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CPL – B2C will drive European express growth

Posted by | Oct 1, 2008 | |

B2C deliveries will be the major growth market for the European express and parcels industry in the next few years along with international deferred shipments as customers downtrade from premium express to slower but cheaper products, the Courier and Parcel Logistics conference in London was told.

Home deliveries will grow strongly as consumers increasingly shop on the internet instead of in the high street, but issues surrounding “final mile“ deliveries will continue to pose operational challenges, senior industry managers said on the event’s opening day.

Speakers agreed that the B2C market would move towards segmentation between premium deliveries of higher-value goods and standard delivery of lower-value items. However, there was little customer take-up of parcel collection and drop-off points so far, they commented.

Addressing market trends, speakers said that the world economic slowdown and recent financial markets turbulence would impact on business. The express industry would see fewer shipments and more bundling of volumes from financial customers, while customer relationships were being shaken up by the rapid changes in the financial sector. More generally, operators needed to right-size their networks, remove excess capacity but not endanger their customer service levels.

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Nightfreight grows volume in home-delivery service

Posted by | Oct 1, 2008 | |

Nightfreight’s two-man home-delivery network has seen volumes grow by 20 pct over the past three months and 10 pct year-on-year, while a new customer win will boost volumes by a further 10 pct to 20 pct. In the summer, the firm added two new offerings to its two-man business – a pay-as-you-go service and a premium-to-home service – both of which have increased the firm’s business, says MD Peter Louden.

Under the premium-to-home service, Nightfreight offers a 48-hour delivery on mixed goods. “If there’s a time-critical delivery, then this service is ideal,” adds Louden. He adds that the focus for the next six months is to continue to grow volumes significantly in the two-man area. “Our strategy is to open up more two-man depots where we can – the closer we can get to our customers the better,” says Louden.

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Royal Mail offers ‘green’ discount (UK)

Posted by | Oct 1, 2008 | |

Royal Mail’s wholesale division is launching a new service that gives its customers a discounted price for direct mail campaigns that meet criteria designed to reduce their environmental impact.
To qualify for discounts of up to 0.7 pence per item on downstream access prices, businesses will have to meet a range of standards to reduce unnecessary direct mail production through improved use of data services, including suppression of addressees who do not wish to receive direct mail. The responsible sourcing of materials and action to encourage the recycling of the mail piece also form part of the scheme’s specification.
The new service is based on two levels of participation – entry level receives a price discount of 0.3 pence per item, while companies who meet the intermediate criteria receive an additional 0.4 pence per item reduction.
Royal Mail has also identified further criteria that it will consider implementing as a third phase, benefiting the most advanced direct mail users through further discounts. The full specification can be found on Royal Mail Wholesale’s website at royalmailwholesale.com

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FedEx Office cuts 650 workers

Posted by | Oct 1, 2008 | |

FedEx Office is cutting 650 jobs worldwide, as the company plans to shut FedEx Kinko’s stores in the USA, Australia, the Netherlands and Mexico. Australia has arguably been the hardest hit, with approximately 200 jobs set to go in the US, and 250 Australian jobs making up the 450 jobs likely to be cut outside the US. Likewise, 17 stores in total will be closed outside the US, 11 of these in Australia.

A formal date for these closures is yet to be set, though the company says it is aiming to have them all done by May 31st, the end of the US financial year.

The company rejected the notion that the decision was made in light of this week’s stock market plunge which has signaled a global economic downturn.

Robertson claims the company didn’t take the decision lightly, and canvassed a variety of options before settling on a pull-out.

With roughly 250 employees on its books in Australia, the company says it is hoping to find positions for some of them in other areas of the FedEx corporation.

It’s likely that most of the closures will be staggered over the coming months, as the company assesses the matter on a store-by-store basis.

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U.S Postmaster General kicks off year-long conservation campaign

Posted by | Oct 1, 2008 | |

Postmaster General John Potter launched a year-long campaign to increase awareness and create results for energy conservation. Potter called on employees, suppliers and partners in the mailing industry to increase efforts to “go green.” His statements came during a special “unplugged” event at Postal Service corporate headquarters, recognizing October as National Energy Awareness Month.
The Postal Service has a stated goal of reducing energy use 30 percent by 2015, he said, a further demonstration of the organization’s commitment to environmental stewardship. Scheduled capital investments will be made annually in energy conservation measures, primarily for lighting and HVAC upgrades.
A national energy management plan is being reviewed by Postal Service leadership, identifying goals and standards for energy reduction and consumption for facility energy management, fleet management, fuel use and energy consumption.

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Water bills payable at Cayman Islands Postal Service

Posted by | Sep 30, 2008 | |

From yesterday, consumers can pay their water and sewerage bills at East End, North Side, Bodden Town, Savannah, Airport, Seven Mile Beach and General Post Offices during regular opening hours.

The Cayman Islands Postal Service and Water Authority (Cayman) have partnered to provide customers with an additional service—the pay-at-post system.

Post offices on Grand Cayman generally open between 8:15 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday and between 9:00 am and 12:30 pm on Saturday.

Customers are asked to present their Water Authority bill along with their payment when using the post office bill payment service. The payment methods accepted at the post offices are cash and cheque. Customers who require special assistance with a disconnection notice or who wish to make a partial payment are requested to visit the Water Authority office.

The addition of the Water Authority to its pay-at-post partnership means that customers on Grand Cayman are able to pay three major utility bills: electricity, water and phone, at a single location.

Furthermore, customers are able to top up their Cable & Wireless and Digicel pay-as-you-go phones, purchase Cable & Wireless Phone 2 Go, as well as pay garbage collection fees.

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Itella Logistics expands its consumer parcel operations in Estonia

Posted by | Sep 30, 2008 | |

Itella Logistics uses SmartPost’s parcel automates as drop off points for consumers in Estonia

Itella has signed an agreement with SmartPost to use their automated parcel terminal network of 20 machines in Estonia as drop-off points to consumer parcels. Itella will be responsible for parcel handling, sorting and transportation to machines by using its own couriers. Co-operation starts in November with selected distance selling customers.

– Our automated parcel terminals provide convenient and fast way for consumers to pick-up their parcels. SmartPost has established its delivery network and we are ready to provide this service for Itella, says Indrek Oolup, Managing Director of SmartPost Ou.

– For Itella as service logistics provider it is important that we are able to provide alternatives for consumers. We achieved excellent results from our automated parcel terminal trial held in Tallinn and Helsinki. Based on that we believe that this new way of delivering parcels is interesting for our corporate clients and improves the service for Estonian consumers, says Aku Happo, Itella Express and Parcel Business Director.

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CEO Fred Smith promises bright future for FedEx, Memphis

Posted by | Sep 30, 2008 | |

FedEx Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith exuded optimism Monday in his USD 40 billion company’s future and Memphis’ place at its epicenter.

The Chairman, President and CEO said it would be hard for FedEx not to double in size as the company strengthens connections to emerging economies from Asia to Brazil.

Smith spoke after an annual meeting at The Peabody in which shareholders torpedoed proposals that would have split his duties and required nonbinding referendums on executive pay.

The proposals advocated by International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Fund and spokesman Louis Malizia won slightly more votes than last year, but failed by a 2-1 margin. Results were announced to an audience of about 150.

The votes came after Smith reaffirmed the company’s position that FedEx Ground drivers are independent contractors, not employees, as Teamsters assert. A class-action lawsuit is pending.

With 33,000 employees in the Memphis area, FedEx is the city and Tennessee’s largest private employer. Its superhub makes Memphis International Airport the world’s largest volume cargo airport.

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