Express delivery and logistics giant DHL opened its first Quality Control Centre (QCC) in Beijing yesterday. The QCC is the firm’s nerve centre, able to monitor all flight information and shipment movement data can be monitored as it happens, from the time a package is picked up from a customer’s home or office to the final delivery. The centre is DHL’s 11th such facility in the Asia-Pacific region.
Read MoreDeutsche Post has transformed itself from an anaemic state agency to a global success. Richard Milne talks to its head, Klaus Zumwinkel.
Read MoreThe head of TNT tells Ian Bickerton how the post and logistics group has adaptedfast to survive in a changing market.
Read MoreA bill designed to make the Postal Service more competitive – and which might help head off the rate increase planned for next year – was passed overwhelmingly by the House Tuesday night. The measure was approved by a vote of 410-20. It will bring the post office into the 21st century, helping it avoid a “death spiral” of rising rates and declining business, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said. The first major overhaul of postal operations in more than three decades keeps the requirement for the agency to provide service six days a week to every address, but gives the post office more flexibility in some operations and in rate setting. If passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush, the measure would relieve the agency from a requirement that it put USD3.1 billion in Civil Service retirement savings annually in escrow.
Read MoreExpress giant UPS has signed an agreement to acquire UK parcel carrier Lynx Express. This move should not only help strengthen the US company’s capabilities in one of the most dynamic and fragmented parcel markets in Europe, but could signal a move towards further consolidation within the UK market.
UPS disclosed that it would acquire Lynx Express for USD96.5 million and expects to complete the transaction in the second half of 2005. UPS CEO Mike Eskew implied in an interview that the Lynx Express brand may be folded into UPS. This would not be surprising as UPS’s business model is based on rolling out a standard proposition in every country it has a presence in, albeit with some regional differences, giving its operations a strong and globally recognized brand.
Read MoreItaly’s state-owned postal services company Poste Italiane launched a new service, which allows consumers to send recommended letters via personal computers and Internet, it was reported on July 26, 2005. According to Poste Italiane, the consumers have to download a software, which will allow them to send the recommended letter at the same price as in the post office. The sending of the letter via Internet will cost 3.50 euro (USD4.21). The software is available for downloading at Poste Italiane’s Internet site, www.poste.it.
Read MoreDutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm has asked parliament if it has any objection to the government eventually selling its remaining 10 pct stake in TNT NV. In a letter on the sale of TNT shares earlier this month, sent to parliament late yesterday, Zalm cited an agreement from 2001 to inform parliament before taking the government’s stake in TNT below 10 pct. The government cut its stake from 19 pct on July 12. While the letter suggests the government may be readying for a further share sale, the remaining holding is subject to a lock-up period until July 2006.
Read MoreAustralia Post is part of an alliance intended to improve competition against international air express companies. The other alliance members are China Post, Hong Kong Post, Korea Post, Japan Post and the US Postal Service. The alliance will provide a low-cost express courier service. It will target small to medium-sized businesses. The new enterprise will offer over 261 million delivery points, with 142,000 retail locations. Its rates for parcels up to 30 kilograms will be between 40 per cent and 50 per cent lower than those of competitors.
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