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Greece elected chair of the next Postal Operations Council

Posted by | Aug 8, 2008 | |

Greece will chair the next Postal Operations Council of the Universal Postal Union, in the person of Dr. Andreas Taprantzis, Chief Executive Office of the Greek postal operator, ELTA.

The 40 member countries newly elected to the Postal Operations Council held their first meeting to elect their chair, a position Great Britain, Greece and Switzerland were vying for.

Greece received 22 votes against 18 for Great Britain in the second round of voting.

In thanking the members for their support, Taprantzis added that Greece would devote itself and its resources for the benefit of the UPU and all its member countries.

The Postal Operations Council deals with technical and operational issues affecting the international postal sector. It promotes the introduction of new postal products and makes recommendations to member countries concerning standards for technological, operational or other processes. The Council’s programme of work aims above all at helping postal services to modernize and upgrade their postal products.

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Aramex Introduces Biodegradable Packages

Posted by | Aug 8, 2008 | |

Aramex has successfully introduced eco-friendly courier bags across its global network.

The major initiative, which began at the start of the year, involved phasing out all plastic bags for its express courier dispatches, replacing them with new eco-friendly, bio-degradable pouches.

Supporting the use of alternative resources, the switch demonstrates Aramex’s commitment to reduce the use of plastic in its operations as part of a wider pledge towards environmentally sustainable business practices.

It is estimated that polythene, the most common type of plastic, takes more than 100 years to break down, until which time it persists in landfill sites and pollutes the environmental landscape.

Made from recycled polythene, the new pouches include a special additive in the material which reduces the molecular weight of the polythene, accelerating the disintegration process without affecting the packages’ durability.

Encouraging recycling of all forms, Aramex also introduced an internal paper recycling project and recently launched a newspaper recycling project through Ruwwad, the company’s sustainable community development initiative.

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Multi-Year Contract Triples Canada Post MoneyGram Money Transfer Locations

Posted by | Aug 8, 2008 | |

Canada Post and MoneyGram International announced a new agreement that will bring MoneyGram’s money transfer service to 2,000 more Canada Post locations and greatly expand the MoneyGram money transfer agent network throughout Canada. Canada Post, a MoneyGram agent since 2002, offers the money transfer service in 1,000 locations today. As part of the new, multi-year agreement, Canada Post will add the service in an additional 2,000 locations by the end of 2009, tripling the locations offering the MoneyGram money transfer service.

Canada Post is also upgrading to MoneyGram’s latest AgentConnect system which makes it easier to expand the service into more Canada Post locations as well as provide fast service to enhance the customer experience. It takes as little as 10 minutes to send a MoneyGram money transfer around the world, depending on an agent’s hours of operation on the receiving end.

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USPS supports price incentives for full-service IMB

Posted by | Aug 8, 2008 | |

In response to concerns from the mailing community, the US Postal Service said that it will support an additional price incentive for mailers who adopt the full service Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB) option.

“Postcom was very pleased to hear that the Postal Service reconsidered their position on IMB after receiving input from MTAC [Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee] members,” said Jim O’Brien, chairman of Postcom and VP of distribution and postal affairs for Time Inc.

In an August 8 letter to MTAC members, Stephen M. Kearney, SVP of customer relations at the USPS, wrote that the Postmaster General would recommend to the USPS Board of Governors that full-service IMB prices be lower than basic IMB and POSTNET prices.

As planned, the USPS will be ready for full-service IMBs in May of 2009, Kearney said. A Federal Register notice with additional details related to IMB implementation will be published in the near future, he added.

Kearney’s letter followed concerns voiced at this week’s MTAC meeting in Washington. According to a post on the Association for Postal Commerce Web site, Postmaster General John Potter told meeting attendees that the USPS intended to implement the IMB program without providing cost incentives for mailers adopting the full-service IMB option.

The full-service option will require mailers to use unique IMBs on mail pieces as well as trays and containers. Mailers will also have to electronically submit postage statements and mailing documentation before mailings are inducted, among other requirements.

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Brown urges McCain to use clout to save Wilmington jobs

Posted by | Aug 7, 2008 | |

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged Republican presidential candidate John McCain to press DHL and its German owner, Deutsche Post, to preserve jobs that could be lost if DHL hires United Parcel Service for its U.S. cargo airlift work.

McCain, the Arizona senator, scheduled a campaign stop in Wilmington today (Aug. 7), to meet privately with community activists trying to save at least 8,000 jobs at DHL’s Wilmington air freight hub. McCain was also to visit Lima.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported on Wednesday that Washington lobbyist Rick Davis, now McCain’s top campaign adviser, made hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees lobbying Congress to allow the 2003 deal in which Deutsche Post bought Airborne Express to form DHL’s U.S. business. The Washington Post had a similar report in June.

Brown, noting the Cleveland news report, publicly urged McCain on Wednesday to send Davis to Germany so that Davis could use his contacts to lobby for preserving the Wilmington jobs.

In 2003, some in Congress had expressed concern about foreign ownership of a U.S. cargo transport company, before the DHL purchase of Airborne Express was allowed.

Joseph Teuchert, a Wilmington-based pilot for ASTAR Air Cargo that is a contract delivery carrier for DHL in the United States, said he expects to be in the meeting Thursday with McCain.

Wilmington Mayor David Raizk said he and others trying to preserve the Wilmington jobs met privately with Obama just before the Illinois senator’s public appearance July 11 at Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton.

McCain campaigned Wednesday in Jackson, Ohio. He and Democratic opponent Barack Obama have been campaigning across Ohio and Michigan in recent weeks.

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DHL offers clients discounts on bulk cargo

Posted by | Aug 7, 2008 | |

Under the new pricing regime, any shipments weighing more than 51 kilogrammes will enjoy a tariff discount of between 35 and 45 per cent if they are headed to some select 27 destinations.

Consignments from the destinations are also covered by the promotion, which runs until December.

Lawrence Yumbya, the National Sales Manager at DHL said the offer was meant to drive up shipment volumes while easing the burden on customers at this time when the global economy is feeling the heat from high oil prices and turbulence from America’s sub-prime mortgage crisis.

The promotion covers Botswana, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and the Sudan. Others are Tanzania, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The United Kingdom, USA, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates are also on the list.

The good news comes three months after DHL unveiled a USD 474 million shipment hub in Europe to improve on its deliveries.

The facility, which is located at the Leipzig-Halle airport in Germany, is expected to reduce DHL’s shipment running time to half, translating into faster deliveries across the globe.

It has the capacity to handle about 60 aircraft per day and to process about 1,500 tonnes of freight.

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In 2011 national postal operator of Azerbaijan can start operating with profit

Posted by | Aug 7, 2008 | |

The Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies of Azerbaijan suggests increase of subsidizing for postal sector.

At a Cabinet Ministers session held yesterday Ali Abbasov, the communications minister, said that for January-June 2008 postal sector earnings grew by 30 pct.

“Azerbaijan still encounters difficulties that are distinctive for post-Soviet countries. To ensure profitability and high proceeds of postal institutions they should be equipped with modern electronic and transport systems. With this purpose the country has been realizing Financial Service Development Project since 2005 with support of World Bank. The project completion is scheduled for late 2008 and already next year it is planned to launch new services. But switching to profitable use of new services will be carried out for the next two or three years,” Abbasov said.

The minister proposes to increase subsidizing for postal sector to ensure its profitability.

For the last two years Azerpocht (national postal operator) is financed state investments of AZN 2-3 million annually. If for the next two years subsidizing for postal sector are increased, then according to our estimates, Azerpocht will start operating with profit since 2011,” Abbasov said.

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Qatar to host Universal Postal Congress in 2012

Posted by | Aug 7, 2008 | |

Qatar will host the 25th Universal Postal Congress (CPU) in 2012. This was decided by a vote held here yesterday (7th August) on the sidelines of the 24th Universal Postal Congress.
More than 180 participating countries voted for Qatar for efforts being made by its delegation headed by Ali Mohammed Al Ali, Chairman and General Manager of the General Postal Corporation (Q-Post).
Qatar also for the first time joined membership of the CPU Board by election as part of the Asia and Oceania grouping.
The CPU board consists of 41 elected countries as per various regional groupings.
Following the announcement of Qatar winning the bid for hosting the coming congress, Al Ali expressed overwhelming pleasure over this achievement, saying that the Qatar bidding file was a satisfactory one and meets all conditions set by the CPU to host such a universal gathering most important of which are stability, security availability of infrastructure and services including health, transportation and housing, etc.

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