Author: Archive

Market of postal and courier services of Lithuania up 21.8 pct in 2008

Posted by | Aug 13, 2008 | |

According to the preliminary data of the Communications Regulatory Authority, over January-June of 2008, the Lithuanian market of postal and courier services reached 126.7 million litas (37.94 million euros), an increase of 21.8 pct year-on-year (104.0 million litas/ 37.946 million euros).

The market of postal services according to the received revenues increased 13.3 pct – up to 47.7 million litas (14.299 million euros); the market of courier services went up by 27.7 pct and amounted to 78.9 million litas (23.64 million euros).

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APC Overnight boosts UK parcel network with expansion in Essex

Posted by | Aug 13, 2008 | |

APC Overnight has boosted its nationwide parcel services with further expansion of its network by launching a new depot covering the Chelmsford area of Essex.

Now the largest UK network with 125 depots, APC Overnight has appointed its highly successful Ipswich agent Rapid Dispatch to run the new Chelmsford operation. Rapid has quadrupled APC Overnight business in Ipswich and expects to triple the Essex business within the first year.

APC Overnight said that it continues to grow year-on-year thanks to exceptional service levels underpinned with unrivalled delivery performance that sees over 99.8 pct of parcels delivered on time. To support the growth, the company has recently expanded its National Sortation Centre in the Midlands and opened a dedicated hub in Scotland.

The new depot will cover the region incorporating Chelmsford, Braintree, Witham and Maldon, which will offer employment opportunities locally. “With the growth of APC Overnight in Ipswich, we know we will be employing a high pedigree management team backed with proven experience and enthusiasm to capitalise on the untapped potential in the Chelmsford area,” comments APC Overnight Marketing Director Jon Barber.

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Average UK adult thinks they are worth GBP 350k

Posted by | Aug 13, 2008 | |

When it comes to putting a price on their life, the average UK adult believes they are worth GBP 350,000, according to research by the Post Office.

When asked to consider everything they own or value in their life, including their home, car, annual salary and all their possessions, respondents came back with an average amount of GBP 350,000.

Many people seem to value themselves in terms of their homes as their biggest asset, as there is a direct correlation with house prices and self-valuation. For example Londoners value themselves at GBP 500,000, with an average house price of GBP 345,000 whereas those in the East Midlands only value themselves at GBP 300,000, with an average property at GBP 142,000.

Adults approaching, or already in retirement, emerged as the group who valued themselves the most (GBP 500,000). On average people in their sixties valued themselves more than double that of people in their twenties and thirties.

Almost 36 million (75 per cent) adults in the UK have no life insurance, posing a real financial risk to them and their family if anything was to happen to them. Although the cost of life insurance has dropped by 70 per cent over the last 30 years, more than a quarter of adults (28 per cent) claim they simply cannot afford it, while over eight million (18 per cent) adults feel their lives are not worth insuring at all.

Whilst it is natural that people may wait for certain ‘life’ triggers before considering life insurance, it often inevitably slips down the priorities list. One in seven said they would take out life insurance when they have a child (14 per cent) or when they buy their first house (13 per cent) and one in 10 (10 per cent) when they get married. However, four in 10 adults (39 per cent) suggest they could already be at risk by saying they should take out life insurance as soon as possible.

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Mergers and acquisitions on domestic delivery market (Romania)

Posted by | Aug 13, 2008 | |

The beginning of this year brought an avalanche of mergers and acquisitions on the domestic delivery market in Romania. Founders of Cargus sold the company to the international player DHL, Pegasus was taken over by GeoPost and Yurtici Cargo company Trans Courier Service was bought by UPS, whereas TCE Logistics and Curiero merged.

Fan Courier is the only delivery company of the top three which did not announce its selling intention.

For this year, Fan Courier plans to make investments worth 20 million euros. “We’ve conceived ever since last year a pretty bold investments plan. We will construct a new headquarters that will endorse our growth. The land alone cost us 2.5 million euros and the investments in the building alone will reach about 8.5 million euros. To them adds the transporting strip that will cost other 4 million euros. Then there will be the equipment of all our couriers with PDAs (personal digital assistant), which entails other 2 million euros. However, when we will finalize the investments, our company might really compete from a technical and quality viewpoint with any company from Romania and from abroad,” say the owners of the company.

Related to a prospective sell of the company, there have been many offers but none went beyond the principle stage.

The first quarter of the year, the company reported a turnover worth 9.8 million euros, over the same period of the previous year.

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India Postal dept to write off PIN system

Posted by | Aug 13, 2008 | |

The department of post (DoP) proposes to introduce postal address locator (PAL) to replace the existing postal index (PIN) code. The DoP plans to make the PAL code, the standard universal post code. The existing PIN code system is getting outdated and tedious as it is primarily based on delivery post office (DPO) and not on geographical location, wherein a unique code is permanently allotted to a location.

Moreover, incomplete PIN code is of no use. In India, a district is the most well known administrative or geographical entity and since no code is allotted to a district in the PIN code system, it appears to have destroyed the district based sorting, which was the norm before 1972 when PIN was first introduced, he added. “In the new PAL code system, a unique code has to be allotted to each geographical location including village, town, locality, building, street, road, zone and city. Each digit in the code has to denote some location and most importantly, any addition of digits to the code must lead to simplification of solution and not compounding the problem,” the official noted.

The official also said that the intellectual property right for the concept and design on the PAL code is with the DoP and that no postal administration across the world could adopt it for its postal code without the prior consent of the DoP. He said, “We are undergoing a major transformation. What we need is ‘appropriate technology’ including integrated postal software, networked post offices, GPS-based mail van fleet and a fleet of aircraft for quick transmission of mails between cities and states.” He also said that if the proposal gets through, the process of introducing the PAL code will barely take 2-3 months.

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USPS slashes overtime (U.S)

Posted by | Aug 13, 2008 | |

The US Postal Service has cut overtime expenses by close to a billion dollars in the first three quarters of its fiscal year. Reports filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission show that the USPS reduced overtime by over 28 million hours through pay period 14, which ended on July 4. The reduction translates to USD 923 million in overtime savings compared with the prior year. The year to date overtime rate for bargaining unit employees stood at 8.7 pct, down from 11.7 pct in 2007. In pay period 14 alone, overtime was 6.5 pct, compared with 10.2 pct in the same period last year.

The overtime savings were partially offset by an increase in straight time hours, which were up by 1.4 million hours. That number is somewhat misleading, since it includes almost 15 million straight time hours worked by new “transitional employees”, or TEs, in the letter carrier craft. Straight time hours for career bargaining unit employees were actually down by over 13 million hours.

The average hourly cost of a transitional employee, including benefits, is USD 23.24, compared with USD 39.47 for the average full time regular carrier. The increased use of lower cost straight time hours means that while the average bargaining unit employee has seen a 3.3 pct increase in hourly wages over 2007, the USPS’s average cost per hour increased by just 1.1 pct.

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Sub-postmasters' 'morale so low' – concerned MSP (UK)

Posted by | Aug 13, 2008 | |

North east of Scotland MSP Nanette Milne has voiced fears that more Post Office branches could shut in the future after the current 2,500 closure programme consultation ends.

It follows the announcement by Post Office Ltd last week that 40 Post Office branches would close.

Dr Milne said: “I have real concern as to what the Labour Government intends to do with Post Offices in the future. Speaking to sub-postmasters the North east it is clear that morale has never been so low…”

“The Business and Enterprise Select Committee, Chairman Peter Luff MP has said there could be a further 4,000 closures, mainly if sub-postmasters retired and were not replaced, and that there could be no compulsion to replace sub-postmasters who retire.

“A recent report by the Business and Enterprise Select Committee noted that the Post Office had estimated a network of around 7,500 would meet the national criteria for access to branches, although Government funding and the company’s business case were both based on the number of outlets remaining at 11,500 after the current closure programme is completed.”

She added: “I do not think it is satisfactory simply to accept that the network may continue to shrink in an unplanned way between now and 2011. Post Office Ltd should be obliged to use its best endeavours to keep the network at a minimum of 11,500 fixed outlets.

“The future shape of the network is a matter of direct political concern and the Labour Government must take ultimate responsibility for ensuring its considerable subsidies are being used to secure a network which meets the public’s needs.”

Dr Milne also commented on the Post Office Card Account contract, which is currently up for tender, with the result of who will run the contract in future, expected this summer.

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UPS women lead the way in Latin America

Posted by | Aug 12, 2008 | |

The transportation industry isn’t often cited for cultivating the careers of female executives, but UPS is the exception.

Women now head up operations in UPS’s top markets in the Americas Region – Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia. And the company also has launched an innovative career development program aimed at retaining and advancing female managers globally.

Gender disparity is a real business issue for Latin America. Studies show that women make up 44.7 percent of the workforce in Latin America. But according to Globe Summit, a Web-based business network that surveyed Latin Trade magazine’s top 100 Latin American companies in 2005, 64 percent of the 100 companies did not have women in upper management. Additionally, the study found that only five percent of listed board directorships were held by women in contrast to the 10 percent on the boards of FORTUNE Global 200 companies.

The Women’s Leadership Development (WLD) initiative provides UPS managers opportunities to develop leadership and work skills by learning from their peers, from external business organizations and from community service.

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