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DHL appoints Hans Hickler as CEO of DHL Global Customer Solutions

Posted by | Aug 5, 2008 | |

DHL announced the appointment of Hans Hickler as Chief Executive Officer for its Global Customer Solutions (GCS) organization, responsible for the customer relationship management of the group’s largest customers worldwide.

Hans Hickler will play a key role in continuing to maximize customer relationship management on a global scale, in line with the Group’s vision to becoming customers’ First Choice. First Choice is DHL’s global service and customer initiative aimed at transforming the way it does business.

In addition to his role as CEO of GCS, Hickler is also Chairman of the DHL Global Commercial Board, which was recently set up to address, solve and leverage commercial priorities for all DHL’s business units. He will be based in Plantation, United States.
Hickler brings with him more than 25 years of experience in the transportation, express and logistics industry. He joined DHL in 2005, and most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of DHL Express in the United States. In that position, he focused on building up the DHL Express U.S. Network and implementing numerous service initiatives.

Before that, he was Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Implementation, also for DHL Express in the United States. In these roles, he devised strategies to bolster the company’s standing in the express shipping industry, and also implemented a recognized Customer Experience Initiative that successfully enhanced customers’ experiences.

Hickler started his career in the ocean transportation business, and for the next 20 years, he held seniors positions including Sales, General Management, CIO for the NOL Group, and CEO of APL Logistics. In that capacity, he also served on the Boards of several joint venture companies in the automotive and technology sectors.

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Royal Mail to run obesity campaign (UK)

Posted by | Aug 5, 2008 | |

Further to Royal Mail’s own direct mail marketing campaign, the postal provider is to deliver a direct marketing campaign for the government.

The campaign will be aimed at tackling child obesity and is thought to be worth GBP£75 million, according to Brand Republic.

Department of health figures have shown that almost one in four children of school-starting-age are overweight.

Royal Mail head of government marketing James McGruer says direct mailing will make more people aware of the problem.

A recent survey showed that direct mail was the most effective way of communicating with the public as far as the health sector goes.

Over half (52 per cent) of respondents said they used the mail to communicate all important health information, while only 24 per cent used email.

The effectiveness of any direct mailing campaign can be increased by personalising the addressing of correspondence.

Marketers should always ensure the quality of data they hold is as high as possible to ensure a campaign’s success.

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Quality of service management: eight operators certified

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

Eight postal operators were awarded a certification diploma by the Universal Postal Union.

The certification programme, which comprises the rankings A, B and C (gold, silver and bronze), measures how well Posts apply quality management processes.

The countries receiving certification were Botswana (C), Mauritius (A), Malawi (A), Namibia (B), Saudi Arabia (A), South Africa (C), Swaziland (C) and Ukraine (A). Giandev Moteea, Director General of Mauritius Post Ltd., said it was an honour to receive such an award after investing in new technologies and human resources development. During the award ceremony, Moteea said, “It is now important to maintain this certification by continuing to improve quality of service and keeping our customers satisfied, and thereby sustain growth throughout the sector.”

The UPU recognizes countries’ efforts in quality of service management, a priority area for the development of mail exchanges worldwide.

The certification process involves a comprehensive assessment of the organization, operations, customer information and after-sales service relating to ordinary international mail. Quality is not measured on the basis of absolute values such as speed and regularity.

Applicant countries first need to answer several UPU questionnaires. Experts then carry out an on-site assessment. A total of 17 postal operators have been certified since 2003.

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Lawmakers seek federal review of UPS-DHL proposal

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

Two U.S. senators have asked the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to review a proposal by UPS Inc. to carry some air packages for DHL. But UPS says the agencies don’t have authority over the vendor relationship.

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a letter dated Friday (1st of August) to Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, and William Kovacic, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, that the deal being worked out raises competition concerns.

“If consummated, DHL will become reliant for air transportation on one of its two major competitors,” the letter states. “This raises the question if DHL will still be able to effectively compete against UPS, since UPS will now have a large role in determining the cost and quality of DHL’s services.”

UPS spokesman Norman Black said that the arrangement the Atlanta-based company is working out with DHL is similar to one it has been operating under for several years with the United States Postal Service.

Black said UPS has not received any communications from the Justice Department or the FTC about the proposed deal. He said lawyers for UPS and DHL continue to work on finalizing a contract, which they expect to complete by the end of the year.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said the agency has seen media reports about the proposal, but she declined to comment further.

“Generally speaking, the antitrust division can look at matters that affect competition,” Talamona said.

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DPD Russia launches new express delivery service and opens new branch

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

DPD Russia has extended its service range with a new express delivery option “DPD 13:00” for time-definite shipments. In addition, the company continues to expand its regional network with the opening of a new depot in Orenburg, close to Kazakhstan.

DPD has introduced a new time-definite service within Russia for express parcels and heavy shipments to be delivered by 13:00 of a certain day defined by the customer. The delivery can be made from Moscow to major Russian cities including St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kazan, Kaluga, Krasnodar, Nishnij Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saratov and Jaroslavl. The company plans to extend its geographical coverage of the service.

On request, urgently required information on the delivery of shipments sent with the DPD 13:00, DPD Avia, DPD BIZPAK, DPD Classic and DPD Economy services can be sent via sms directly to the customer’s mobile phone for free.

The investment in the new 1,400 sqm facility located in the southern part of Orenburg exceeded RUB 1 million (EUR 27,500). The branch network of DPD in Russia covering the country’s major cities has now increased to 30 branches linked together by a common IT system and by a unique ground line haul network. In addition to the standard services, the new depot will develop and implement tailor-made parcel and freight delivery projects within the Volga and Ural regions, DPD Russia said.

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World air cargo volumes slump in June

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

World air cargo traffic suffered a downturn in June due to the worsening international economic climate, according to the latest figures from international aviation organisations. The figures follow recent comments by global express operators about weak demand in June.

The figures continue the general downward trend seen over the first half of 2008. The key factors include lower domestic volumes in the USA, lower US imports due to the country’s weak economy, and a partial modal shift from air to sea transport as customers seek to reduce overall logistics costs.

According to the Airports Council International (ACI), representing the majority of the world’s airports, total air freight volumes dropped by 3.2% to 4.6 million tonnes in June 2008 compared to the previous year. Domestic freight slumped by 10.9% while international volumes grew just 0.4%. Half-year volumes were up by just 2.2% at 28.6 million tonnes, with domestic cargo down 2.8% and international volumes up by a more healthy 4.7%, it said.

In regional terms, North America saw a 10.9% volume drop in June, including a 14% fall in domestic volumes and a 3.2% decline in international freight. This left overall volumes down 3.6% over the first six months of 2008. Europe had a 1.3% drop in air cargo volumes in June, including a 1.7% fall in international volumes. Half-year volumes were up 2.9%.

Asia Pacific, the world’s largest air cargo market, saw growth slow to just 1% in June, with international cargo growth at 2.5%. The region had 6.6% overall growth in the first half-year. Smaller markets such as Middle East and Latin America also saw low growth in June.

Separately, IATA, representing the world’s commercial airlines, said that international cargo traffic contracted by 0.8% in June. This was the first monthly decline since May 2005 and followed several months of falling manufacturing sector confidence indicators.

Asia Pacific airlines led the freight contraction with a -4.8% year-on-year decline for June traffic, IATA pointed out. European carriers saw freight demand growth fall to 0.7% in June from 1.4% in May. North American carriers also saw freight demand growth slow to 4.0% in June from 4.6% in May.

Middle Eastern carriers delivered the strongest performance with 12.1% growth (up slightly from the 10.7% recorded in May). Latin American airlines recorded the largest contraction (12.7%) as the region’s cargo sector continues to re-structure its capacity.

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Interest in RFID rising, says channel

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

According to a new worldwide survey of data resellers, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology contracts on are on the rise. Increased reliability, reduced cost and complexity are all considered factors in the maturing market for what has, until recently been considered an emerging technology, according to the report by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).

“RFID offers adopters of the technology a number of benefits, from improvements in manufacturing, inventory and distribution processes, to reduced costs for product theft, spoilage or obsolescence,” explains Matthew Poyiadgi, VP EMEA for CompTIA.

The survey of 155 channel companies found that 46 per cent of their customers have implemented one or more RFID solutions, either as pilot projects or production deployments. This is an increase from a 2007 survey, when IT companies reported 34 per cent of their customers had initiated RFID projects.

The most popular RFID deployments now used by customers are asset tracking, cited by 32 per cent of IT companies surveyed; personal identification (28 per cent); supply chain (25 per cent); retail marketing (15 per cent); and closed-loop manufacturing (nine per cent), according to the CompTIA survey.

Customers come from a cross section of industries, including services, government, finance, healthcare, retail, communications, and manufacturing.

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Good results for the EMS Cooperative

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

At its extraordinary General Assembly held during the UPU Congress, the EMS Cooperative announced on Monday 4th August a set of very positive results: volumes rose by 23 pct between 2004 and 2006; 88 pct of items were delivered on time; and the EMS Cooperative now boasts a membership of 149. The EMS Cooperative was created in 1998 to develop and strengthen the EMS service.

A succession of countries were awarded certificates in recognition of their efforts to meet the main EMS standards. To ensure high quality service, independent consultants analyze the performance of the various operators each year.

For 2007, 13 countries received gold, silver or bronze awards for the excellence of their EMS services (deliveries, tracking of items and customer service). Azerbaijan, Hong Kong (China), Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore took gold; the Czech Republic, Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States were awarded silver; and Australia, Brazil and Canada received bronze awards.

Hungary, Russia and Spain also received awards for exceptional customer service.

EMS is a high quality, competitive, affordable international express postal service for sending documents and goods the world over. In most countries EMS is the only operator offering universal access to international express services for private customers and small and medium enterprises.

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