Author: Archive

Survey indicates DHL is closing the gap on U.S. competitors

Posted by | Sep 15, 2006 | |

Express and logistics services provider DHL is taking measured steps to gauge its performance in the United States in comparison to its two biggest competitors-UPS and FedEx.
In a media conference call held on September 14, John Mullen, CEO of DHL Americas, shared the results of an independent study commissioned by DHL. The study focused on how DHL matched up to UPS and FedEx on transit times throughout various regions of the United States.
The study, which was conducted in July, measured the three companies on 10:30 a.m. overnight express delivery, which Mullen described as the most critical to business and most difficult to perform to and is recognized as the flagship product for all three carriers. It focused on 14,400 shipments that were sent between 44 major U.S. cities across 480 traffic lanes during the month of July.
The purpose of the survey, which was overseen by PA consulting, was to provide data that would independently validate DHL’s internal and external performance levels. All data used in the study was collected and delivered to PA’s data center on a daily basis. , and PA checked delivery times and late deliveries against the carriers Web sites.
And the survey’s final delivery reliability tally indicated that DHL’s U.S. performance of 90.66 was nearly identical to UPS’ 90.83, with FedEx registering a rating of 88.02.

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PalletFORCE celebrates fifth anniversary

Posted by | Sep 15, 2006 | |

PalletFORCE is celebrating five years of operation, during which time the Network has made a significant impact on the UK palletised distribution market.

The Network began on 31st August 2001, when 560 pallets were handled from 36 Member Depots. This was the result of a considerable period of hard work behind the scenes by Chief Executive Mick Scarlett, as he wooed Member Depots with the promise of a Network that is run very differently to its competitors.

Since then, PalletFORCE has acquired a reputation as one of the fastest growing palletised distribution networks in the UK. By November 2003, the Network was moving 3,500 pallets per night and currently handles around 6,000 per night, with the capability to handle 12,000. In the last five years, PalletFORCE has more than doubled its number of Member Depots and nearly quadrupled its warehousing space.

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Watchdog ups stakes over post office closures

Posted by | Sep 15, 2006 | |

The postal regulator has stepped up pressure on the government over rural post office closures by rebuking it for delay and short-termism.

Nigel Stapleton, chairman of Postcomm, which has an advisory role to the government on the post office network, said yesterday on a visit to Scotland it would be publishing a major report next month. “It will be hard-hitting,” he said.

MPs and MSPs were already putting pressure on the government to ensure it was “an issue they can’t dodge”, he said, adding: “The problem is that by having left it as long as it has been left to produce a solution, the solution will be more difficult and probably more costly than if there had been a little more thinking at an earlier stage.” He said a government consultation had been promised before the summer, then put off until the autumn. “It is a continually slipping clock,” he said.

Royal Mail has said a strictly commercial network would mean axing over 10,000 post offices out of the current 14,500 when the GBP150m annual subsidy runs out in 18 months’ time.

Mr Stapleton said: “Hopefully that is a scare number to get the government to face things.”

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Regulator backs business on postal rates

Posted by | Sep 15, 2006 | |

Britain’s postal services regulator, Nigel Stapleton, yesterday pledged to support the interests of small businesses and communities throughout rural Scotland by upholding the principle of an all-UK standard or “universal” postal prices, for non-domestic users.

Talking to The Scotsman yesterday during a three-day “stakeholder consultation” north of the Border, Stapleton also expressed strong support for the plight of Scotland’s rural post offices, which face the prospect of the withdrawal of the GBP150 million annual subsidy the government gives to Royal Mail to support this socially vital network.

“It’s a big issue for rural Scotland, but also for many deprived areas of the cities,” Stapleton said. “The fact that functions like pension, social security and driving licenses have been taken away from them has resulted in a 40 per cent drop in the revenue of businesses that already have annual incomes as low as GBP10,000 a year.

“Taking that revenue stream away from them is a classic case of non-joined up thinking by the government, as it will require far more in terms of future subsidy to alleviate the damage to rural economies.”

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GeoPost buys another Seur franchisee

Posted by | Sep 14, 2006 | |

GeoPost, the La Poste Group express subsidiary, has continued its expansion in Spain with the acquisition of another franchisee of leading express firm Seur.

GeoPost-Seur, the French-Spanish joint venture, bought the franchisee in the Granollers region, near Barcelona, for an undisclosed sum, Spanish media reported citing a company press release. The Granollers company, Osvalma S.A., with about 60 employees, has annual turnover of about euro 20 million.

This is the sixth acquisition of a Seur franchisee and leaves GeoPost-Seur, in which GeoPost holds 60%, with an unchanged stake of 18.68% in the overall Seur Group. Most of the other Seur franchisees comprise the remaining group’s shareholders but Osvalma did not own any Seur shares.

Seur, with turnover of euro 574 million in 2005, is one of the leading express companies in Spain, which is one of the five largest CEP markets in Europe and is growing at a strong single-digit rate, according to CEP-Research information.

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USPS rate proposal shifts more costs from major mailers to individual customers

Posted by | Sep 14, 2006 | |

Analyzing the Postal Service’s own data, APWU testimony before the Postal Rate Commission has demonstrated that proposed increases in the price of postage would expand a controversial USPS policy – shifting costs from large corporate mailers to small businesses and individual citizens.

Testimony submitted on Sept. 6 shows that new rates requested by the Postal Service would increase excessive discounts to major mailers who presort their mail, and, as a result, force small businesses and individual customers who do not presort their mail to pay more.

The report, prepared by economist Kathryn Kobe, the director of Price, Wage and Productivity Analysis for Economic Consulting Services, found that the suggested presort discounts are considerably larger than the costs the Postal Service would avoid as a result of worksharing. The testimony was submitted in response to the postage rate proposal filed by the USPS on May 3.

If discounts were properly set, Kobe asserts, postage for patrons who do not presort their mail could be increased to only 41 cents per first-class letter instead of 42 cents, as the USPS has proposed.

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Postcomm CEO to debate future postal landscape

Posted by | Sep 14, 2006 | |

Postcomm CEO, Sarah Chambers, will join a panel at PPA’s CEO conference (3 November) to consider the future postal landscape.

The conference as a whole will focus on the supply chain and how publishers are making the most of opportunities in the digital publishing environment.

Chambers will be joined by Sally Cartwright, director-at-large at Hello!, and Keith Jones, chief executive of Reed Business Information, who will moderate sessions on supply chain issues due to their respective chairmanships of the PPA Newstrade Committee and the PPA Postal Contract Group.

Bill Murray, managing director, group business information strategy, at Haymarket, current chairman of the UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP), will also moderate a session to discuss online and interactive issues. The session will also include a research presentation from AOP director and head of PPA Interactive, Alex White.

The event will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel, Park Lane, London and will be followed by PPA’s AGM and Marcus Morris Award lunch.

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