Author: Archive

Delivering needed cash; UPS, FedEx and DHL ship packages all over the world.

Posted by | Nov 1, 2006 | |

As logistics giants FedEx, UPS and DHL battle for small business clients, they are rolling out services that have little to do with hauling packages from Point A to Point Z.

FedEx, for instance, has quietly become the nation’s second-largest producer of signs and banners, and it’s about to unveil a service aimed at helping entrepreneurs get into the direct-mail marketing industry. DHL has launched a small-business magazine and is funding micro-enterprise efforts such as Mays’. And UPS has become one of the top providers of Small Business Administration-backed loans in the country.

There’s no secret why the trio, which built their reputations in corporate mailrooms, are increasingly wooing mom-and-pop shops. Of the 23 million businesses in the country, 98 percent are small enterprises, according to the SBA. And 97 percent of all exporters are small ventures.

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DHL expands Time Definite Delivery service

Posted by | Nov 1, 2006 | |

DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company, has further enhanced its Time Definite Delivery (TDD) service to include parcels. The expansion will take effect from 1 November 2006.

A suite of time-definite delivery products, DHL’s TDD portfolio comprises StartDay Express for guaranteed delivery by 9 a.m., and MidDay Express for delivery by noon. Until now, customers have been able to send documents only with StartDay Express. With the latest service enhancement, it will be possible to deliver parcels as well by 9 am the next business day to five countries: Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, and by 9 a.m. the second business day to Australia. In addition, customers will now also be able to send parcels to the Middle East using MidDay Express. with delivery by noon on the second business day in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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UPS awards three small businesses big prizes for their innovation

Posted by | Nov 1, 2006 | |

Helping students make it through college in four years. Teaching children the basics of money management. Providing products and compassion to Alzheimer’s patients and their caretakers. These “out-of-the-box” ideas from their innovative creators are helping to drive the small business economy.

And the companies behind these ideas are the winners of the 2nd annual UPS Best “Out-of-the-Box” Small Business Contest. UPS (NYSE:UPS), the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, today announced the winners of the contest launched in May to recognize innovation in small business. The UPS Best “Out-of-the-Box” Small Business Contest was designed for U.S. small businesses with annual revenues in 2005 of at least USD250,000 but not exceeding USD10 million. More than 800 businesses submitted 500-word essays explaining how they were innovative. The winners were chosen based on originality, business implementation and results.

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Pitfalls abound for the new Poste Italiane

Posted by | Nov 1, 2006 | |

Until recently the Italian postal service, Poste Italiane, epitomized all that was awry with the country’s public services: bloated payrolls, poor service by rude clerks and a culture that shunned innovation while prizing the status quo regardless of how inept it made the company at delivering mail.

Following a six-year modernization push ‹ including building a retail banking operation from scratch ‹ Poste Italiane has reversed five decades of losses. It is on track to report its fifth straight profitable year, recently paid its first dividend and may soon be partially privatized in an initial public offering.

Some of its moves, including into banking, have been replicated elsewhere in Europe, notably in Germany and France, illustrating how the most clunky of government-owned companies can be turned into competitive businesses.

But potential pitfalls abound, some of them unique to Italy, like a nascent consolidation in the Italian banking sector. Others are shared across the Continent, like too many small branches and the EU-mandated opening of postal services to full competition in 2009.

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UK Government Minister amongst top speakers at The Mail Show

Posted by | Nov 1, 2006 | |

A line-up of speakers covering the whole spectrum of the mail industry in the UK addressed delegates on Day One of The Mail Show 2006 in London yesterday (31 October). Focusing on the newly-liberalised mail sector in the UK, directors from Royal Mail, Postcomm, DHL Global Mail and UK Mail demonstrated, each from their own points of view, the pros and cons of the first ten months of open competition. The BBC’s Declan Curry conducted a debate with three leaders of customer representative bodies, particularly discussing the need for real innovation driven by Royal Mail and its competitors. Other topics debated on the first day of The Mail Show included demands for further deregulation, lessons to be learned from Europe and different theories on stimulating direct mail growth. In his wide-ranging speech, Jim Fitzpatrick MP, the Postal Services Minister, stressed the importance of balanced regulation with all stakeholders participating with Postcomm to maximise the opportunities which lay ahead.

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Fortis to duplicate Belgian success with An Post joint venture

Posted by | Nov 1, 2006 | |

Having gained ten years of experience working with the state-owned Belgian post office, Fortis has finalised an agreement with the Irish post office An Post to create a similar financial services joint venture in Ireland.

The agreement with An Post is part of Fortis’s strategy to expand internationally, particularly in recognised European growth markets such as Ireland, Russia and Germany.

The two organisations are creating a new retail bank, which will be a 50/50 partnership between them, and will have an initial capital of 112 million (euro). Fortis will pay 56 million (euro) in cash and An Post will contribute the balance.

Under the agreement, An Post will provide Fortis with access to its network of 1,400 post office branches, while the latter will contribute its international experience in bancassurance.

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A Seventh Agent in Cameroon: Western Union expands its network by signing with Cameroon Post (CamPost)

Posted by | Nov 1, 2006 | |

Western Union, a worldwide leader in money transfer services, announces the expansion of its network in Cameroon with the launch of its new Agent Representative: the Cameroon Post Office (CAMPOST). This helps Western Union improve its distribution in Cameroon. The Cameroon Post is one of six other Agent Representatives: Cofinest; Société Générale de Banque au Cameroun; Banque Internationale du Cameroun pour l’Epargne et le Crédit; Crédit Lyonnais Cameroun; Ecobank and Commercial Bank of Cameroon.

This new signing is an important milestone for Western Union Africa taking into consideration that Cameroon is a key market in Africa. The Post Office network, widely present in Cameroon, started in August 2006 offering the Western Union Money Transfer® service in 7 locations. Twenty-Five locations are expected to offer the service before the end of 2006 with a total potential of 150 Post Office locations.

Through the expansion of the Western Union network, more people will be able to conveniently access a fast and reliable money transfer service. The cooperation with CAMPOST will increase the number of locations and will enable Western Union to approach traditional mail service customers with their product. On the other hand, CamPost customers – especially in the countryside – will benefit from the extra convenience and ease of collecting money sent from family and friends abroad in the postal branches closest to them.

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