Author: Archive

Czech Post office seeks to deliver new image

Posted by | Oct 13, 2008 | |

The Ministry of Interior appointed Petr Sedlqcek as new general manager to lead the restructuring of a profitable, yet old-fashioned postal service provider Ceska Posta. Yet, many challenges lie ahead, and at this point not even the new boss can say how ÈP will look in 2013 when the European postal service market will be fully liberalized.

ÈP has four years to transform from an image-dented, state-controlled colossus with a branch network similar to the one shared under the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a modern, flexible and competitive joint-stock company that will be able to survive in a fully liberalized market. “There is a huge amount of work in front of us,” Sedláèek said.

This imperative seems to be ÈP’s current motto. According to ÈP spokesman Ivo Mravinac, ÈP must restructure, improve processes and transfer money earned or saved into a technological upgrade. “We have four years for that. If we don’t do it, by 2013 all our competitors will have systems that will make them less expensive, and we will lose clients. This might even mean the end of Èeská pošta,” he told the Czech financial server Mìšec.cz at the beginning of September 2008.

Now, the Czech Republic has almost 3,400 branches serving some 10 million inhabitants, while Austria, a country of a similar size has some 1,000 physical branches. On the other hand, ÈP employs some 37,000 employees, more than the 35,800 employed by the Romanian postal service provider Poºta Românã (RP), despite the fact that RP serves more than 20 million inhabitants.

The restructuring plans that Sedláèek inherited include possibly closing some 178 branches that are now in the red. “If we don’t do this and we don’t transfer money obtained from savings into a technological upgrade, this might bring the end of ÈP and subsequently we’d assist to the closure of thousands of branches,” Jurek said.

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IT key to DHL green commitment

Posted by | Oct 13, 2008 | |

Logistics provider DHL is using IT as a key part of its commitment to reduce the firm’s carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2020.
The company owns a huge network of vehicles and warehouses, each with its own constantly changing carbon footprint.
Accurate assessment and real-time analysis of this data is vital in assessing the carbon footprint of a supply chain, according to Karl Feilder, chief executive of DHL neutral services.
Accurate information is very important for DHL. If the information is wrong, the company could end up hedge buying fuel at the wrong time, or investing in innovation where it is not needed.
In some cases DHL estimates that there are as many as 47 companies involved in its supply chain, leaving much space for error in its analysis of information.
A survey of over 1,000 logistics executives by DHL in conjunction with Oracle and Capgemini found that only 38 per cent of respondents were satisfied with their third-party logistics provider’s information technology capabilities.

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TNT plans to invest in smaller cities in India

Posted by | Oct 13, 2008 | |

TNT India plans to broaden its express delivery network to smaller cities expanding its presence in the country in line with its global strategy of building quality network in emerging markets, Indian newspaper Business Standard reported.

The company’s expansion plans follow the integration of TNT Speedage, its Indian road express division into TNT’s global information technology system, called Global Link, and its re-branding to TNT.

TNT aims to buy sites covering a total of around 37,200 sqm in the next three years to expand its hub and spoke distribution network in addition to its existing 18,600 sqm in the five major cities of Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur and Kolkata, the newspaper wrote.

The major growth drivers for the company’s business in India are telecoms, retail, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, automobile and auto components and high-technology sectors. TNT India today claims to have a market share of 18 pct in international express cargo market, 16-17 pct share in road express business and about 5 pct in domestic air express business.

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Postal corporation seeks partners in bid to cut costs

Posted by | Oct 13, 2008 | |

Postal Corporation of Kenya is opening opportunities for investors as it seeks individuals to run some of its branches on a franchise basis.

The company has applied for cabinet approval to offload land and buildings valued at Sh3 billion as a way of cutting costs and focusing on core service delivery in areas mostly around urban areas.

Mr Fred Odhiambo, the post master general, said franchising outlets was already underway as one of the corporation’s strategies to enhance service delivery and shore up the bottom line.

Also in the pipeline is disposing of some of its non-core assets that the corporation is not making full use of such as land and buildings in various parts of the country.

The corporation has 900 branches countrywide. Mr Odhiambo said that a fifth of them, 180, located in remote areas would be more viable under a franchise model.

Under the Universal Service Obligation PCK is supposed to have one postal office for every 6,000 Kenyans.

However, Mr Odhiambo said the corporation could offer only one postal office for 35,000.

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FedEx Freight introduces Canada next-business-day cross-border service

Posted by | Oct 13, 2008 | |

FedEx Freight has started offering next-business-day coverage between key Canadian gateway cities and several regions across the U.S. In addition, the company is further supporting shippers and customers operating fast-cycle logistics by streamlining cross-border processes. FedEx Freight is a leading provider of regional next-business-day, second-business-day and extended LTL freight transportation services and an operating company of FedEx Corp.

Cross-border enhancements include next-business-day service between Toronto and key markets in the Great Lakes region. In addition, next-business-day LTL service has been introduced between Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the Upper Midwest, an area that is gaining more importance to both countries for cross-border trade.

In addition to these cross-border enhancements, FedEx Freight also provides next-business-day LTL service between Vancouver, British Columbia, and key markets in the Pacific Northwest. Next-business-day service is also available between Montreal, Quebec, and points in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions.

As part of its efforts to streamline the customs clearance process, a dedicated FedEx team serves as the direct contact for shipments from the U.S. to Canada via FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL. This group uses international clearance systems to enable electronic capture of important international shipping information.

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UPS is testing a tool to keep track of truck data

Posted by | Oct 13, 2008 | |

United Parcel Service Inc. is testing a new ruggedized mobile computer in its trucks that can wirelessly log departure and arrival times and provide managers with data on vehicle speed and idle times.
Test versions of Motorola Inc.’s VC6096 Windows Mobile-based system, unveiled last week, have been installed inside long-haul UPS trailer trucks and large trucks that move packages among sorting facilities.
A spokeswoman wouldn’t say how many of the computers Atlanta-based UPS plans to buy, but she noted that it will be a “sizable” number by the time the company’s deployment is completed, which is expected in 2010.
The spokeswoman said UPS has used the system to measure and compile truck speed, RPM, braking and idle-time data. More functions will be tested later.
The 4.8-lb. computer includes a keyboard, a 6.5-in. touch display, 128MB of RAM and 256MB of flash memory. It supports Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth wireless specifications.
UPS said its 100,000-plus drivers will continue to use their fourth-generation proprietary handhelds jointly built by Motorola and Symbol Technologies Inc., which Motorola acquired last year.

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Deutsche Post: Letter mail prices within Germany to remain stable in 2009

Posted by | Oct 13, 2008 | |

The prices charged by Deutsche Post for letters and postcards sent within Germany will remain unchanged next year. The Federal Network Agency responsible for regulating the most important mail prices thus confirms the pricing proposal submitted by Deutsche Post.

After a price reduction in 2003, postage for the Standardbrief (standard letter) in Germany remains stable at 55 cents for the seventh year running, with no change to the high quality of service.

The prices for other domestic mail products, such as postcards, Kompaktbrief (compact letter), Großbrief and Maxibrief (oversize letters) as well special services remain unchanged. With inflation currently running at more than three percent, Deutsche Post is clearly bucking the general price trend. Despite rising production costs, Deutsche Post customers will benefit from stable mail prices in 2009 too.

Under the terms of the statutory pricing procedure Deutsche Post has the opportunity to increase prices in 2009 by an average of 0.4 percent for a fixed basket of goods consisting of domestic and international products. The company will not make full use of this flexibility, however, and will instead only implement a slight price increase of 0.1 percent on average through pricing changes applicable to international mail items.

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Microsoft sues DHL after train dumps 21,600 Xboxes

Posted by | Oct 12, 2008 | |

Microsoft is suing DHL Express for allegedly losing 21,600 Xbox game consoles because of a train derailment in Texas, according to court documents.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, Microsoft said it is seeking more than USD 2 million in damages from DHL for two containers of Xbox consoles that sustained “impact damage, wetting, pilfering and shortage” after a derailment near Duke, Texas.
The Xboxes were en route from a Microsoft office in McAllen, Texas, to Long Beach, California, for eventual delivery to Hong Kong at the time of the loss, which occurred on Oct. 13, 2007, according to court papers. Flextronics Industrial in Hong Kong was the intended recipient.
Microsoft claims that DHL has refused to compensate it for the loss, even though the delivery service “negligently breached its duties as a common carrier, handler, bailee, warehouseman, agent, or in other capabilities,” according to the court papers.
DHL could not be reached for comment.

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