Author: Archive

Eskew named to Commerce Panel on measuring Innovation

Posted by | Dec 6, 2006 | |

Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez has named Mike Eskew, the chairman and CEO of UPS, to serve on a new panel to better understand how U.S. innovation contributes to American economic prosperity and high living standards. Eskew is part of an advisory committee that includes 15 business and academic leaders – including six Fortune 500 executives.

The Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy Advisory Committee will help develop better ways to measure innovation so that the public and policy makers can understand better its impact on economic growth and productivity. The committee will study metrics on effectiveness of innovation in various businesses and sectors, and work to identify which data can be used to develop a broader measure of innovation’s impact on the economy.

“American innovation is important to the vitality of our economy, and it is important to understand the impact innovation has on productivity and economic growth,” said Secretary Gutierrez. “Getting a better understanding of how innovation contributes to our economy will help us craft better policies to continue to grow and prosper.”

The panel selection follows an extensive three-month public outreach to business and academic associations, institutions and think tanks to find qualified CEOs and academic experts representing the diversity of the American economy. The Secretary received an overwhelming response representing every major sector of the U.S. economy.

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TNT creates Worldwide Coverage for Economy Express

Posted by | Dec 5, 2006 | |

TNT Express today announced it has extended its Economy Express product offering to cover all countries worldwide from Europe.

This expansion complements TNT Express’ focus on globalising its express product offering and further strengthening network capabilities with the extension of Economy Express (from Europe) to an additional 150 destination countries worldwide.

Economy Express through the combined usage of TNT’s Express Road Network and air network capabilities offers customers an economical alternative for their less urgent shipments.

Customers will experience ease of use and reliability when shipping with Economy Express to the new destinations. Transit times for this day definite service are typically 1-3 days longer TNT Global Express. Shipments may contain items up to 30kg with a total maximum consignment weight of 500 kilos.

Marie-Christine Lombard, Group Managing Director of TNT’s Express division said: “I am proud that TNT Express is the first Express company in the world that is able to offer Economy Express to worldwide destinations. By using a combination of the Express Road Network and the air network we can now offer greater service flexibility and extended market coverage to customers for the new destinations. We are excited that our customers now have the choice between Economy Express and Global Express when assessing their shipping requirements.”

The expansion of Economy Express coverage will continue in 2007 with the extension of the product offering from/to other regions as well as offering Economy Express inbound to Europe, where this is currently not offered.

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Deutsche Post sees DHL breaking even in U.S. in 2-3 years

Posted by | Dec 5, 2006 | |

Deutsche Post expects its DHL Express business in the United States to break even in two to three years as it takes on larger U.S. rivals UPS and FedEx.

The company wants to achieve a return on sales of 3 to 5 percent at the U.S. business in the mid to long term, DHL Express head John Mullen said at a capital markets day in New York on Tuesday.

“The United States is a long, hard road,” Mullen said. “I think we are making good progress. At the moment, our focus is clearly to break even.”

The company had previously said it did not expect DHL Express to break even in the U.S. before 2009.

Shares in Deutsche Post rose 3.6 percent to 23.35 euros following Mullen’s comments, making them the second-best performers on the German DAX index.

Deutsche Post is struggling with losses at DHL Express in the United States as it tries to boost its presence in a market dominated by FedEx and UPS. Deutsche Post has expanded into new markets, in particular through its DHL logistics and express delivery divisions, as it prepares to lose its domestic mail monopoly.

Mullen said the 3 to 5 percent return-on-sales target for DHL Express in the United States was “hardly on the radar screen,” but added: “It’s there as an aspirational goal.”

The company is aiming to achieve an eventual return on sales of 10 percent across DHL Express worldwide.

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FedEx raises ground, home delivery rates by 4.9 percent

Posted by | Dec 5, 2006 | |

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) will increase standard list rates for FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery shipments by an average 4.9 percent on January 1.

Rival United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) will raise list rates by 4.9 percent for ground shipments and 4.9 percent for air express shipments, when factoring in a 2 percentage point reduction in fuel surcharges.

FedEx announced last month that rates for its FedEx Express shipments in the United States and for export will increase by 3.5 percent at the first of the year, when a decrease in fuel surcharges of 2 percentage points is factored in.

The company also will begin adding other transportation-related surcharges, such as those for rural or home delivery, to total costs before figuring fuel surcharges on FedEx Ground shipments.

In February, FedEx Ground will begin using a “dimensional weight system” for figuring rates on large but relatively lightweight packages, rather than relying on weight alone.

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DHL among the best regional contact centres

Posted by | Dec 5, 2006 | |

DHL won the Bronze Award for “Best Contact Centre of the Year (Under 50 Seats)” at the Regional Contact Centre Awards 2006 held in Singapore recently. The annual awards ceremony was organised by the Contact Centre Association of Singapore (CCAS) and represented joint associations of contact centres in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. DHL was also presented the “Best Contact Centre Below 50 Seats” award in 2006 and in 2004 by the Contact Centre Association of Malaysia (CCAM) as well as the Asia Pacific Merit Achievement and CS Excellent Award, the company said in a statement here today. Country manager, DHL Express Malaysia, Sam Leong said DHL was very delighted that the company had once again been acknowledged as one of the most outstanding contact centres in the region. “This accolade reaffirms our commitment to provide excellent customer service and underlining DHL Malaysia’s contribution to its overall operations in Asia Pacific,” he added. The DHL Contact Centre is part of the DHL Express Customer Service team that operates 24 hours a day to support DHL Express Malaysia customers.

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The 'Big Orange's' Green Revolution

Posted by | Dec 5, 2006 | |

TNT has today taken a major step forward in its efforts to make the planet greener and cleaner.

TNT Express and TNT Logistics, in partnership with Smith Electric Vehicles, has unveiled the world’s first high performance 7.5-tonne zero emission electric vehicle, due to go into service in London.

Two TNT vehicles, both ‘Newton’ models, will be the first ever in their class that can compete with their diesel equivalents – but without the polluting effects of ‘controlled’ (i.e. nitrogen oxide and particulate matter) and CO2 emissions.

TNT’s vehicle will operate from the company’s Barking depot, while the TNT Logistics model will be based at its Starbucks operation in Basildon, Essex.

If the green trial proves successful, TNT will consider adding 200 other zero emission vehicles to its fleet to serve in other urban locations in the UK. This would result in significantly reduced controlled and CO2 emissions and consolidate TNT’s position at the top of the ‘green league’ in the transportation sector.

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Ochoa invests EUR 50 million in new Spain facilities

Posted by | Dec 5, 2006 | |

Ochoa invests in new facilities Spanish parcel and freight operator, Transportes Ochoa, is taking its investment in new facilities to more than EUR 50 million over the past three years by opening new hubs in northern Spain.

The Zaragoza-based company, which distributes in Spain, Portugal and France and has revenues of over EUR 80 million a year, is one of Iberia’s largest parcel distribution companies and is in the throes of expansion, opening 18 new installations since 2004.

Now Ochoa has announced it will invest EUR 20 million in a new 24,000 sqm hub in Cendea de Galar, near Pamplona, another of 11,000 sqm at Erandio, increasing capacity in the Bilbao region, and a 7,000 sqm terminal in Vitoria.

The company opened a EUR 2.2 million, 6,800 sqm facility at Vigo this week, taking the number of centers it has on the Iberian Peninsula to 61.

During the course of this year, it has also inaugurated new installations in Zaragoza, Castellón and Tarragona in Spain, and Arrifana and Evora in Portugal, and started work on others in the Spanish towns of Albacete, Almería, Salamanca and Sagunto.

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DHL and IBM develop IT logistics platform for Karstadt

Posted by | Dec 5, 2006 | |

DHL Exel Supply Chain, the logistics specialist at Deutsche Post World Net, and the IBM business consulting firm Global Business Services have jointly developed a new IT-based warehouse-management solution for Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH. The value of the euro-denominated contract is in the double-digit range. Starting in mid-2008, 11 DHL locations will be equipped with the new solution, known as system platform logistics. Once the system goes into operation, Karstadt will profit from significantly improved logistics processes and falling costs.

In 2005, DHL took over responsibility for major portions of KarstadtQuelle’s logistics, including the distribution logistics for Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH. With the introduction of the new system platform Logistics, such core logistics processes as receiving goods, warehousing, picking, distributing and shipping goods will be modernized from the ground up. One single platform will administer and manage these processes. It will replace around 20 outdated systems, and provide enormous flexibility thanks to its modular design and guaranteed future. It will be initially used in all DHL locations where logistics services for Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH are provided.

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