The week that was: 20 April 2012

Rounding up the biggest stories of the week in the mail and express industry, from the pages of Post&Parcel…

US Senate debates postal reform

The US Senate launched a floor debate on major postal reform proposals this week, looking into how to help the US Postal Service out of its current financial crisis.

The cloture motion was passed by 74 votes to 22, turning around last month’s vote against debating the 21st Century Postal Service Act (S.1789).

Senator Joseph Lieberman, who is leading the reform measure as the Senate government affairs committee chairman, described the result as a “very strong vote” that suggested that members of the Senate across party lines understood the importance of the Postal Service and the need to avoid its bankruptcy.

Harry Koorstra resigns as PostNL CEO

Dutch national postal service PostNL announced that its chief executive, Harry Koorstra, has resigned with immediate effect.

Koorstra said he had “differences in opinion” with the PostNL Supervisory Board.

PostNL said its Supervisory Board intends to appoint Herna Verhagen, member of the Board of Management and responsible for Parcels and International, as the new CEO of PostNL.

InPost allies with Neopost to take parcel terminals global

Polish parcel delivery company InPost sealed an important alliance with French mailroom equipment firm Neopost, to take its network of “easyPack” parcel terminals global.

InPost, part of Integer.pl Group, is already in the process of pursuing ambitious plans to establish 16,000 of its automated self-service parcel delivery terminals across Europe over the next four years. In its native Poland, it aims to grow its own domestic network to 1,000 machines.

Now leveraging the world’s second largest mailroom equipment company, InPost will take its network beyond European borders.

And finally…

Yodel, one of the UK’s largest parcel delivery companies, is set to transform its business model to cope with the major changes in the market. James Cartledge spoke with CEO Jonathan Smith about the changes »