Royal Mail demonstrates its logistical strength with a further contract renewal within the financial sector

Royal Mail today announced that it has started 2005 with a further contract renewal for its Branch Direct service within the financial sector.

The Derbyshire Building Society has renewed its contract for the overnight delivery of internal mail and documents between branches and offices UK wide.

This follows the renewal of contracts with Barclays Bank PLC and Norwich Union later in 2004 and underlines Royal Mail’s role as a strategic partner for the financial sector, developing tailored solutions to meet their needs.

Pauline Vickers, Sector Director, Financial Services, Royal Mail, said: “The provision of internal mail services is a very competitive market and we are delighted to be able to demonstrate our strength in this area with these contract renewals. Large organisations are increasingly looking for a strategic partner that can provide a range of services to meet their needs and we will continue doing just that.”

The new deal between the Derbyshire and Royal Mail is the result of the consolidation of a contract previously held for six years by Hays and Royal Mail. The new contract will see Royal Mail as the direct provider, servicing all 53 Derbyshire Building Society branches with one delivery per day, totalling 37,000 collections and deliveries per year.

Kevin Edwards, Purchasing Manager, Derbyshire Building Society, said: “Having a complete distribution contract with a strategic partner is very important to the Derbyshire Building Society. Our decision to consolidate the contract into one deal came after Royal Mail demonstrated that they understand our needs and can deliver the best-in-class service at the best value.“

At the end of 2004 Barclays Bank PLC awarded Royal Mail a minimum three-year contract to provide an internal mail service for all pieces of mail travelling between offices and branches within Barclays. The new deal follows the completion of a five-year contract, which covers 2,300 Barclays sites in the UK and will include an option for selected offshore locations such as Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. On average, 4.7 million items of mail will pass through this service every year (nearly 13,000 items per day).

Royal Mail also won a deal to continue to provide the UK’s biggest insurer Norwich Union with its range of distribution needs, including mail services, the overnight delivery of documents between Norwich Union’s branches and a range of express services provided by Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide.