Author: Archive

DHL Kenya goes the Smartcard way

Posted by | Oct 18, 2005 | |

Slow industrial growth in Kenya and rapid changes in technology has forced DHL to shift its focus from cargo handling to retail operations. The change has come at a price, though, as DHL has had to introduce new technology to survive in this new business while easing service delivery and winning client loyalty. The SmartCard service will be officially unveiled early next month, according to the company’s management. The SmartCard system was installed in all the company’s offices in the country at a cost of more than Sh3.7 million (USD50,000). Kenya is the second country after India to install the technology, which will be rolled out to all DHL branches worldwide. The SmartCard, the size of a bank ATM (automated teller machine) card, stores the user’s data and transaction history, meaning that the moment it is inserted in the system all the information will be displayed on the computer monitor, making it easy and fast for the teller to serve the client.

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Obsolete equipment threat to UK mail competitiveness

Posted by | Oct 18, 2005 | |

The Royal Mail is using obsolete equipment to sort letters and needs to spend GBP2 billion to remain commercially viable when the postal market is opened to competition in the New Year, its chief executive warned today. Adam Crozier told MPs that rival firms, including TNT and German-owned Deutsche Post, had modernised their businesses 15-20 years ago. There had been “chronic” under-investment in Royal Mail’s network, so that it only sorted 50% of its letters mechanically, compared with 90% for competitors, the Trade and Industry Select Committee was told. The Royal Mail said in a report to the MPs: “Much of the network depends on obsolete equipment and the business has significant distance to close to achieve best practices and processes. “Royal Mail requires significant investment and substantial operational change if it is to remain not only competitive but also commercially viable in a fully liberalised marketplace.”

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TNT receives binding offer and Management Buy-Out offers for majority of activities of its French logistics business unit

Posted by | Oct 18, 2005 | |

TNT NV announced today that it has received a binding offer from French logistics and transport company Norbert Dentressangle to purchase from its French logistics subsidiaries TNT Logistics Holdings SAS and TNT Logistics France SARL the majority of the contract logistics activities and part of the transportation activities. Additionally, Management Buy-Out offers have been received for most of the remainder of the transportation business of the French Logistics business unit. TNT Logistics France SARL has invited the Works Councils of the involved French companies to meet in the next weeks to inform and to consult them about these offers. TNT NV announced on 29 July 2005 that it estimated the total loss relating to the sale and refocus of the French Logistics business unit to be up to EURO 140 million pre-tax, to be booked largely in 2005, and reiterates this guidance on the basis of these offers. At this moment no further details about the offers can be disclosed.

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Australia Post gets the electronic message

Posted by | Oct 18, 2005 | |

In a bid to counteract a drop in postal services, Australia Post is entering the digital marketplace. In 2004-05, profit from letters fell $A56.9 million, but the company is making solid gains elsewhere. It established electronic and SMS notification services for postal box holders, is researching how to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the domestic marketplace and has recorded strong growth in its Electronic Data Interchange Post service, which prints, envelopes and delivers letters for bulk mail customers.

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Bulgarian home delivery firm BG Menu plans countrywide expansion

Posted by | Oct 18, 2005 | |

BG Menu, a Bulgarian home delivery company, plans to expand outside the capital Sofia next year to bank on the growing awareness of its services in the country, a senior company executive said on Tuesday. “This business is doubling in every three months,” BG Menu’s CEO Vladimir Davchev told a news conference where he presented the company’s new Web-based ordering system, developed together with Bulgarian web portal operator Netinfo.

Davchev said that BG Menu has attracted 7,000 regular clients since its launch in April but potential clients were many more.

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Pitney Bowes joins forces with UK Kall Kwik to deliver creative mailing solutions

Posted by | Oct 18, 2005 | |

Pitney Bowes has been chosen by Kall Kwik as its mailing and strategic fulfillment partner to support and strengthen its new Design to Delivery(D2D) communication solution. Pitney Bowes will be offering the 160 locations across the UK a range of mailing solutions to handle the individual needs of each Kall Kwik. The full AddressRightrange of printers and software, and a variety of folder-inserters, will help Kall Kwik grow their direct mail business and produce personalised campaigns more efficiently. Fabienne Luisetti, Head of Product Marketing at Pitney Bowes, comments, “Recent research shows that 25% of SMEs in the UK are already conducting best-practice direct marketing and this is predicted to rise to 39% by 2007. Our partnership with Kall Kwik is testimony to the emerging need by organisations to enhance the value of their mail and increase the impact of each mail piece – whether it is a large corporate or a small business based locally.”

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Swiss Post to buy its Singapore franchisee

Posted by | Oct 17, 2005 | |

Swiss Post is buying its Singapore-based franchisee as part of a plan to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. “Singapore is a key market for us, and we are committed to further expanding our reach in this region by using Singapore as a gateway,” Swiss Post’s chief executive, Ulrich Gygi, said in an interview Friday. Gygi declined to say how much Swiss Post is paying its former Singapore franchisee. Swiss Post expects to complete by year-end the takeover of Singapore-based SPI Mail International Pte. Ltd., providing the Swiss firm with a direct presence in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The company will then focus on expanding into new markets including China and Thailand, Gygi said.

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