Author: Archive

US Postal Service plans to relaunch personalised stamp program

Posted by | Apr 26, 2005 | |

In a potentially huge victory for Santa Monica-based Stamps.com Inc, the US Postal Service plans to relaunch a personalised stamps program that had to be suspended last summer when images of a number of notorious figures made their way onto official US stamps. The program, run by online postage provider Stamps.com during its popular but brief run, will be put out to bid on Wednesday and can relaunch as early as next month, said Gerry McKiernan, a Postal Service spokesman. “My expectation is that (Stamps.com) is standing at the door right now because all they have to do is turn on the switch,” said McKiernan, who called Stamps.com “a fine, reputable firm.” Only a few vendors have the sophisticated technology to put a customer-supplied photo on a postage stamp, McKiernan said, adding that the program can resume in 20 days.

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UK Royal Mail attacks vote ‘opportunism’

Posted by | Apr 26, 2005 | |

Royal Mail yesterday described its watchdog as ‘scaremongering’ and ‘opportunistic’ after Postwatch complained that the organisation was not reinstating collection tabs on postboxes. The tabs, which show when the next collection will be, were removed in 2002. Royal Mail has pledged to reinstate them, where practical, but Postwatch said yesterday it had not been done in many cases and that it may cause difficulties for postal voters in the upcoming election. A spokesman for Royal Mail said it had only promised to reinstate tabs where it was practical and that some postboxes would need to be replaced entirely before tabs were fitted. He also attacked Postwatch’s timing as “opportunistic”.

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Royal Mail breaks promise to customers on collection tabs

Posted by | Apr 26, 2005 | |

Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for postal services, today criticised Royal
Mail’s failure keep its promise to customers to fully reintroduce collection
tabs to post boxes, and warned that this inaction may cause difficulties for
postal voters. Following a Postwatch campaign, Royal Mail agreed to reintroduce collection tabs in late 2004. Collection tabs are important to customers as they
indicate that the daily final collection from the post box has been made.
Despite Royal Mail’s promise to customers to fully reintroduce the tabs, a
Postwatch survey of 2,600 post boxes conducted in January 2005 found that
only 1 in every 3 post boxes had their collection tabs replaced.

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Royal Mail Group silent on post trains return

Posted by | Apr 25, 2005 | |

Royal Mail stayed tight-lipped today about a claim that postal trains are set for a permanent return to the railways.

The state-owned group declined to comment on a report that it is poised to sign a one-year rolling contract with railfreight company GBRf to run mail trains between London and Scotland.

Royal Mail ended all postal services on the railways in January last year after failing to agree a new deal with incumbent operator English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS).

Royal Mail claimed EWS’s new bid was too expensive and moved all post to road and air.

The cost-cutting move controversially ended more than 160 years of mail trains and the famous Travelling Post Offices, which sorted letters on the move.

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Japanese Government LDP execs reach accord on postal privatisation

Posted by | Apr 25, 2005 | |

The government got the nod Monday from executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on its postal privatization policy, having accepted most of the party’s requests designed to water down the plan to fully privatize postal savings and life insurance services.

The accord is aimed at concluding the months of political bickering between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s government and the LDP, and clearing the way for the government to adopt a set of postal privatization bills on Tuesday.

But LDP lawmakers opposing the policy remained discontent and may not support the bills when they are put to a vote in the Diet.

Koizumi wants to submit the bills to parliament by Thursday to see them passed during the ongoing Diet session through June 19.

Speaking briefly to reporters at his office, Koizumi said the government has made no concessions in terms of changing the bill’s outline.

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GLS group expands European footprint

Posted by | Apr 25, 2005 | |

GLS, the Royal Mail-owned international parcels group, has strengthened its European network with several financial investments and expansion moves. In the Czech Republic, it launched a start-up subsidiary on 1 April and will invest EUR 2m in the new company, including EUR 0.6m in the first year. In Poland, the group has bought 100% control of GLS Poland in which it previously held 25.1% and plans a system partnership with the previous majority shareholder, the Raben Group. In Spain, GLS is expanding through its own network and a new partnership. Barcelona-based subsidiary Extand Sistema was renamed GLS Spain in March. At the same time, the group is now co-operating with Chronoexpress, a subsidiary of the Spanish post office Correos.

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UK postal workers’ reward scheme to be repeated

Posted by | Apr 25, 2005 | |

A scheme to reward postal workers with new cars and holiday vouchers in a drive to reduce sickness absence is to be repeated after attendance levels increased by more than 10percent, it was learned today.

The Royal Mail said 37 workers won a new car, 75 won GBP2,000 worth of holiday vouchers and more than 90,000 won GBP150 worth of holiday vouchers.

Daily attendance levels increased by almost 11percent after the scheme was launched last August, figures showed today.

Sickness absence levels averaged 5.7percent between August and January, compared to an average of 6.4percent in the same period in the previous year.

This represented an extra 1,000 people at work collecting, sorting and delivering mail.

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DHL Colombia imports up 36.5 Pct Y/Y Q1 2005

Posted by | Apr 25, 2005 | |

The imports of DHL Colombia, the Colombian unit of the global carrier and package delivery company DHL Express, part of the German postal services operator Deutsche Post, grew 36.5 pct year-on-year for the first quarter of 2005, it was reported on April 22, 2005.

The volumes transported by DHL to Colombia grew 51.2 pct year-on-year for the quarter. The import services sales grew 37.05 pct year-on-year for the quarter.

DHL Colombia, has considerably strengthened its position on the Colombian market mainly due to its revised market strategy, the company’s Andres Vallejo, said.

The company has performed a number of promotion campaigns and has diversified its services in Colombia, Vallejo added.

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