Author: Archive

Union and state officials protest Deutsche Post plans to cut U.S. airlines ties

Posted by | Jul 1, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net’s decision to outsource DHL Express’ domestic U.S. airlift to UPS is drawing fire from a coalition of public officials and union forces – and the state of Ohio.

The 10-year deal, which could bring some USD 10 billion to UPS, will face extensive antitrust scrutiny.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is calling for an investigation into whether DPWN’s plans for DHL would violate U.S. antitrust laws by reducing competition in the express package delivery market.

Facing the legal hurdle and an outcry over the impending loss of thousands of jobs in the state, DPWN board member John Mullen, CEO of DHL Express, and Wolfgang Pordzik, DHL vice president of public policy, met in Washington with Strickland and with Ohio’s congressional representatives.

One of them, Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, is calling for an antitrust investigation that goes beyond the initial UPS-DHL deal, saying there are signs the two companies will forge similar arrangements in Europe and Asia.

Several unions also are threatening to sue to block the agreement with UPS on antitrust grounds.

Deutsche Post’s move would essentially unravel part of DHL’s expansion in the United States, enabling the company to focus on international business as DPWN looks for ways to stem the U.S. operation’s losses, expected to reach USD 1.3 billion this year.

But first, DHL has to sever ties with its current carriers, ABX Air and ASTAR Air Cargo. That’s causing angst for public officials and union leaders, especially those in Wilmington, Ohio, DHL’s main domestic hub.

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FedEx Named to ComputerWorld Best Places to Work in IT List

Posted by | Jul 1, 2008 | |

IDG’s ComputerWorld magazine today announced that FedEx Corp. has made the Computerworld Best Places to Work in IT list for the 7th time. The Best Places to Work feature story noted the innovative Purple Pipeline program as a reason to work for the global transportation, e-commerce and business services company.
“The competitive edge sought by the best and smartest companies is no longer information technology itself,” said Scot Finnie, editor in chief of Computerworld. “After all, IT has permeated the business processes of almost every department of virtually every enterprise. The new competitive edge is finding and retaining the very best people to chart and implement your IT strategy.”
The Best Places to Work in Information Technology (IT) list is an annual ranking of the top 100 work environments for technology professionals compiled by IDG’s Computerworld, the “Voice of IT Management.” The lists are compiled based on a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, diversity, career development, training and retention. In addition, Computerworld conducts extensive surveys of IT workers, and their responses factor heavily in determining the rankings.

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FedEx Recognized by Black Enterprise as one of “40 Best Companies for Diversity”

Posted by | Jul 1, 2008 | |

Black Enterprise today announced that FedEx has made the list of “40 Best Companies for Diversity”, based on a survey of major corporations.
According to the July issue of Black Enterprise, the publication “engaged in a comprehensive outreach effort to the CEOs and diversity executives of the top 1,000 publicly traded companies and the diversity executives for the 50 leading global companies with strong U.S. operations.” The four key categories where FedEx outperformed its peers included:
• Senior Management – percentage of senior management positions held by African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups
• Employee Base – percentage of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups represented in the total workforce of the company
• Board of Directors – percentage of African Americans and other ethnic minority groups represented on their corporate boards
• Supplier Diversity – percentage of total procurement dollars spent with companies owned by African Americas and members of other ethnic minority groups
“FedEx values and promotes the unique contributions, perspectives and differences of our team members worldwide,” said Judy Edge, corporate vice president of Human Resources, FedEx Corp. “This is another independent confirmation of our commitment to diversity in the workplace, by one of the most respected publications among the African-American community.”
In 2006-2007, FedEx was ranked among the Best Places to Work in more than 20 nations.

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DHL expands temperature controlled freight services in North America and Europe

Posted by | Jul 1, 2008 | |

DHL Global Forwarding continues to enhance its global capabilities for the life science and healthcare industries by expanding its network of Envirotainer QEP certified sites.

The proper and expert handling of the ‘Envirotainer’ – a temperature and humidity-controlled air cargo container – is critical to successfully transporting climate sensitive products.

DHL has enhanced its capabilities for meeting the temperature-sensitive requirements for customers at additional airport facilities in the U.S., Canada and Europe where the majority of volumes are transported for the life science and healthcare industries.

DHL leads the development of cold chain solutions, including temperature controlled package handling, in-transit visibility to shipments and best-in-class controlled environments for cold chain storage.

DHL personnel are now trained and certified by Envirotainer, a leading provider of temperature-controlled air cargo containers, for safe and proper handling of its containers for customers with temperature sensitive products at major airports across North America, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, and Los Angeles; Toronto and Montreal in Canada; and cities in Europe including Amsterdam, Basel, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Milan, Muenster, Paris, Rome, Shannon, Stuttgart and Vienna.

DHL has gained Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP) accreditation, comprised of training and audits on proper material handling of the Envirotainers, as well as use of associated equipment including power supplies and temperature control systems. DHL Global Forwarding is now the largest mover of the air transportation containers manufactured by Envirotainer.

DHL Global Forwarding intends to expand its network of QEP certified sites for managing Envirotainers for customers at 100 locations globally by the end of 2008, achieving QEP status at every primary airport facility where the Envirotainer is used by DHL.

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Deutsche Post to receive 1 bln euro repayment after court ruling

Posted by | Jul 1, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net will receive a repayment of around 1 billion euros after the European Court of the First Instance in Luxembourg today overturned a 2002 decision by the European Commission.
The European Commission in 2002 ordered Deutsche Post to repay 907 million euros in purported state aid and interest. Deutsche Post in 2002 appealed the decision and will now receive a repayment.
Responding to the decision, Deutsche Post said the court had confirmed the company’s legal position.
The company expects to receive the cash inflow in several weeks’ time and would prefer to earmark the amount for returning to shareholders, pending clarity regarding other cash-relevant issues.
In June 2002, the Commission determined that Deutsche Post from 1994 to 1998 covered a cost deficit in the competitive business parcel segment through improper cross-subsidization with State aid funds earmarked for the financing of the universal service. Deutsche Post has always disputed this claim.
Furthermore, no cross-subsidization was found in Commission antitrust proceedings completed a few months earlier. In September 2002, Deutsche Post brought an action for annulment of the Commission’s state-aid decision before the European Court of the First Instance.
As a result of the Commission’s decision, however, Deutsche Post had to repay 572 million euros that was determined to be state aid plus 335 million euros in interest to the Federal Republic of Germany at the beginning of 2003. Germany will now repay this amount with interest to Deutsche Post.

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Business Postal Services UK

Posted by | Jul 1, 2008 | |

Main findings:
The barriers to entry for mail collection and delivery are high, although, due to advances in digital printing, they are starting to come down. Competition has primarily come from the logistics sector, which also provides courier and express parcel-delivery services. New technology, however, could see new entrants from other quarters. Existing providers are already developing hybrid mail systems that allow users to e-mail their mail content, which is then sorted electronically before being sent, again electronically, to the nearest printing plant to the final destination point where the mail is printed, collated, put into envelopes, sorted according to Royal Mail’s Walksort criteria and delivered in that location.
This not only saves time and money, but also reduces the amount of traffic on the roads. It is likely that a number of location-specific printing houses, using advanced mail-printing technology, will develop across the UK.
All competition has concentrated in the B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) mail market: The Royal Mail continues to collect, sort and deliver mail from consumers through its Post Office services. The Post Office division of The Royal Mail’s business continues to be unprofitable and, in 2007, some tough and unpopular cost-cutting measures were introduced with the start of a programme, continuing into 2008, that sees the closure of many post offices across the UK.
With strike action from Royal Mail postal workers over pay and working conditions in 2007, and threatened again in 2008, coupled with post office closures, the Royal Mail brand has received much negative publicity. However, its strength has cast it as a venerable UK institution and there are, as yet, no serious contenders to threaten its position.
Nevertheless, with full deregulation, the UK Government is committed to ensuring that the UK postal market is fully competitive, and has commissioned a review of the market and how it is regulated.
This Key Note Market Assessment report examines the market as it stands, as well as looking at how the mail markets operate on an international level, and suggesting how the market will develop in the future. Extensive research has been conducted using information from the regulatory body Postcomm, as well as individual companies and European and international information sources. Key Note also invited key industry practitioners to take part in a virtual roundtable, to elicit views from within the industry itself. Their responses can be found in Chapter 8 — Industry Dynamics — of this report.

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The Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) preparing to raise mail charges

Posted by | Jun 30, 2008 | |

The Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) has filed an application with the communications sector regulator seeking permission to increase mail box charges.

A notice published in the current issue of the Kenya Gazette indicates that charges for corporate, individual, and special groups may go up from August.

If approved, corporations will pay Sh 6, 000 for the mail box every year up from the current rate of Sh 4,200 per year.

Individuals will add Sh 400 to the current rate of Sh 1,400 while the special groups will add Sh 500 to the current rate of Sh 3,700. Charges for the sub postal office will, however, remain unchanged.

In the gazette notice signed by the acting CCK director general Peres Nkonge, the Postal Corporation cites the steep rise in the cost of renting premises for leased operations, administrative costs and purchase of the letter boxes.

Consumers have 30 days from Friday last week to make representations or objections to the proposed new tariffs. Such representations or objections must be made in writing to the director general of CCK.

The drive for higher rental charges comes amid a shift by majority of consumers from postal to email services.

PCK has responded to this change by diversifying its portfolio to new business lines such as cyber services. It is however bound by the Universal Service Obligations to offer basic postal services to all customers including remote parts of the country.

1.00 USD = 64.9500 KES

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Postmen to have beat codes for fast delivery of letters

Posted by | Jun 30, 2008 | |

The Postal department has introduced a postman beat code along with the pin code for fast delivery of letters and parcels. The new service was introduced all over the country a few months ago.

Haryana Postal Services Director Manisha Bansal Badal said, “The scheme was introduced in Haryana in March and has helped a lot in delivering letters and parcels in time.”

The scheme was introduced in the city last week. Badal, who has served as Senior Superintendent of Post Offices in Ludhiana, said, “Any one who is posting a letter is supposed to write the pincode and the postman beat code of the area where the letter is being sent. This will help in delivering the letter to its destination soon. While sorting out the letters, the postal employees will just read the postman beat code of the city and put that letter in his tray. This way the time, which the postal employees used to take earlier for reading the whole address, is saved.”

The city has 14 delivery offices of the Postal department from where about 300 postmen collect the postal articles for delivery every day. So there will be about 300 postman beat codes.

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