Author: Archive

TNT opens key network link in Vietnam’s hi-tech hub

Posted by | Aug 25, 2008 | |

The new facility is part of a EUR 1 million investment in developments in the city, which includes TNT’s new Hanoi office due to open in the fourth quarter of this year.
Onno Boots, regional managing director, TNT Southeast Asia, said: “As Vietnam is strategically located as the link between China and Southeast Asia on our Asia Road Network, the completion of the TNT International & Domestic Operations Centre, North in Hanoi is an integral part of TNT’s growth strategy in the region.”
He added that more than 40 pct of volumes to and from TNT Vietnam will pass through the new centre, and growth is expected to be in the high double-digit range for the next five years as it facilitates seamless integration between TNT’s air and road networks.
Shipments passing through Vietnam will be consolidated and processed at the TNT International & Domestic Operations Centre in Hanoi before making its way northwards to China and southwards to Singapore via the Asia Road Network for subsequent airlift to Europe and China respectively, using TNT’s Boeing 747-400 ERF that flies between Singapore, Shanghai and Liege three times a week.
Boots said that the new facility gives TNT the capacity to handle four times its current load of both international and domestic freight under one roof while leveraging the Asia Road Network.
This is the third facility to be opened within three months, following TNT’s new international & domestic road hub in Bangkok, Thailand and the Singapore Country Depot.

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U.S. Postal Service tests new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle

Posted by | Aug 25, 2008 | |

In an agreement with General Motors, the Postal Service is participating in a two-year test of the fourth-generation electric vehicle in Irvine, Calif. With a fleet of 220,000 vehicles across the country, the Postal Service is in a good position to help drive the hydrogen market, if the vehicles eventually become commercially viable, said Richard Maher, a USPS spokesman in Irvine.

The ultra-quiet vehicle is a little disquieting for most drivers initially, because they wonder if it’s actually running, he said.

Roz Sell, commercial program manager for General Motors fuel cell commercialization office, says the Postal Service offers an ideal setting for testing. The agency is using the vehicle for regular mail delivery six days a week with lots of starts and stops.

It also helps promote the hydrogen fuel cell concept to the public when they see the vehicle being operated safely and effectively.

Every time the vehicle is refueled, the hydrogen pump collects data about the fuel cell and automatically sends it to General Motors engineers, who monitor the vehicle’s performance remotely, Sell said.

The most limiting factor right now is the hydrogen fuel itself. There are only two pumps in the country that offer public access, one in Washington and one near Los Angeles. “It’s been discouraging how slow energy companies have been bringing [hydrogen] online,” she said.

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Twenty Four Seven ties up with DHL courier service

Posted by | Aug 24, 2008 | |

Twenty Four Seven, Indian convenience store announces its tie up with DHL courier service at their stores. Through this tie up, DHL courier services will now be offered round the clock at Twenty Four Seven convenience stores empowering its customers to send a courier even at odd hours.

The courier services will be initially available from 12 noon to 9.00 p.m and eventually for twenty four hours. The introduction of the courier services further strengthens its presence where convenience is concerned. It is a one stop location providing international shopping experience for any need be it planned or unplanned. It will now be possible to send urgent couriers at odd hours when no other services are available.

On the tie-up Mr. Samir Modi, Managing Director, Twenty Four Seven said, “We have seen a changing trend in the economy; consumers today are not satisfied only with products but want services to be provided round the clock at their convenience. After achieving the benchmark in providing services such as utility bill payment, movie tickets, we are glad to introduce DHL Courier for our customers.”

Twenty Four Seven stores will be entitled to receive 15 pct discount on DHL courier services on purchase of products worth Rs 200 (USD 4.56).

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China to ratify Seventh Additional Protocol to Constitution of Universal Postal Union

Posted by | Aug 24, 2008 | |

The Seventh Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union (CUPU) was expected to be approved by China’s top legislature in a week.

The seventh additional protocol, the seventh revision to the CUPU, is in accordance with the Chinese legal principle, read a statement submitted to the fourth session of the 11th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) for deliberation on Monday.

The ratification of the seventh additional protocol will benefit the postal service in China in the global changes of economy and technology and enhance cooperation between China and other countries and organizations, the statement added.

The contents of the seventh additional protocol, which was done in Bucharest on Oct. 5, 2004 and came into force on Jan. 1, 2006, included articles concerning the missions of the union and definitions of some terms and some literal revisions to the CUPU.

China joined the CUPU in 1973 and ratified the previous six additional protocols in 1973, 1977, 1987, 1991, 1997 and 2003 respectively. The seventh had been approved by 33 member countries till July 4, 2008.

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Money transferring through post offices sees a good start

Posted by | Aug 24, 2008 | |

The postal department saw a good response from clients in the first one month of working as the principal agent of Western Union in Bangladesh.

The department started the service from July 13 this year. It is now operating special counters in 12 post offices in the city and 438 others throughout the country so that people can easily collect remittances sent from abroad.

The post offices that are operating as Western Union points in the capital are Dhaka General Post Office (GPO) and post offices at Sadarghat, New Market, Mohammadpur, Gulshan, Banani, Basabo, Tejgaon, Shantinagar, Khilgaon and Uttara.

According to GPO sources, they are receiving around 5 to 10 clients of Western Union in their counter every day.

When the postal department announced its collaboration with Western Union in January, a good number of people expressed scepticism about the department’s ability to maintain the quality of service.
The postal department signed an agreement in January with the Western Union to deliver money transferred by the global money transferring company as part of a reform programme to help the financially ailing department reach break-even point by 2009.

The designated postal offices will run the special money transferring desks for the next 5 years. Usual fees are collected by the Western Union while the postal department receives 25 percent commission from the money-transferring organisation.

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Q-Post to tie up with firms in tele-money order system

Posted by | Aug 22, 2008 | |

The General Postal Corporation (Q-Post) is to introduce a tele-money order system “which will be more economical and easier to the consumer than the prevailing services in the market”.

George Scott-Campbell, director of IT Services at Q-Post, told Gulf Times that the system, when introduced, would make sending money home very easy and time-saving for people.

The service is likely to be introduced in the “third quarter of the year”.
Q-Post will tie up with companies whose employees can place a standing request with their HR department to remit money regularly. “Q-Post will provide the necessary software to the companies which subscribe to the system”.

The system could be run from the offices of all subscribers.

Once instructed, the HR department could remit a certain amount of money to home, banks or wherever one wanted, the official said. One could also make a one-off transfer through the HR department, he added.

The money would be electronically transferred to the nearest post office or branch of the bank of the recipient. Whether it would be delivered to the door-step would depend on the services offered by the local post office, the official said.

Scott-Campbell stressed that the service would have several advantages over the existing services. For one, it would save a lot of time of the employees who otherwise would have to go and stand in queues at exchange houses or banks. Currently, it often takes two hours or more for a person to remit money.

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TNT hits highest in six months after UPS bid report

Posted by | Aug 22, 2008 | |

TNT NV rose to the highest in almost six months in Amsterdam on a report that United Parcel Service Inc. may bid for the Dutch company as soon as this weekend.

Hoofddorp, Netherlands-based TNT gained 1.70 euros, or 6.9 percent, to 26.45 euros, the highest since Feb. 28. That values the company at 9.7 billion euros (USD 14.4 billion).

UPS and TNT may meet to work out a deal over the weekend, with the U.S. company offering 34 euros to 38 euros a share, U.K. newspaper the Times reported, without citing anyone. TNT surged 26 percent on July 14, its biggest jump since first selling shares to the public in 1998, after the Financial Times reported that FedEx Corp., the second-biggest U.S. package- shipping company, was in talks to buy its Dutch rival.

“If UPS started calculating and put together a team when FedEx rumors emerged in July, they should be ready to make a bid by now,” said Thijs Berkelder, an analyst at Petercam in Amsterdam, in a telephone interview. He said TNT may be worth about 40 euros a share in a takeover bid.

TNT declined to comment on “rumors and speculation,” spokesman Cyrille Gibot said today by telephone.

“UPS will never comment on rumors or speculation about mergers and acquisitions,” said Norman Black, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based company.

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Pallet scanner boosts bottom line for DHL

Posted by | Aug 22, 2008 | |

DHL has installed a pallet measuring system at its international gateway in London Colney to enable it to weigh measure and scan large pallets quickly.

Angus MacDougall, DHL’s International Gateway manager, says: “When large parcels and pallets have a low overall weight, we calculate their shipment cost according to their volumetric or dimensional weight – the amount of space they take up in a vehicle or aircraft.”

“While measuring smaller parcels is standard practice in the transport and logistics industries, measuring large pallets is often very difficult using conventional technology, so their dimensions often have to be manually measured and recorded. This is obviously a time-consuming process and is not cost-effective.

“What we needed was a product that could quickly, reliably and accurately capture and record a pallet’s weight, volume and barcode information and transfer this information in a format compatible with our information management system,” he says.

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