Author: Archive

De Post/La Poste invests in new sorting network

Posted by | Oct 5, 2006 | |

De Post/La Poste has restructured and modernised its network of sorting centres in an investment programme totalling close to EUR 250 million (USD 317 m).

The first two of four new centres have opened in Ghent and Charleroi, to be followed in the next few months by centres in Antwerp and Liège. The existing Brussels X centre is due to be completely modernised.

New sorting equipment installed at the sorting centres will provide better address recognition and improved quality of service, says De Post/La Poste. Direct mail, accounting for 700 million items a year, will be delivered the second day after posting (J+2) instead of the current four days.

De Post/La Poste said the new sorting infrastructure would progressively handle all mail to improve cost-effectiveness and competitiveness.

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DHL to start negotiations to buy Colombian Servientrega

Posted by | Oct 5, 2006 | |

The global express and logistics company DHL is expected to start negotiations to acquire Colombian package delivery company Servientrega, the newspaper Portafolio said on October 4, 2006.
Representatives of DHL have already arrived in the Latin American country in order to start the talks.
Servientrega has been operating on the Colombian market for the last 24 years. DHL is a unit of German postal services group Deutsche Post AG.
The interest of DHL in Servientrega comes only days after the Colombian company announced investments of USD5.2 mln (4.09 mln euro) in order to start operations in Panama, Peru and Spain.
DHL is the leader on the Colombian package delivery market with a share of 60 pct.
Currently Servientrega (www.servientrega.com) has operations in Ecuador, Venezuela and the United States. The expected signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Colombia and Venezuela is seen to strongly boost the operations of the Colombian company.

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Business Post says parcel revenues down 3.4 pct, sees 3 mln stg charges

Posted by | Oct 5, 2006 | |

Parcel and mail delivery firm Business Post Group PLC revealed a 3.4 pct fall in revenues from parcel services and said higher-than-expected debt and one-off charges from struggling franchises in the division would cost it 3 mln stg.

Business Post said revenues in parcel services had dropped to 94 mln stg in the first half, although part of the decline was due to a change in the number of trading days in the period against last time, a spokesman said.

The group, which underwent a management shake-up earlier this year, said it would have to set aside an extra 1.5 mln stg in the first half after it recovered less debt than expected from its franchise operations during the period.

‘Separately, we have identified a number of specific one-off charges amounting to some 1.5 mln stg, relating to prior years. This amount will be adjusted for in the interim results,’ the group added in a trading statement.

Business Post had already told analysts that losses in the franchise operation would reduce operating profits by about 3 mln stg this year.

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Royal Mail launches the business movers file: a powerful new source of business leads.

Posted by | Oct 5, 2006 | |

Royal Mail today launched the Business Movers File – a new source of information on businesses that have relocated within the UK.

The file, updated monthly, is designed to provide high quality sales leads for business-to-business marketers.

Companies that have relocated tend to be active buyers of a wide range of products and services – from office equipment to stationery, recruitment, advertising and financial services. According to research from the Directory Association, companies spend more in the first few months of moving than over the next five years and are seen as valuable sales prospects.

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Pre-close trading update

Posted by | Oct 5, 2006 | |

Business Post Group plc, the leading parcel and mail delivery group, provides the following pre-close update for the six months to 30 September 2006.
Trading in the first half of the current financial year has been satisfactory with Group revenue up 15% to GBP153m. Progress continues to be made with the performance improvement initiatives previously announced.

Revenues in Parcel Services, (comprising the Group’s overnight business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and cross-border parcel delivery activities) were down 3.4% to GBP94m. We continue to make progress with our initiatives to strengthen this business, with a focus on further improving our customer service and improving our operational efficiency. Parcels volumes are now showing growth and our customer service levels we believe remain amongst the highest in our industry.

We have made further progress in improving the performance of the franchise network. Eight franchises have been brought back into corporate ownership in the period, bringing the total transferred since the beginning of the calendar year to 14. Overall these operations make a significant trading loss. Our plan is to reduce the run-rate of these losses such that they are eliminated by the start of the new financial year. However, as previously advised, these losses will impact our operating profit by some GBP3m for the current financial year, weighted toward the first half. In addition we have incurred some GBP1m of costs on the transfer of franchisees to corporate ownership. These costs will be included within the operating profit.

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MKF expands on PalletFORCE success

Posted by | Oct 5, 2006 | |

PalletFORCE Member Depot MKF has taken on responsibility for the W postcode in addition to its existing responsibility for the LU postcode, in a move that enhances the success the company has enjoyed since joining the PalletFORCE Network.

Based in Dunstable, MKF has been with PalletFORCE since 2004 and has enjoyed significant growth as a result of its membership. “We’ve gone from strength to strength with PalletFORCE’s help,” confirms Kevin Fleming, Director of MKF. “Turnover has increased, and PalletFORCE now accounts for 90% of our business.

“Having the backing of a strong Network has been an immense help in clinching deals with bigger customers,” he adds. “PalletFORCE has also been very supportive, especially through the hard work of Graham Hamilton, the PalletFORCE Regional Sales Support Manager, and we are delighted that the Network nominated us at this year’s PalletFORCE Gala Awards for our sales performance.”

The ambitious company was keen to expand its responsibility and when a vacancy became available in the W postcode MKF was delighted to take on the additional business. “PalletFORCE parted company with the previous Depot as we did not consider them to be sufficiently future-proof for the long term interests of the Network. MKF’s expertise and proven success makes it the ideal replacement for this important region,” comments Bob Delaney, Network Development Manager.

MKF has a comprehensive fleet and operates from two sites, with a combined warehousing size of 17,500 sq ft.

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E-Mail Volume Set to Level With Direct Mail in Britain: DMA

Posted by | Oct 5, 2006 | |

E-mail acquisition click-through rates have risen from 6 to 8 percent in the first quarter of 2006, according to the Direct Marketing Association UK Ltd.’s E-Mail Marketing Council’s National E-Mail Benchmarking Survey.

The survey, which was released Oct. 5 by the London-based DM lobby, also reinforces predictions that e-mail is set to level with direct mail in terms of volume.

Overall, the first quarter of 2006 has shown a 30 percent year-over-year increase in average mailing volumes, and volumes in the first quarter of 2006 have risen by 13 percent over the last quarter of 2005.

Despite increasing volumes, however, response rates such as click-though rates are remaining static and retention figures still stand at approximately 10 percent.

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