Postal Digest: Estonian Post, PostNL, Guernsey Post and UK Mail news
Rounding up some more of the latest news from postal operators around the world…
UK Mail wins two-year deal with London boroughs
Private sector operator UK Mail has won a GBP 3.3m mail contract with a group of 17 London borough councils.
The two-yead deal will see the Birmingham-based company providing a mix of traditional mail services and hybrid mail via its imail service, with the goal of gradually making the shift from purely physical mail to hybrid during the course of the contract. UK Mail is promising to cut the boroughs’ mail costs by 34%.
Andy Barber, the general manager of imail at UK Mail, said there was an increasing interest in the imail service from the public sector at the moment. “Significant cost pressures can be eased quickly and effectively through imail’s new technology. With this contract we are offering immediate savings through collection and delivery of existing mail, while providing future cost savings through the migration of the mail to imail,” he said.
PostNL launches prepaid mobile phone services
Dutch postal service PostNL launched new prepaid mobile phone retail services today, offering SIM card packages and combination phone-and-SIM card packages in 2,000 postal outlets.
The new PostNL Mobiel offering is based on the communications network of telecoms giant KPN. Packages include a simplified pre-paid SIM card, a pre-paid option with monthly payment and various bundles comprising prepaid text messages and calls, or calls and internet.
Arno van Bijnen, retail and consumer market director at PostNL, said: “With PostNL Mobiel, we are giving people yet another way of contacting one another; both reliable, simple and affordable.”
Estonian Post to upgrade vehicle fleet
Estonian Post is selling off 100 of its commercial vehicles over the next six months, as it seeks to replace them with more modern, efficient options.
A range of five-year-old gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles, including Renault Kagoo vans, Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles with mileage up to 190,000 miles are being sold to make way for new natural gas-powered and electric vehicles the company is expecting to buy in the second half of this year.
Estonia Post, which bought new more-efficient Peugeot and Opel commercial vehicles last year, is planning to replace about 220 of its 417 vehicles in 2012-2013.
Guernsey Post switches to five-day delivery week
Channel Islands postal operator Guernsey Post is switching to a Monday to Friday delivery service from today.
The company is expecting to save around GBP 400,000 a year by eliminating Saturday deliveries, other than for time-definite packet and parcel deliveries, as the company responds to falling mail volumes.
The States of Guernsey decided last October to allow Guernsey Post to amend its universal service obligation to a five-day delivery week. The Post decided to keep time-definite packet and parcel services with Saturday delivery in response to customer feedback.
