentation on the new vision set for the agency. Korea Post celebrates its 10th anniversary as an independent postal and financial service provider.

Korea Post currently operates 50 trillion won worth of savings and 27 trillion won worth of insurance products. It aims to increase the size of savings to 100 trillion won and insurance products to 70 trillion won by 2020.

“I think Korea Post should expand its role as a state-run financial service provider for the underprivileged suffering from deepening economic polarization,” he said.

The CEO also stressed the need to secure a professional workforce to expand its financial service in the future and increase its autonomy in operating business.

“To operate high risk asset management, we need to have highly skilled professionals and also an upgraded incentive system to have them work for us,” he added.

The financial service sector by Korea Post has been helping the agency seek profits for the past years, unlike other privatised postal services agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.

“I feel sorry for those who think the privatisation of postal services will always work. Korea Post has been seeking profits every year, for it operates financial service and also thanks to the automated mailing system,” he said.

“Rate increases are necessary to keep pace with inflation and direct operating costs, and to reinvest in network infrastructure to meet changing customer needs,” said Jacques Cote, COO at Canada Post. “We want to make sure that postage price increases are transparent and predictable for our customers.”

Retail Group manager Michelle van Gaalen puts the success down to a genuine customer focus in its network of over 300 PostShop Kiwibank stores.

She acknowledged that earning and maintaining brand trust is not easy.  “It is something that builds up over time but can be lost with just one silly mistake or bad piece of service.”

Given New Zealand Post’s diverse geographical spread and status as one of the country’s largest employers, it is well known by most New Zealanders.

“The trust instilled in New Zealand Post Retail comes partly from our long history, but also from a customers’ last experience with us - so it is our job to ensure that each experience is a good one.

“It is estimated that around 95% of New Zealanders have some form of contact with us each year when 20m customers interact with us at PostShop Kiwibank stores.

“The fact customers have stuck by us as we evolve through changing times due to a decline in mail, increased competition and the increase of technology use, is in part testament to the trust we have.

“Knowing that such strong trust exists is at the forefront of many of our decisions around any changes to how we gear our network up for the future.  Whenever we look at the level of service offered at different locations we always weigh up customer needs along with the long term sustainability of our business,” said van Gaalen.

New Zealand Post-owned Kiwibank has won the Readers Digest Most Trusted banking Brand.

Through the Canada Post retail network, financial institutions can enable their customers to manage their PIN information easily and free of charge, thereby limiting transaction abandonment and reducing calls to customer call centres.

“With more than 6,500 post offices nationwide, Canada Post operates the largest retail network in the country. Financial institutions can benefit from this market reach and ensure their customers use and protect their credit cards,” added Traversy.

The campaign commences with a TV advertisement across both satellite and terrestrial networks aimed at promoting the brand’s travel products. Further advertisements promoting other financial products are also planned as part of the campaign.

Running throughout the whole campaign will be the theme ‘there is more that unites us than divides us’, following research which found that 86% of people believe their area is one in which people from different backgrounds get on well together, and the finding that 93% of people strongly feel part of UK society. Along this theme, the advertisements feature real people.

Director Paul Gay, formerly of Skins and BBC period drama ‘Desperate Romantics’ produced the advertisements with Mother London.

Post Office marketing director, Gary Hockey Morley said of the campaign: “We wanted to build on the Post Office’s heritage as a community brand while also taking it into the future by highlighting the wide array of products, including financial services, that the Post Office offers. Back in the twenties, the General Post Office Film Unit used to create short films featuring a slice of UK life and we wanted to use this as a starting point to provide a modern take on what life in the UK is like today. As such, we’ve made the choice to use real people in the adverts to give a genuine flavour of modern life.”

The agreement is renewable after the initial ten-year term upon mutual approval.

Since 2009, CPM has deployed approximately 1,590 LCD media panels in over 1,000 China Post Offices located in Hunan province and Beijing to provide advertising from various sponsors and a variety of programme content.

Content is deployed from a centralised location providing enhanced control and operating leverage. During 2010, CPM plans to install an additional 4,000 LCD media panels in existing and new post office locations, with an additional 26,000 LCD media panels expected to be installed during 2011. CPM hopes to have over 53,000 LCD media panels installed by the end of 2013.

In addition to the advertising media sales, CPM plans to enhance its revenue through retail product distribution sales by offering a variety of consumer products through collaboration with TV shopping networks, selected brand products and direct marketing operators at China Post Offices throughout the country.

Through this network, CPM will offer a nationwide marketplace for these products while leveraging China Post logistics for customer ordering, payment and delivery. CPM will earn a commission without any of the associated expenses for typical retail sales such as inventory management and delivery.

Stephen Lai, CEO of China Post Media said: “In 2009, China Post spent over $220m in nationwide advertising for its own products and services and generated $870m in revenue through distribution of retail products and agency services. We hope to capitalise on our relationship with China Post to capture a portion of this revenue. In addition, China Post has over 20m customers collectively walk through its 38,000 locations each day who also pay bills and conduct banking transactions at the China Postal Savings Bank, the fourth largest bank in China. The majority of these postal offices are located in the rural areas of China, which covers 60% of the total China population (780m consumers). These consumers generate 40% of the country’s total retail spending (over $600bn). Thus, we believe the China Post Media network, with its large, captive audience and broad demographics, will create one of China’s first nationwide turnkey platforms for product advertising, order placement, product delivery and payment services for global retail companies.”

Ron Chan, chairman and CEO of ChinaCast Education, said: “We invested approximately $630,000 in initial capital in China Post Media more than five years ago to establish a joint venture to resell our services to the China Post Group and are pleased with the progress they have made to date with the signing of this landmark agreement. While China Post Media is a separately managed and operated company from ChinaCast and we do not currently plan to consolidate CPM’s financials, we believe our 43% ownership stake in CPM will demonstrate our ability to unlock shareholder value from our balance sheet and that the return to our shareholders from this investment will be significant in the future.”

Charles Prescott, principal and editor of The Prescott Report kicked-off proceeding by discussing undeliverables.

Prescott said, whilst talking about ‘undeliverable as addressed’, that the cost of an undelivered letter in the US is $3. Away from letters, he claimed that 5% of all magazines are returned, as insufficient address data continues to cost the industry huge sums of money. He also said that $150m a year is lost on cross-border services.

“Globalisation of the market has made it worse,” Prescott announced. “Out of 213 countries, only 63 have a Delivery Point Database,” before informing delegates that “3.3bn people out of a worldly population of 6.8bn pretty much don’t have an address, leaving them almost uncontactable from a business point of view.”

For more information on this topic, Prescott urged delegates to visit: www.globaladdress.org, homepage of the GADA, Global Address Data Association.

“The vision of the consultative committee is to have every address, every delivery point, and every change of address on record - across the world at anytime. To me, that’s paradise,” Prescott quipped.

The value add of a trans-national operator was addressed by John Acton, executive vice president, Geopost Group, and managing director, DPD. Acton said the CEP market will “explode” when mobile commerce truly takes off.

Acton provided some interesting facts to the conference, stating that, in terms of European e-shoppers: 92% were happy with their experience; 50-60% thought price was key; 89% of Belgian shoppers buy from their direct neighbouring countries; 40-60% have returned goods (76% in Germany); and that there’s a 5% average return rate in Europe.

In terms of seeking improvement throughout the sector, Acton said: “We need to understand where the pain is coming from, and fixing it by finding flexible solutions.” Acton later detailed DPD’s new delivery solution, Predict, which gives customers a one hour ETA window for deliveries.

.post is one of the key facets in the pursuit of innovation in the industry. Ahmed Kada, director at Morocco Post, discussed the significance of the UPU’s initiative. He said the Union’s goal is to integrate postal operators, and that the service will bring “unique” new opportunities to the sector. He compared the importance of .post to that of the iPhone in the mobile market. It will provide e-services, e-government and e-commerce. Kada’s presentation followed-up from his fascinating article in the latest issue of the industry’s leading quarterly publication, Mail & Express Review.

Muhammed Benten, president and CEO, Saudi Post, talked about re-inventing the future, and the developments in Saudi Arabia, as the Post expands it retail offerings. He said: “The Post of today and tomorrow is very different to what it was, due to technology. The Post is now an essential component of e-government, e-commerce, and security of nations. The postal operator must play the role of orchestrater to satisfy the demands of customers and businesses.”

Benten than campaigned to Posts to embrace the future: “Why are we scared that technology will put us down? It can help!” The president and CEO then illustrated how Saudi Post has “embraced” technology by launching its Virtual Mall, an e-commerce haven for the Saudi population. “The Virtual Mall extends the USO to the shopping experience.”

Reflections and analysis from the World Mail & Express Europe Conference 2010 - courtesy of the Post&Parcel team, industry experts and keynote speakers - will be published on this website next week.The event, which run from June 15-17, was organised by Triangle Management Services.

Organised by Triangle Management Services, the World Mail Awards took place on the eve of the World Mail & Express Europe Conference, this year taking place in the Danish capital.

Speaking exclusively to Post&Parcel, media partner at the event, Thijs said:”I am particularly proud and honoured with this award, which actually is a tribute to the great work that has been accomplished by the whole team of De Post - La Poste during the past years. Together, as a team, we have transformed our company, improving the quality of our services, bringing in a culture of customer orientation and increasing the efficiency of our processes. De Post - La Poste is now ready for the full market liberalisation in 2011.

“I sincerely thank Triangle for acknowledging these efforts. The award will encourage me and my colleagues to continuously strive for excellence in our exciting postal business, both in Belgium and on international markets.”

Another big winner on the night was Lebanon national operator, LibanPost, who scooped two awards - for Innovation and Transformation.

Hind Fadel, marketing and business development director at LibanPost, said: “We are double happy and double proud tonight. We are a small and young operator, who has only been in the industry for 12 years, so we are extremely excited to be ranked among world class service operators.

“We have a very strong team which has strived to achieve our goals through a high level of involvement. The World Mail Awards make our efforts worthwhile.”

The winners were presented with their Awards tonight at a ceremony hosted by Danish media personality, Annette Heick. Speaking after the event, Heick said: “It has been a great night. I was surprised at how good the atmosphere was. The mail and express industry is one big happy family. It was fantastic to be a part of it.”

This year’s Awards saw a record number of applications received from all over the world across the 12 Award categories, and the judges deliberated long and hard to cut the shortlist of 38 down to the eventual winners.

The 2010 World Mail Awards winners are:

- Corporate Social Responsibility: Korea Post

- Customer Service - sponsored by DHL Global Mail: 21 Grams

- E-Commerce: Posten Norden

- Growth - sponsored by PostEurop: InPost

- Industry Leadership - sponsored by Pitney Bowes: Johnny Thijs

- Innovation - sponsored by Capgemini: LibanPost

- People Management - sponsored by Australia Post: New Zealand Post

- Quality - sponsored by Magyar Posta: Post Danmark

- Retail Project: Belgian Post

- Security - sponsored by Royal Mail: MaltaPost

- Technology - sponsored by Intermec: Solystic

- Transformation: LibanPost

“The introduction of the NetPosti invoice button is a great improvement for both the online merchants and the customers. Online stores want to offer their customers comprehensive service and, consequently, a versatile palette of payment options enhances the customer experience. Especially when larger sums are concerned, consumers appreciate the option to pay with an invoice,” said Lennu Keinänen, CEO of Suomen Verkkomaksut.

“The NetPosti customers are active users of online services and online stores. Therefore it’s natural for us to make the service available in online stores. Paying for your online purchases with an e-invoice delivered in your NetPosti mailbox is a safe way to shop online. Moreover, your online purchases will be documented in your personal NetPosti archive,” said Pasi Ketonen, business development director of NetPosti.

Royal Mail could be floated on the stock market, the new postal affairs minister has been reported as saying. Ed Davey told The Daily Telegraph that the organisation could be sold, with the newspaper suggesting a figure of £9bn - which would be the biggest UK privatisation for two decades - as a money-raising option. Davey told The Daily Telegraph: “The truth is that Royal Mail’s situation, if nothing is done, will become increasingly dire. If we don’t transform Royal Mail, it will be dragged down by a lethal combination of falling mail volumes, low investment and potentially one of the worst pension crises for employees in UK history.” The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has urged the new UK coalition government not to throw away Royal Mail’s hard-won success by “flogging this cherished public institution”. Quick in response, CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: “This is clearly a major retreat from Liberal Democrat policy. Vince Cable and Ed Davey have given in to George Osbourne’s Thatcherite economics. The proposals to split the post office network from Royal Mail as outlined by Mr Davey will threaten the viability of the network, will wreck the service and will wreck rural and deprived communities which rely on the Post Office. We all know that privatisation leads to higher prices as private companies maximise their own profit ahead of any sense of public service.”

I don’t think we have heard the last of this.

With a similar plan being floated around the US at present, New Zealand Post is the latest organisation that could ditch its Saturday service. There have also been suggestions that it could limit postal deliveries to every other day. Chairman Jim Bolger told media that the company has not yet decided a plan of action, but is putting all the options on the table, also mentioning that the operator has to balance community expectations with sensible business decisions. The plans are being considered after New Zealand Post’s profits dropped by almost 20% for the second half of last year, with volumes falling by 27m. Unsurprisingly, postal unions across the country have expressed their disappointment at the prospect of cutting deliveries.

Both Canada Post and An Post (of Ireland) have made announcements concerning mobile services this week. Firstly, Canada Post is considering offering wireless phones and services at its 6,500 retail locations nationwide. New services would include cellular handsets and plans, with future potential for phone deactivation, recycling, and bill payment options. This would be an expansion of Canada Post’s existing portfolio of phone-related products as the Corporation already sells prepaid long distance and wireless airtime at its retail sites. Meanwhile in Europe, An Post has launched postfone, a new mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). It will provide pre-pay ‘any network, any time’ rates of 20c per minute and 9c texts, a range of easy-to-use mobile phones and accessible mobile services. An Post’s €2m+ investment in postfone, an MVNO with Vodafone, is the latest addition to the company’s range of financial and communications products and follows last week’s announcement of its deal to provide cash banking services for National Irish Bank customers. The company is targeting a 5% market share for postfone.

And finally…

Leading industry players will be descending upon Copenhagen next week, for the World Mail Awards and the World Mail & Express Europe Conference. For more details, click here. As media partner to the event, Post&Parcel will keep you up-to-date with comprehensive coverage from Denmark’s capital city. See you next week!

“We want to provide Canadians with a simple and affordable wireless solution,” said Louis O’Brien, senior vice president and chief customer officer at Canada Post. “By leveraging the largest retail network in the country, we can increase mobile access in rural and urban Canada.”

The Corporation is considering all models for expansion, and is interested in establishing a partnership agreement with one or more wireless service providers. Canada Post can offer its retail reach to new wireless entrants or incumbent service providers both cost effectively and nationally.

Increased wireless offerings and value-added services will create a more diverse wireless market and potentially lower costs for consumers. These are two of the goals set by the Government of Canada when it opened the wireless market to greater competition in 2008. Canada Post’s expansion into the wireless market is planned to begin in 2011.

“Canada Post’s growth in the wireless space is good news for Canadians,” said O’Brien “Our retail vision is to enhance post offices by providing more choice, access and convenience for consumers.”

A Request For Partnership (RFP) process will be used by Canada Post to identify potential mobility partners and determine the best strategy to meet the organisation’s objectives

An Post’s €2m+ investment in postfone, an MVNO with Vodafone, is the latest addition to the company’s range of financial and communications products and follows last week’s announcement of its deal to provide cash banking services for National Irish Bank customers. The company is targeting a 5% market share for postfone.

An Post chief executive Donal Connell said: “postfone is great news for Irish mobile users. We’re offering customers superb call and text rates in a local, friendly and familiar environment. We’ll provide personal assistance with every aspect of buying a phone and managing mobile phone costs at 300 post offices around the country.  Our strategy is to broaden out our revenue base by investing in those areas from which we can drive more business and more profit. This is the way forward for An Post and for our retail network.”

postfone will come on stream at 300 post offices over the Summer months, with heavy marketing emphasis on its no-frills, simple and straightforward rates; easy accessibility six days a week and personal hands-on service for customers wishing to buy a phone, transfer from their existing operator or better manage their credit.

Customers will be able to lodge and withdraw cash from post offices under the agreement as NIB closes the traditional bank counters at its branches.

The move is aimed at reducing costs which will lead to the closure of 25 of its 58 branches and a reduction in staff of 150 - or 25%- by the middle of next year.

The new service will be available at post offices from the end of this year.

The bank’s customers will still be able to lodge cheques at NIB branches as well as at post offices from the end of this year.

The bank said it had no plans to offer financial services to An Post customers.

Erste Bank customers and people holding a Posta account will be able to use the service for free; while there will be a cash withdrawal transaction fee for external banking customers.

Each year, about 271.2m yellow postal order payments are registered, involving the payment of HUF 3,000bn (EUR 11bn), which may be considerably accelerated thanks to the use of this new procedure.

After the 3-month trial period Magyar Posta and Erste Bank will assess whether or not the service should be expanded or further developed.

The collaborative service and marketing agreement for these lightweight shipments provides US consumers with “greater convenience and delivery confirmation information online at usps.com,” a company statement said.

Sellers using eBay GC can track their shipments with electronic notifications such as in-process and proof-of-delivery scans at ebay.cn. Upon arrival in the US., these shipments are processed as domestic First-Class Mail, with a one to three-day delivery standard.

Sellers in China using the shipping platform through eBay GC are expected to ship small items such as cellular telephone accessories and electronics weighing up to 4.4 pounds (2 kilos), with most in the range of 13 ounces and under.

“This collaboration will increase convenience and improve delivery consistency for American consumers ordering small shipments from merchants in China, and holds great potential for increasing international package volumes for the Postal Service,” said Pranab Shah, managing director and vice president, Global Business. “We look forward to working with our business partners to build upon this agreement as we move forward.”

The agreement is in keeping with strategies to increase revenue and meet demand in the global marketplace as outlined in a comprehensive plan announced recently by the Postal Service. Ensuring a Viable Postal Service for America, the Postal Service action plan for the next decade, describes a flexible, agile Postal Service that can adapt to America’s changing mailing habits and preferences.

Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon said, “The issue of Visa cards by the Postal Bank will reduce costs for consumers, and will continue the trend of expanding the financial services offered by the Israel Postal Company.”

The permit from Visa covers all kinds of payment cards. However, the Postal Bank will initially issue debit cards only, and will not undertake any credit risk. This is because the Bank Supervision Department at the Bank of Israel will not see a problem in the Postal Bank, which it does not supervise, expanding its activity in this way.

At the same time, Visa Europe has opened a representative office in Israel.

Three quarters of the £2bn investment plan to transform Royal Mail’s operations has now been spent, including a further £500m invested in the last 12 months in new technology and new equipment for our postmen and women, bringing the total to £1.6bn invested in modernisation since 2006.

Competition intensified during the year with over 13m fewer letters a day being handled than just five years ago as people turn increasingly to other forms of communication including the internet and text.

Group revenues dipped - for the first time in a decade - to £9.35bn, but all four businesses within the Group remained in profit.

The continued investment in modernisation and the high level of payments into the pension fund contributed to negative Group cash flow in the year of £517m.

Key performance highlights in 2010:

*Operating profit is defined as before exceptional items

Donald Brydon, chairman of Royal Mail Group, said: “These are good results achieved against a backdrop of harsh economic conditions and the relentless reduction in the number of letters sent by customers, not just in the UK but around the world. However huge challenges remain, including the need to find a resolution to our historic pension deficit, and the need to reach agreement with Postcomm on a regulatory regime more suited to today’s changing marketplace.”

He added: “The strikes called by the CWU in 2009 clearly had an adverse effect on Royal Mail Letters and I am delighted that the recent ballot of union members endorsed the agreement struck between the Group and the CWU which will allow for still further progress towards our modernisation goals and help us to protect the Universal Service while providing a fair reward for our people and recognising the important role they play in achieving the transformation we so urgently need.”

Brydon thanked Adam Crozier, who stepped down as chief executive in April, for leading the transformation of the Group over the last seven years: “Adam’s clarity of purpose and strong leadership marked a period when the Group recovered from significant losses to be again profitable. Adam leaves behind a Group with a sense of purpose, a modernising agenda and good people. Together with colleagues I have been conducting a search for his successor and I will be making an announcement shortly,” he said.

All four Group businesses remain profitable

Group operating profit increased to £404m - a 26% improvement on the previous year and for the second year running, all four of the Group’s businesses are profitable. Royal Mail Letters, the Post Office and Parcelforce Worldwide all increased their operating profit last financial year.

Recessionary trading conditions saw many customers posting fewer letters, downtrading from premium services such as First Class to Second, while at the same time the switch away from traditional mail to email and web communications accelerated. These factors, and falls in traditional Government business in the Post Office network, all resulted in revenue reductions - but the impact was more than offset by modernisation and lower costs.

Despite strike action by the CWU at local and national level in Royal Mail Letters during 2009, the business made good progress in its transformation plan. Over 80% of the mail is now sorted to the level of the individual postman or woman’s walk and the national rollout of “walk sequencing machines”, which sort the mail to the exact pattern of addresses followed by the delivery postman or woman, continues at pace. Five years ago, just half the mail was being sorted automatically.

Royal Mail Letters’ operating profit has more than doubled to £121m despite an overall revenue fall of £143m. The profit margin remains low - less than 2% - but the financial performance shows convincingly that Royal Mail’s modernisation plan is delivering real benefits.

Post Office Limited’s revenue fell by £70m in 2009-10 mainly because of lower income from the Post Office Card Account. The Post Office’s net cash outflow reflects the investment being made to refurbish Crown branches and improve the network’s IT capabilities.

The Group’s headcount reduced by almost 8,000 in 2009-10 and as in previous years, the reduction was managed without any compulsory redundancy.

Record target-beating performance was delivered by Royal Mail’s postmen and women in the spring and early summer of 2009. However, we very much regret that CWU strike action later in the year inevitably resulted in Royal Mail falling short of some of its annual quality of service targets.

Parcelforce Worldwide continued to perform well in the hugely competitive time-guaranteed parcel sector. Despite the recession, it maintained its revenues at £399m for the year and its operating profit rose to £17m - a 42% increase. Parcelforce 24 Quality of Service improved to 97.7%.

Revenues at GLS fell by 0.5% year on year reflecting the difficult economic conditions, particularly in Germany. Cost savings in its delivery operations limited the resulting fall in operating profit - down by 10% to £112m. The business is well positioned for recovery in Europe.

Major issues and challenges remain

The withdrawal of the Postal Service Bill means that the three major issues it highlighted - the need for regulation that reflects the changing market Royal Mail operates in, the need for a resolution to the historic pension deficit, and the need for more flexible access to capital - have yet to be resolved.

Mail markets in the UK and around the world continue to decline. UK mail volumes declined by 7.3% in 2009-10 - the steepest fall since average daily volumes peaked at 84m in 2005 - with the average daily mail bag now containing around 71m letters, packets and parcels.

All major postal operators around the world expect volumes to decline further as people switch increasingly to electronic communications. TNT Post Group in The Netherlands, for example, is planning for a volume reduction of up to 9% this year and around 30% over the next five years, while the United States Postal Services is currently seeing its mail volumes decline by 13% a year.

Within the UK the volume of mail handled by rivals grew by over 20% in the last 12 months. More than one in three letters - a total of 6,400m items - were posted last year with a competitor, but delivered by a Royal Mail postman or woman under rules which allow rivals access to Royal Mail’s network. Access mail now accounts for more than half of all business mail.

The Group has a net trading cash outflow of £517m, reflecting the continued investment being made in sorting technology, new equipment for postmen and women, improvements to Crown Post Office branches - as well as continuing heavy cash payments to the Pension Fund.

The pension fund deficit

The Group and the Trustees have worked hard to find a solution to the problem of the actuarial deficit - which is expected to be significantly higher than the previous figure of £3.4bn when the current valuation is completed - and they continue to do so.  In 2010 the Group paid £867m into the pension schemes, of which £291m was to help fund the historic deficit.

The future

Brydon said: “Despite the very significant pressures in all parts of the Company, Royal Mail Group has continued to demonstrate its ability to withstand the combined pressures of recession and competition and has shown real momentum in driving forward our modernisation and making the changes which are so important if the Company is to survive and thrive.

“To echo the words of Adam Crozier at this time last year, we know that despite the challenges of difficult and uncertain markets, we have the resilience and determination to continue our transformation and to become the world’s best postal company. The strong and robust performance we have shown over the last 12 months shows we are making good progress.”

The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.

The acquisition is in line with TNT’s Vision 2015 strategy as announced on 3 December 2009. The chain continues with managing and facilitating web shops and online payment, e-fulfillment, the physical delivery and customer service after delivery.

Kowin is a Dutch e-commerce solution provider with knowledge in the field of online shopping and is a one-stop service provider for the full chain.

The acquisition will allow TNT Post to “develop the required capabilities for the entire e-commerce chain faster and to quickly expand its offering to new industries and markets”.

On top of this, Kowin will support TNT Post’s current on line retail initiatives under the label of Sjopze.

The employees of Kowin will not be affected by the transaction.

The internet-based tool will integrate with a retailer’s existing processes to enable complete visibility and management through a single platform including:

• Sales orders - even the ability to combine orders for the same customer
• Automated and manual customer communications
• Total inventory and stock control with supplier management
• Pricing by channel
• Webstore and eBay store creation
• Management of eBay and auction site listings and sales
• Returns and refund processing
• Reporting and maintenance tools

The engine is aimed at online retailers with a turnover generally above £500k who want to drive sales and maximise growth opportunities, better communicate with customers and save time on administrative processes, whilst managing costs and efficiency, a company statement said.

Dan Hewett, head of small business goods fulfillment at Royal Mail, said: “Opportunities in the online retail market continue to increase as the range of sales channels expands and many businesses either don’t have the time or expertise to take advantage of them in a cost effective way.

“The Royal Mail E-commerce Engine has been developed to give small and medium sized companies the capability to open and exploit new online sales channels efficiently, while ensuring excellent customer service remains at the core of their business.

“Managing stock, payment, logistics and returns across different sales channels is a challenging and complex task, but this tool helps them do that effectively.”

“MoneyGram is very pleased that with this completed roll-out, our money transfer service is available at nearly all Canada Post locations nationwide,” stated Dan O’Malley, executive vice president of the Americas for MoneyGram. “MoneyGram will be in over 6,000 Canada Post locations and within reach of virtually all Canadian residents.”

“Canada Post has the largest retail network in the country and is pleased to offer increased services to Canadians,” said Louis O’Brien, chief customer officer for Canada Post.

The most impressive feature of www.11185.com.cn is the “payment + delivery + physical store” platform it offers, as a unique e-commerce platform on the Mainland.

Payment options for the new site include China bank payments, stored value payment cards, postal remittances, the use of Alipay.com, as well as physical post offices.

Delivery options include EMS (Express Mail Service), China Post Logistics and conventional postal packets and parcels.

About 3,000 postal service points across Jiangsu province and 10,000 direct sale stores and franchise stores are to be set up and act as windows for sales of physical goods.

On sale at this online shopping mall are 12 categories of products that include houseware, digital products, home appliances, clothing, shoes, bags, books and audio-visual products. Well-known brands along with specialty and quality products from Jiangsu are on offer.

In recruiting online sellers, China Post only selects those suppliers which are holders of business licences or tax registration certificates.

These suppliers must pay a quality guarantee deposit before opening their stores on the website. Should any products sold online have quality problems, China Post will pay for damages out of the deposit.

Prices offered on the website are lower than those at physical stores. Over 2,200 merchants have joined the website, offering more than 40,000 products.

For online payments, people can pay water, electricity, gas and cable TV bills; they can also purchase air tickets. The online post office provides services such as DIY greetings card production, EMS, collectible stamps orders, newspaper and magazine subscriptions.

By launching www.11185.com.cn, the long-established China Post can now provide buyers and sellers with a new service platform on the Internet.

With its base in Jiangsu, the next move of www.11185.com.cn is to expand to other provinces and cities by taking advantage of its extensive postal network.

OÜ Smartpost council member Peep Kuld said that the company’s partner in Estonia is Itella Eesti, a subsidiary of the Finnish Post. Via Itella, the packages reach the foreign partner, one of Europe’s biggest courier companies GLS.

Kuld said that the main focus of the company is still on selling the Smartpost package automates, their hardware, software and business model know-how to foreign markets. The service offered in Estonia is just a model to introduce and export the technology, Kuld said.

Smartpost has 36 self-service postal box sets in different shopping centres and elsewhere in Estonia. People get an SMS on their mobile phone when their package arrives, they insert the code given to them into a postal box and can get their package from the box. People can also send packages from the Smartpost postal boxes, by paying with bank card. Last year the service was used by 65,000 people.

Any citizen, excluding NRIs between 18 and 55 years of age, can join the NPS and contribute for up to 60 years.

Postmaster general of Pune region, S C Jarodia, said that in Pune city, the service will be available at the three head post offices - Pune GPO, Shivajinagar and City Post.

“The NPS is operational through organisations designated as Points of Presence (POP). The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority have appointed the Department of Posts as one of the POPs to operate the scheme through identified post offices,” Jarodia said.

There are two types of accounts under NPS - Tier-I and Tier-II accounts. While Tier-I is a non-withdrawal account where the minimum contribution is Rs 500 per month or Rs 6,000 per annum, the Tier-II account is a voluntary savings account with a minimum monthly contribution of Rs 1,000 and account holders can withdraw their savings whenever they wish.

In addition to 0% on balance transfers for the first 12 months and 0% on new purchases for the first three months, the Post Office is now one of the few providers not to add commission onto any overseas purchases.

Post Office head of cards, Az Alibhai said: “Our customers love the fact that we don’t charge commission when they use their card overseas, so we are now saving them even more money by removing the cash advance fee when they use their Post Office Credit Card to purchase great value travel money from the Post Office.

“With many people still feeling the pinch this will give them a bit of extra cash in their pockets to enjoy on holiday. We are dedicated to providing customers with flexibility and value when it comes to managing their money, especially as our credit card offers a combination of benefits that they can’t get anywhere else.”

In the first three months of the year, PostFinance created 133 full-time positions for qualified employees throughout Switzerland.

The generated a profit of CHF 130m represents an increase of CHF 44 m (+50%) compared with the previous year. The company said its encouraging result is due to two reasons in particular: “This year only minor write downs were made compared with the previous year. The higher average customer assets increased the interest income despite somewhat lower margins. Assets increased by CHF 7.1bn to 80.3bn. PostFinance views this increase as a vote of confidence in a period in which the question of the financial partner assumes a greater importance than before the financial crisis.”

PostFinance also saw an increase in the number of accounts: In the first three months of 2010 a total of 38,521 new accounts were opened. Of these, 24,303 are savings accounts (deposit accounts) and 14,218 are postal accounts (payment accounts). PostFinance currently manages over 3.9m accounts whose number has risen by 1.2m over the past six years. Of the new customer deposits amounting to CHF 7.1bn, CHF 3.9bn were placed in savings accounts, accounting for 55%.

With a SuisseID from Swiss Post, customers can present electronic proof of identity and make legally binding signatures on documents such as contracts and licences - just as with a traditional signature. In eliminating the need to switch between paper and electronic media, organisations will be able to speed up complex business processes. The SuisseID from Swiss Post secures reliable authentication of customers, partners and employees on the Internet.

Swiss Post is offering this digital proof of identity at a price of CHF 39.00 instead of CHF 104.00 until the end of the year. The Swiss Post SuisseID also includes SwissSigner 10 signature software worth CHF 99.00.

The SuisseID from Swiss Post not only includes the digital ID but also a digital pen, or more precisely, software that enables the signing of documents. Users have a choice of three different versions. The SuisseID from Swiss Post is available as a card, a USB stick or a SwissStick. SwissStick is an all-in-one solution encompassing secure access, digital signature software and secure mail, plus further applications. Mobile working - from home, an internet café or place of business - works thanks to the secure access feature. The SwissStick will work without any further installation on any Windows or Apple computer and leaves no trace of personal data behind.

A delegation from Yemen General Post Authority, headed by Saleh Abdulla Baswad, deputy general manager, signed a series of agreements to enhance cooperation in areas of parcels, IFS money transfer, quality and automation.

The agreements were signed on behalf of Emirates Post by Salem Al Shaya, assistant CEO of operations, Emirates Post.

“The visit of Yemen General Post Authority comes as a follow-up to the recent high-level meetings between Yemen and the UAE, headed by H.H Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, minister of Foreign Affairs, who has called for stronger relations between the two countries,” said Al Shaya. “We believe this visit of Yemen General Post Authority will mark a new chapter in postal cooperation between UAE and Yemen.”

Al Shaya took the delegation on a tour of Emirates Post headquarters and highlighted achievements and future plans. The delegation also toured to Ramoul Sorting Centre, Empost and Electronic Documentation Centre.

Baswad expressed confidence that the new agreements would lead to greater cooperation and exchange of expertise between Emirates Post and Yemen Post Authority. He also highlighted the progress of the Yemen Post Authority.

A delegation of Emirates Post is scheduled to visit Yemen later this year to follow up on the implementation of the agreements.

In January 2010, SPI UK expanded its services beyond the wholesale market and into the retail market.

Based in Southampton, MCM Direct has 18 years’ experience of providing direct mail and printing products and solutions to customers of all types and sizes. The acquisition will enable SWI UK to offer products such as database management and processing; laser printing and digital printing; polywrapping; envelope enclosing; ink jet printing; print finishing and overseas consolidation to retail customers. The companies will merge from 1 January 2011.

Paul Taylor, CEO, SPI UK said: “MCM Direct’s values are closely aligned to those of Swiss Post International: a quality driven organisation that builds trust and long term relationships with its customers and suppliers. It’s a perfect fit that puts us in an improved position to succeed in the retail market. With MCM Direct we will be able to offer industry customers efficient outsourcing solutions.”

Daniel Baettig, Head of International Mail, Swiss Post International said: “The acquisition of MCM Direct is part of our strategy to further grow Swiss Post International in the United Kingdom. We want to better penetrate the country by building up a network of subsidiaries, partners and resellers for our products and services.”

Martin Collier, the managing director of MCM Direct, will continue in his role.

SPI UK also revealed that it is on the verge of completing a partnership deal with Direct Entry Services, a UK-based mail services provider. Managing director Philip Coleman described the partnership as “exciting”.

The industry-leading show was held at the Novotel London West on April 21.

Post&Parcel asked some of the attendees to express their thoughts on the day:

Susan Barton, postal industry lead for EALA, Accenture, said: “The balance between hearing from postal operators and customers was absolutely perfect.  It gave the sense not only of the challenges that are being faced on both sides but the opportunities for the market if we all work better together.

“Overall I thought it was a good event - the challenge around all of the discussion is that the context for the future will be shaped by the new government and at this stage - no-one knows who that will be and so there is a sense of frustration with a continuing lack of clarity post the Hooper report.

“John Coghlan gave a very honest perspective of the challenges DX has faced and his openness made this very interesting and compelling.  Anthony Miller is clearly passionate about his area and really focused on the future possibility for the industry - very positive and inspiring.  Steve Law and Sean Foy were excellent in giving insight to the customer and the industry from the customers perspective - I thought they were both great.  Finally, I would mention Nick Street - his frank attitude and challenging views were great - a refreshing challenge to the industry.”

Commenting on the day, Neil Jackson, chief executive of Triangle Management Services, said: “I was delighted to see so many of our speakers deliver their presentations with optimism. The green shoots of economic recovery are present across the industry and this was reflected throughout the day.”

Andrew Bernard, chief executive of CitySprint, told Post&Parcel: “The Mail and Express Delivery Show is an excellent opportunity for the express industry leaders to come together to discuss the sector; the 2010 event was no exception.

“The last year has been an interesting and challenging year for the sector and it was positive to be able to see so many examples of innovation. At CitySprint we used the event to profile our recently launched SameDay retail offering and I was very keen to discuss this topic with the industry and to determine their view on, what we see as, an industry leading service.”

Furthermore, Don Arnold, former group operations director of DHL Express UK & Ireland, and now an independent consultant, said: “I think MEDS is a great opportunity for mailers, retailers and carriers to come together to discuss current challenges. It’s a good platform to network in a formal and informal environment, and the event is always worth attending. Today has been a worthwhile experience.”

Post&Parcel editor Chris Dolan chaired the opening mail track at MEDS, which explored the post-recessionary market. He said: “Chairing a session at an event like MEDS gave me ample opportunity to broaden my knowledge and share in the visions of market leaders. I specifically enjoyed the examination of the future of direct marketing, and being given the chance to raise the portal’s profile throughout our ever-changing industry.”

What did you think of MEDS? Please comment below…

The Post Office has developed an SMME development programme to support small companies that provide them with services. Meant to create sustainable market opportunities for their SMME suppliers, the programme also improves the quality of service that the Post Office gets from these SMME’s.

In the Free State, the SMME’s will receive financial and non-financial support from FIPA and gain access to markets and technical support from the Post Office.

The Post Office is extending the national address database with the aim to provide all South African households with postal addresses. In the Free State Province, the initiative will be integrated with the television set-top-box manufacturing and distribution programme to speed up the roll-out of the database.

“The cooperation between the Post Office and FIPA will promote economic development in the Free State considerably,” said Malesela Sekhasimbe, group executive: Supply Chain Management at the Post Office. “All our broad-based black economic empowerment purchasing is done from local suppliers.”

The province also plans to train over 6 000 entrepreneurs to become certified installers and distributors of set-top-boxes in the province. The province also has plans to use the data from the national address database in developing ICT applications for government services and postal services which also mean market opportunities for Free State ICT SMMEs.

“The benefits from this partnership will include creation of sustainable jobs in the province, SMME development, creation of new industries such as set-top-box manufacturing and distribution and enhancement of an emerging ICT sector in the province,” said Gcina Mazibuko, CEO of FIPA.

In 2005, GE Money partnered SingPost to pioneer formal lending to an under‐served segment of customers who earned less than S$30,000 per annum. GE Money developed a strategic distribution alliance with SingPost to offer Singaporeans the ezyCash personal loan through designated SingPost branches across the island. GE Money was amongst SingPost’s earliest partners for financial services.

In 2006, ezyCash was awarded the Regional Best Consumer Credit Product Award at the Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards. GE Money has since strengthened its position further by enhancing its product suite to cater to a wider target audience.

In 2006, together with SingPost, it launched the innovative personal loan “James”. James, a product which established itself well, enjoys strong brand resonance through a first‐of‐its‐kind creative advertising and branding concept for personal loans. It offers consumers one of the most flexible personal loans with options such as last instalment waivers, step‐up step‐down interest rates, payment holidays and pay interest only features.

The move has drawn criticism from Japan’s financial industry, amid concerns that a government-backed financial giant could distort competition and present a big risk to the stability of the market.

Under the plan, Japan Post Holdings will continue to control its two financial units, Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance. It will absorb two other units, Japan Post Network Co. and Japan Post Services Co., on Oct. 1, 2011.

The deposit ceiling on postal savings also will be doubled to 20 m yen (about $216,000) per customer, and the 13 m yen upper limit on life-insurance payments will be boosted to 25 m yen.

The Democratic Party of Japan-led government said the proposal will allow Japan Post to offer “universal service across the country.”

The government aims to finalize its decision at a cabinet meeting on April 27 and to sent it to the current legislative session for approval.

Mr. Kamei, who leads a small party that is part of the DPJ-led ruling coalition, proposed sharp increases in the savings and insurance limits last month.

That point, and other measures, drew criticism from the private sector, as commercial banks and life-insurance companies said the growth of Japan Post will distort fair competition.

The plan raises the question of what the government-backed financial giant will do with its vast holdings. According to the proposal, Japan Post will no longer be required to file for regulatory approval from authorities such as Ministry of International Affairs and Communications when starting new financial businesses. The group will need to only notify them.

Japan Post holds assets valued at about $3.3 trillion, making it one of the world’s largest financial institutions. Mr. Hatoyama’s government last year froze the sale of equity in Japan Post’s banking and insurance arms, a process that was slated to begin this year.

Summarising, Lambert told Post&Parcel: “Throughout the day we heard from many different people about the future for Direct Mail. The gloom of some who believed the digital age had overtaken mail was countered by those who felt this medium had reached its appropriate position as the preferred method for communication with those who are established customers. Many questioned why transactional mail was not moving to become a more powerful direct marketing device and many examples were given of how this paper media were being used as the information tool to attract people to websites for further action.

“David Robottom (D&S Consultants) gave us a clear indication that, in terms of customer satisfaction, the international mail accreditation scheme was showing very high levels of satisfaction and a clear upward trend. Graham Arrowsmith from REaD group explained the giant steps being taken in using more and more data to inform posters before they communicate and the power to make the level of communication more relevant. The audience started to question if the amount of data being used was in itself leading to nervousness on the part of receivers, who were concerned what businesses knew about them, but reality was that response rates had started to rise again, as targeting became more sophisticated. Leon Deakin from Virgin Media made a call for more supplier engagement and a step change in innovation to give poster a wider range of options.”

Do you agree with Lambert? What is the future for direct marketing? Please comment below…