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TNT Post moves closer to 'final mile' delivery service

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

TNT Post’s development of a final mile delivery service is one step nearer after Postcomm’s decision last month to open a consultation into mail-redirection services for the competitive postal market.

The aim of Postcomm’s consultation is to pre-empt any problems if Royal Mail’s rivals introduce mail redirection. Issues will include data protection, and the logistics and financial implications of sharing data.

TNT confirmed developments had been made regarding the launch of a final mile service in Scotland and Manchester, with local offices opening there.

“We welcome Postcomm’s consultation and it is important for us, as new operators, that we can operate on a level playing field,” said David Higham, divisional MD for TNT Post’s access business. “Our customers expect us to be able to redirect their customer’s mail, particularly if we offer end-to-end services.”

While Royal Mail welcomed the consultation, a spokesman said its main priority was the protection of customer data.

According to Bill Wallis, marketing manager at Business Post, parent company of UK Mail, the consultation will have little affect on businesses not planning to offer an end-to-end service. “We have no plans at this stage, and none foreseeable in future, to become an end-to-end operator. For the time being, Royal Mail’s redirection service works for us.”

Postcomm estimates that 1.3 million homes and firms use Royal Mail redirection.

The consultation closes on 31 October.

Last month, Postcomm announced a strategy review on whether Royal Mail meets the needs of customers, which is due to close on 6 November.

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Postal union members accept Royal Mail deal

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

The Communication Workers Union has accepted a pay deal with Royal Mail, in which postal workers pay will rise by 3.9% this year and provide the opportunity for further deals in the future.

The deal means that the threat of industrial action is withdrawn, and the direct marketing industry escapes costly disruptions.

As part of the deal, the current cap on door-drops will be lifted, therefore protecting jobs and improving pay.

Ray Ellis, acting deputy-general secretary of CWU, said: “We have secured a platform that ensures the union is fully involved in shaping the future of our members. This includes moving forward on our pay ambition of catching, matching and overtaking average basic pay.

It also means that we are well positioned to deal with the change in the business in a way that ensures our ideas will be key to shaping our members’ future the way they want it to work.”

The agreement provides a 2.9% increase, guarantees a further 1% from efficiency savings and no compulsory redundancies. It also confirms the opportunity for further pay rises through efficiency savings.

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Door delivery of postal mail likely in Dubai soon

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

Door to door delivery of postal mail in the emirate may not be a distant dream for Dubai residents. A proposal to introduce the system was discussed at a high-level meeting organised by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) at the Dubai Municipality headquarters yesterday.

Those attending the meeting discussed the feasibility of a new postal address system with other relevant public sector departments including Etisalat, Empost, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Police and Civil Defence. RTA proposed a new public address system which will enable residents to receive mail and utility bills etc. at their doorstep. Under the proposed new system, all name plates on buildings across the emirate will have to specify the specific building number, community number and street number.

According to Badar Al Siri, RTA’s Traffic Department Director and Chairman of Road Naming and Numbering Project Committee, the new public address system would be introduced soon.

“We have covered about 70 per cent of the emirate already by giving numbers and names for streets and buildings. We are currently working to cover the rest of the areas. The new system will be good for residents as well as companies. This will help the companies to trace the correct spot of the residents thus both parties to save time,” he said.

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Hanging on to holiday money – why UK tourists stash GBP 900 million in foreign cash

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

UK tourists will be returning with more than just a suntan this year, according to the Post Office®, which estimates that GBP920 million in leftover holiday cash will be brought home.

Many people are not doing anything with their leftover foreign cash, with 33 million (87.4 per cent) admitting to leaving it in the sock drawer or biscuit tin.

And we are bringing back more holiday pocket money than ever – an average of GBP27.78 per person, which is almost two thirds (63 per cent) more than in 2004 (GBP17.35).

Kevin McAdam, Head of Travel Services at the Post Office®, said: “It’s easy to stash your leftover foreign notes and coins in a drawer when you get home from your travels and forget about it. But with one in five of us claiming to bring back GBP50 or more, it’s shocking to discover that so much money is being wasted.”

The Post Office® found that people fail to change back their foreign cash because they simply forget about it (seven per cent). And a quarter (25.6 per cent) don’t think they have enough to make changing it back to pounds worthwhile, despite nearly one in five (18.9 per cent) bringing home the equivalent of GBP50 or more.

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China separates government functions from postal business

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

China’s State Post Bureau (SPB) is separating government functions from its business practices, and its mail delivery services will become more market-oriented.

In a recent circular, the bureau announces the formation of provincial agencies in Zhejiang, Shandong, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Tianjin in the name of Post Management Bureau. And other bureaus of the kind will be set up successively.

With staff members mainly coming from traditional state-owned post bureaus, these re-organized management bureaus are under the direct administration of the SPB instead of the jurisdiction of local governments.

They are responsible for implementing China’s laws and regulations on the management of postal industry, working out related polices and standards, and supervising the development of postal market.

They also take charge of special postal services such as confidential correspondence, correspondence for compulsory military servicemen, distribution of the newspapers and periodicals owned by China’s Communist Party, and the delivery of reading matters for the blind.

In the meantime, profit-making postal services will be put into a national postal corporation which competes with other companies in the postal industry, including the delivery businesses from abroad.

Since China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, a number of overseas postal delivery giants including UPS, FedEx and DHL have tried to expand their presence in China.

Under traditional mechanism, state-owned post bureaus stand as both a judge and a player, and foreign competitors as well as private companies are disadvantaged.

A senior SPB official told Xinhua that the reform is carried out in line with the demand of China’s economic reform.

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New Marketing Director for the Post Office®

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

Gary Hockey-Morley, Marketing Director for Abbey’s Insurance and Asset Management division, has been appointed Marketing Director of the Post Office, it was announced today.

Reporting to Alan Cook, the Post Office’s Managing Director, Mr Hockey-Morley will take up the appointment at the end of October.

“I’m delighted Gary is joining the Post Office,” said Mr Cook. “He has a proven track record in marketing and brand development – key skills crucial for the Post Office as it competes in a market where its customers have a growing choice.

“Gary will manage all of the Post Office’s marketing activities. He will, in effect, be the customer’s representative in the decisions the Post Office takes about its offering in the market.”

Mr Cook added: “Simon Carter, who has been holding the top marketing post in the Post Office on an acting basis, has decided to leave the Post Office. I am grateful for his contribution and wish him all the best for the future.”

Mr Hockey-Morley said: “I’m very much looking forward to working for the Post Office to ensure it competes effectively while continuing to play a key role in serving communities across the UK.”

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trans-o-flex opens company in Netherlands

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

With immediate effect, the trans-o-flex group is running its Dutch business via its newest subsidiary, trans-o-flex Nederland B.V. The German combifreight operator, specialised in transporting sensitive goods, founded the new company this June together with Marc van Stokrom, Pieter Mäkel and Hank Meeuwsen, three Dutch logistics managers. All three have years of management experience at Dutch logistics companies. Marc van Stokrom is a shareholder and Managing Director of trans-o-flex Nederland. Mäkel and Meeuwsen, who each have the same stake in the company as van Stokrom, are responsible for Sales / Finance and Operations / IT respectively. “We strongly believe in the success potential of the trans-o-flex network in the Netherlands and this engagement gives us a more direct involvement in this process. That’s why we have chosen this joint operation as a new partner in EURODIS, our European network,” says Marc Hackländer, Managing Director of EURODIS GmbH. “Our management trio, with their extensive experience, are there to guarantee in Holland the same high standards of quality as our customers in Germany are used to getting from trans-o-flex.”
The new firm is headquartered in Utrecht and will work out of six sites in Holland.

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DHL wins contract worth GBP 1.6 billion revenue over 10 years with the UK Government's Department of Health

Posted by | Sep 5, 2006 | |

DHL Logistics has won a 10-year deal totaling GBP 1.6 billion /Euro 2.3 billion in revenue to manage GBP 22 billion/Euro 32 billion total spend with the UK Government’s Department of Health. DHL will target over GBP 1 billion/Euro 1.4 billion savings over the contract period back to the English National Health Service (NHS). Klaus Zumwinkel, CEO and Chairman of Deutsche Post World Net, said the contract marked the significant success of the Group’s strategy: “After the take-over of Exel and given DHL’s extensive expertise in the health sector, we were able to make our customer a truly convincing offer. We now reap the benefits of both our internationalization strategy and our broad product range.”

Under the agreement, DHL will run a division called NHS Supply Chain, on behalf of NHS Business Services Authority, and be responsible for delivering all procurement and logistics services across an initial 500,000 products to support 600 hospitals and other health providers in England. The business will ensure that public health (NHS) authorities can dedicate more resources to patient care and continue to manage their cost base. It will help protect existing jobs and lead to the creation of over 1,000 additional positions.

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