Month: May 2003

UK Royal Mail 'at last dragged into 21st century' postal services

Posted by | May 31, 2003 | |

Royal Mail is “at last being dragged, kicking and screaming into the 21st century” with post office customers finally able to use debit cards to pay for stamps, envelopes and other mail services. David Mills, chief executive of the group’s Post Office business, is not afraid to characterise the institution as one that is enduring a painful introduction to the modern world. The jovial former HSBC personal banking chief firmly intends to encourage modernisation. He joined in January last year with the aim of making the loss-making network profitable within five years. The Post Office, which has 17,000 branches across the UK, should exploit more fully its position as one of Europe’s, and Britain’s, largest retail outlets, he says.

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Price increase for French postage stamps

Posted by | May 31, 2003 | |

The price of French postage stamps, unchanged since 1996, will increase from 0.46 euros to 0.50 euros, or by 8.7 per cent, on Sunday. The hike will bring France more into line with the European average of 0.65 euros.

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AN Post rejects 'snail mail' tag after delivery rate survey

Posted by | May 31, 2003 | |

AN Post last night moved to defend its letter delivery rate in the wake of a survey which showed the company only managed to deliver 73pc of ordinary letters by the next day. The Communications Regulator (ComReg), which monitors An Post’s quality of service inline with European standards, found only three out of four items of ordinary correspondence were delivered the next day. ComReg looked at single piece mail – ordinary correspondence posted by individuals and businesses – and found the delivery rate fell far short of the 94pc target set by the regulator. According to ComReg, this will be addressed in the context of consultation on An Post’spricing proposals, to be launched shortly.

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Japan sees 1st private-sector mail

Posted by | May 31, 2003 | |

Freight company Tokai Messenger Bb launched a mail delivery service Sunday, making it the first private-sector firm to take part in services that have been controlled by the state for 130 years, as part of Japan’s efforts to privatize postal services. The company, based in Nagoya, has acquired a license to deliver mail within three hours in the central areas of the capital of Aichi Prefecture in central Japan. “Most of our customers have been advertisement agencies and design companies, but we can increase the handling of such public documents as tax statements from now,” Tokai Messenger President Kenichiro Imai said. Seven other firms have been licensed by the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry for limited mail delivery services since they were opened to the private sector in April. They are slated to begin services in August.

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Australia Post to charge 50 cents extra per air mail parcel

Posted by | May 30, 2003 | |

Australia Post will soon charge customers an extra 50 cents per parcel sent overseas by air mail to cover the cost of upgraded security. The price rise is planned from September 1. It covers business and private air mail and economy air mail parcels sent overseas, not letters. The hike was revealed during Senate estimate hearings this week.

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UK Royal Mail – Pitney Bowes joint venture targets mailing

Posted by | May 30, 2003 | |

Pitney Bowes has teamed up with Royal Mail to offer an outsourced document management service to large-volume direct mailers. The management services division of Pitney Bowes (PBMS) was approached by Royal Mail 12 months ago to develop a broader range of document services from ‘data to doorstep’. RMPB (Royal Mail Pitney Bowes) was then set up to target Royal Mail’s customer base, specifically its larger blue-chip clients. PBMS is run as an independent division of Pitney Bowes, added Bailey, and would not encroach on its mailing line manufacturing.

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HP Argentina makes deal with DHL

Posted by | May 30, 2003 | |

The Argentinean subsidiary of Hewlett Packard (HP) will be the first of the group’s subsidiaries to implement its global logistics accord with DHL, the US express delivery company. DHL will provide logistics and post-sale support services to HP in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. HP will store its products in a DHL warehouse in Buenos Aires.

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US Postal Service plan falls short, expert says

Posted by | May 30, 2003 | |

The U.S. Postal Service will fall short of meeting federal mandates to
deliver mail six days a week and cover its costs without further cutting
expenses and dropping money-losing services, the top congressional watchdog
official said. The postal service “is not well-suited to operate efficiently” and must go beyond its own USD3 billion annual cost-cutting plan to survive, General Accounting Office head David Walker told a presidential postal strategy
panel. Postmaster General John Potter defended the agency at the Washington
hearing, saying he wouldn’t allow a reduction in delivery frequency “on his watch.”

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