Rolls Royce has awarded TNT Logistics a five-year contract to manage and control the inbound material flow of aerospace parts from 110 suppliers, based predominantly in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA. Courts has extended its contract with TNT Network Logistics to include the storage and handling of its leather upholstery range from its largest supplier in southern Italy.
Read MoreRoyal Mail could lose a raft of valuable perks such as value added tax exemption, parking privileges for post vans and faster Customs clearance for overseas mail as a result of a review announced yesterday by the postal regulator.
Postcomm published a consultation document examining Royal Mail’s special privileges, asking whether they distorted the market or were needed to provide a universal postal service. The regulator cannot make any changes to Royal Mail’s rights itself, but said if change were needed it would “make recommendations to the appropriate government department or authority”. Postcomm has given interested parties until April 12 to respond.
Read MoreLa Poste, the French national postal services group, is scheduled to sign its development plan with the government on January 13. The plan outlines strategy for the group until 2007. La Poste was not authorised to include in the plan the extension of its financial services to include consumer credit. Although the agreement does not affect the public company’s statutes, it is designed to bring it closer to the main European postal operators by 2010, mainly by modernising its sorting centres.
Read MoreFollowing consultation, Postcomm today (13 January 2004) issued a long term licence to Speedmail International Limited to provide bulk mail, consolidated mail and tracked business-to-business mail services.
At the same time, Postcomm made changes to Speedmail’s existing interim licence to enable the company to continue to provide mailroom services.
Read MoreThe Government’s “cavalier” stance on the Post Office closure programme is threatening the future of Europe’s largest retail network, Tories warned.
Shadow industry secretary Stephen O’Brien said the Government’s failure to recognise and promote the network’s strategic community value was an “indictment” of ministers’ record.
They had exhibited “a genuine lack of concern over the relentless Post Office closure programme being inflicted on almost every rural, suburban and inner city community,” he protested.
Read MoreRoyal Mail is state-owned despite some abortive attempts at privatising it, but the management team of Allan Leighton and Adam Crozier has tried to introduce a private sector ethos at the loss-making postal operator.
Last year, the government lent Royal Mail £3bn to help it avoid bankruptcy and fund a three-year recovery programme involving cost- cutting and redundancies. As Royal Mail has promised to repay the cash, it is debatable whether this counts as a subsidy, and the loan was cleared by the European Union’s state aid watchdog. But about £450m of the funds is being spent on subsidising the rural post office network, largely owned and operated by private businessmen and women. The government bail-out is designed to prop up the countryside post offices until 2006 but after that Royal Mail is hoping to come up with a longer-term solution for their funding. Postcomm, the postal regulator, is examining the future of the network and is to publish a report on other ways that the offices can make money. This will help the Department of Trade and Industry decide whether to keep funding the network after 2006.
Read MorePallet network Palletways has joined the prestigious Europe 500 list,which recognises the fastest growing companies in Europe.
Founded in 1994, the company has grown at 40% a year and now has a turnover of GBP63m (EUR90m) in the UK.
Read MorePalletline has signed a deal with French pallet network lotrex, giving customers a 48-hour service to key areas throughout France.
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