Author: Archive

TNT sees growth in video conferencing

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

Reducing carbon footprint, a new priority for multinationals, is no easy task for TNT, which operates 47 aircraft and more than 26,000 trucks to move an average of 4.4 million parcels, documents, and pieces of freight each week.
There is not much that can be done to cut back on that traffic, so TNT is instead urging employees to reduce carbon dioxide emissions under a program called Planet Me. A big part of Planet Me is a drive to reduce business travel and use videoconferences instead. TNT estimates the CO2 savings from videoconferencing alone to be 2.6 kilotons a year for the next four years, or a total of 10.5 kilotons.
The embracing of videoconferencing by TNT is part of a larger trend. The worldwide videoconferencing systems and services market, which reached USD 1.63 billion in 2007, is expected to grow to USD 4.2 billion by 2012, according to technology consultancy Frost & Sullivan, as more companies try to become greener and cut costs.
Few companies are benefiting as much as Norwegian videoconferencing equipment maker Tandberg, which counts TNT as one of its customers. The company, which has dual headquarters in Oslo and New York, leads the industry in revenue with 40 pct of the global videoconferencing market, says Frost & Sullivan. The U.S.’s Polycom is market leader in number of units shipped. Together, Tandberg and Polycom control about 70 pct of the market for videoconferencing devices and infrastructure, selling against and sometimes cooperating with Hewlett-Packard and Cisco, both of which make high-end videoconferencing systems.

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APC Overnight Announces Cordless Phone World Success

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

APC Overnight offer an online booking, tracking and pre-labelling service using the advanced online service developed by NetDespatch. Since switching to APC Overnight, Cordless Phone World has also gained much improved delivery reliability and traceability allowing their own customer service to be enhanced.

Orders received online from Cordless Phone World customers are captured electronically by NetDespatch allowing collections to be booked in and parcel labels pre-printed ready for collection by APC Overnight. This eliminates any transcription errors as delivery details are entered only once and that is by the customer.

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Swiss Post International posts good but slightly lower half-year results

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

Swiss Post achieved a good result in H1 2008. With net income of EUR 265 million the result was EUR 51 m or 16.1 pct below the record figure of the year-back period. Swiss Post International – Swiss Post’s international unit – generated operating income of EUR 327 m, which was EUR 28 m below the year-back period. The reason for this was due mainly to the current currency situation. SPI is nevertheless likely to contribute to the Group profit of Swiss Post in 2008.

Swiss Post International (SPI), which operates in the international mail, parcel and express business, posted a good operating result again in the first half of 2008. The performance was not quite as good as that in 2007, however. SPI generated operating income of EUR 327 m in the first half. This is EUR 28 m below the year-back figure. SPI lost around EUR 6 m as a result of transactions in foreign currencies, which were converted at a lower rate than in mid-2007. The result from translation of amounts due from international partners was also around EUR 21 m lower.

Most SPI subsidiaries were able to lift their operating income again compared with last year. SPI intends to continue along its growth path in the next few years with a number of ongoing projects in sales and with additional acquisitions. SPI is thus driving the steady expansion of its international network. Already at the beginning of 2008 SPI acquired the Swedish letter processor IMS Europe AB.

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USPS seeking comment on detached address labels

Posted by | Aug 27, 2008 | |

The US Postal Service is seeking public comment on a proposal that would require detached address labels (DALs) accompanying saturation mailings of periodicals or Standard Mail flats to be automation-compatible and barcoded.
The proposal was published in the Federal Register August 27.
The revised standards would require DALs accompanying these types of mailings to have a correct delivery point Postnet barcode or an Intelligent Mail barcode with an 11-digit routing code. The proposal would not apply to DALs with simplified addresses.
Existing mailing standards do not require DALs accompanying saturation mailings of periodicals and Standard Mail flats to be automation-compatible and barcoded unless advertising appears on the front.
Comments on the proposal are due to the USPS by September 26.

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The South African Post Office posts a 7pct rise in revenue and a 12pct growth in profit before tax

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

Presenting the results today, the South African Post Office (Sapo) posted a 12pct rise in profit before tax of R565m (2007: R507m) for the 2008 financial year on the back of a 7pct rise in revenue from R5.2bn in 2007 to R5.6bn in the year under review.

She said that the group’s shareholder had agreed to continue providing a subsidy to the Sapo of R372m for the coming year. This will be increased to R383m in 2010. This subsidy is primarily used to assist with the necessary operational and capital expenditure required to service areas that are not commercially viable in South Africa, yet do require services as mandated by the shareholder in terms of its licence and agreed upon by Sapo as part of its Universal Service Obligations.

The past year has seen many operational highlights, top of the agenda being the new business model that was defined and approved by the board of the Sapo, which in itself made major strides towards further compliance with codes of good corporate governance and the King 2 code, by establishing a Group Chairperson’s Committee, equivalent to an Investment Committee in a Public Company. The new operational design sees the group structured into 5 divisions:
• Mail
• Logistics
• Financial Services
• ICT and
• Property.

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Correos launches new money transfer service to Uruguay

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

The Spanish postal operator Correos this week launched a new international express postal order service that will enable money to be fast-tracked to Uruguay. In time, the system will be able to transfer money to Chile and Morocco.

The service is the result of an agreement signed by the Correos and Uruguayan Mail during the 24th Congress of the Postal Universal Union (UPU) that was held in Geneva. The international urgent postal order is already operative in 60 offices of the Uruguayan Mail but it now means that money can be transferred back and forth in the space of 15 minutes, and a significantly reduced cost to that offered by other money transfer services.

The service uses the International Financial System (IFS), designed by the Center of Postal Technologies of the UPU, designed to create a trustworthy and sure network for the transference of money by electronic means between the postal operators. It also fulfills a commitment of agreement of cooperation signed by the UPU and the Government of Spain in December, 2007 with the aim to introduce direct transfers to South America and the North Africa, through the network international financier of the UPU.

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Tough economic times hurt post office (U.S)

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

The U.S. Postal Service could lose about USD 2 billion this year due to tough economic times, and it needs to change to meet the demands of the public, Postmaster General John Potter said Monday (25th August).
Potter told the National Association of Postmasters of the United States at their convention in St. Louis that the postal service is grappling with issues that many businesses are facing — like how to handle high fuel prices.
Potter praised postmasters and postal workers for their commitment to service and reliability, but said more needs to be done to reduce bureaucracy, cut costs and embrace technology.
Postage rates rose a penny in May to the current 42-cent price. Another increase is expected next May, with the amount to be announced in February. Any increase is limited to the rate of inflation.
Potter said Monday improvements to the postal service’s Web site and better bar-code technology for mail should yield improved results. He said there are also opportunities to increase the amount of advertising that’s done through the mail, and said working with small and mid-sized businesses was the postal service’s biggest opportunity for growth.

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DHL moves into packaging compliance

Posted by | Aug 26, 2008 | |

DHL Exel Supply Chain has launched its own packaging compliance scheme. This system complements its packaging waste data services, which allow customers to calculate their annual packaging weight obligation.

Head of environmental and compliance solutions Sean Hodges said that the service was added because of customer demand. This will be the second compliance scheme that DHL has launched – it already operates a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) compliance scheme.

Hodges said that people were sceptical at first when DHL moved into WEEE. He said the firm operated a WEEE scheme because the company was initially led by legislation, has “a lot of logistical services” and carries a lot of “electrical goods around the country to recyclers”.

He hopes that the “success” that DHL has had in meeting the obligations of members of its WEEE scheme will be replicated through the new packaging compliance scheme.

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