Author: Archive

Deutsche Post to gradually give up own outlets

Posted by | Jun 19, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net AG. plans to gradually give up running its own postal service outlets over the coming years to reduce costs, a spokesman for the company said, confirming an earlier report in German newspaper Westfalen-Blatt.

But the spokesman said that the branches will not be closed. Instead, they will be run as ‘partner branches’, which are commonly integrated into retail stores.

The company previously said it will retain about 100 of its 750 own branches.

There are some exceptions, though, the spokesman said, in places where there is no retail outlet or gas station that could house a postal service desk.

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GLS Slovenia launches new express delivery service

Posted by | Jun 19, 2008 | |

GLS Slovenia has launched a new next-day express delivery service under the name “ Express-Parcel” to provide a faster shipping alternative for customers.

The Express-Parcel service offers guaranteed delivery by 17:00 the next day. Customers can also select earlier, time-definite delivery. Depending on the selected delivery option, the parcel can be delivered the next morning by 10:00 or 12:00, or customers can select delivery within a definite time period such as 14:00 – 15:00.

“With the expansion of our product portfolio we are offering individual and precise delivery timings. We deliver important spare parts, reordered merchandise or product components required just-in-time at an exact time,” explained Janez Vengust, GLS Slovenia division manager. “This provides more planning reliability and flexibility for our customers”.

GLS Slovenia, the country’s second-largest parcel operator, said it offers not only a reliable but also a safe service by automatically insuring all its products such as “ Business-Parcel”, “Small Business- Parcel” or the new “Express-Parcel” for value of up to euro 250. Additional insurance for higher value goods is also available.

The parcels firm has also recently modernised its IT system to ensure reliable and transparent tracking and tracing for all product types.

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UK Pallets launches new European distribution service

Posted by | Jun 18, 2008 | |

Business Post Group’s palletised freight operation, UK Pallets, is launching a new European service following a deal with global logistics services provider Dachser.

Under the agreement, more than 70 UK Pallets members will now have easy and cost-effective access to Dachser’s extensive pan-European distribution network.

A number of new features have been created to support the service, including an easy-to-use online quotation system and pallet-based tariff structure that offers simplified and improved rates.

This streamlined solution will offer substantial savings of up to 15% compared with previous ad-hoc export services.

UK Pallets will consolidate daily shipments at its national hub in Lichfield for onward connection into Dachser’s nightly departures to Europe, ensuring fast and reliable door-to-door transit times. Each consignment will be bar-coded and tracked throughout the journey to provide online status information and proof of delivery.

Dachser has been a member of UK Pallets since 2001, with the UK distribution network handling all incoming nationwide deliveries from mainland Europe outside of the Northampton area. The new service is designed to improve accessibility and enhance the service offer for UK Pallets’ members.

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EU executive may suspend Slovak mail law

Posted by | Jun 18, 2008 | |

Slovakia could be ordered to suspend a law that gives a postal operator a monopoly over some mail, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Before February, the Slovak postal system was open to competition and several private companies were active in the sector. But then the government amended the law, reserving the delivery of some mail to the incumbent postal operator.

The European Union executive started proceedings against Slovakia to verify whether the change to the law broke EU rules.

EU member states have agreed to open up their 88 billion euro postal markets to full competition from the start of 2011, with an extra two years for new member states.

The EU executive wants Slovakia to clarify the recent amendments to its postal law as they may infringe the bloc’s rules aimed at stopping a single company abusing its dominant position in the market.

In a rare move, the executive has given Slovakia two weeks to comment on a possible interim measure whereby Brussels would order the law to be suspended pending a probe into its legality.

The Commission said the amendments in question extend the monopoly on the delivery of so-called hybrid mail.

Big companies email the content of a letter, such as an invoice, to the postal operator, which then prints it out and delivers it to customers in the traditional way.

This activity was open to competition before the amendments.

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Appel Discusses DPWN's Prospects in China

Posted by | Jun 18, 2008 | |

CEO Frank Appel has implied that DHL Express has 40 pct of the Chinese international express market and that his principal interest is in expanding the German global logistics group’s business in that country.

Appel discussed a number of the issues which have thrust his company into the headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. He continued to dodge questions about redundancies at the DHL hub in Wilmington, Ohio, following the company’s recently-announced restructuring of its US operations but stated that land transport business in North America was profitable. He also described himself as “not in any haste” on the issue of the Deutsche Post Bank sale, despite rumours that a number of offers have already been received and that a deal might be agreed within a few weeks.

Appel was more forthcoming about his company’s prospects in China, where he implied that DHL Express had a market-leading position. When journalists suggested that DHL Express controlled roughly 40 pct of the international express delivery market in China he replied that “what is being mentioned isn’t totally wrong”. He went on to say that he “saw no essential need to expand the company’s market share” in the cross-border express business.

However, it is in logistics that DPWN sees the most business development potential where China is concerned. Appel said the Chinese logistics market was highly fragmented but offered even more growth opportunities than express. The problem for the company was finding the right sort of partners in order to pursue that growth.

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Knesset committee threatens to abrogate postal reforms (Israel)

Posted by | Jun 18, 2008 | |

As sanctions by Israel Postal Company employees are beginning to cause hardship to the poor, residents of the periphery and others, Knesset Economics Committee chairman MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) demanded that a solution be found by the end of the week.
MK Yoram Marciano (Labor) will chair a team to examine a new bill that would look at all aspects, including postal rates and bulk mail.
Erdan, who was furious over the impasse between the Communications Ministry, which refuses to lower bulk mail rates to become competitive with private entrepreneurs and make money from it fears hundreds of workers will be dismissed as the postal company continues to lose money.
The Knesset committee supports the workers, Erdan said, but it also demands that they not refuse to hand out National Insurance Institute allotments to the needy, disabled and elderly.
The sanctions, which began over a week ago, have halted mobile postal service to outlying areas, prevented allocation of NII allotments to the public, stopped collection of certain government fees and made it impossible to switch health funds or register vehicle ownership.
IPC Director-General Avi Hochman said the government owns the for-profit postal company and that it was his job to warn about its deficits. However, he said, the government must provide the “promised security net” for the company until it stabilized financially.

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US Postal Service Federal Credit Union Outsources ATM Locations to Select-A-Branch ATM Network

Posted by | Jun 18, 2008 | |

Select-A-Branch ATM Network (“S-A-B”) announced that the US Postal Service Federal Credit Union (“USPS FCU”) has outsourced five branch ATM locations to S-A-B. In addition, USPS FCU has now joined the S-A-B Network, providing branded, surcharge-free transactions to its own card holders.

S-A-B ATMs are equipped with the company’s patent-pending software, which allows multiple financial institutions to deliver branded transactions through each S-A-B ATM. When the card holder of a participating institution swipes their card at any S-A-B ATM, they are instantly presented with transaction screens branded with the logo, colors and marketing messages of that particular institution. The surcharge is then shifted to the institution, resulting in a surcharge-free transaction to the card holder.

Aside from S-A-B’s standard customer service and brand extension benefits, providing outsourcing services to USPS FCU provides the credit union with the added benefit of eliminating ATM ownership and maintenance costs, which are now shouldered by S-A-B. And, since S-A-B participant banks and credit unions drive traffic to S-A-B locations, USPS FCU can expect to turn what has been traditionally known as a cost center into a profit center.

S-A-B transactions are processed by Fiserv, a Fortune 500 company that provides processing services for over 3000 financial institutions. “Fiserv is very enthusiastic about the evolution of S-A-B,” commented Tom Fox, VP of Sales for Fiserv’s EFT division. “We believe that more and more institutions will look to outsource their ATM offerings over time, and S-A-B appears to have a superior model that provides benefits to customers, merchant locations and financial institutions alike.”

S-A-B’s USPS FCU locations are in the Washington DC/Baltimore area.

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UPS to assume full control of operations in Korea

Posted by | Jun 18, 2008 | |

UPS today announced an agreement with The Korea Express Co., Ltd. (KEC) to acquire KEC’s interest in the UPS-KEC express joint venture company here. The transformation of the joint venture to a wholly-owned subsidiary will allow UPS to grow its business in Korea and better serve its customers in a key market.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“UPS and KEC have had a successful partnership in Korea for more than 10 years, but UPS has arrived at a point where we need greater flexibility to match our commitment to this important market,” said Derek Woodward, president of UPS’s Asia-Pacific Region, noting Korea now is America’s 7th largest trading partner.

The two companies also signed a cooperation agreement for continued collaboration. It recognizes UPS’s global network and infrastructure and KEC’s local network and customs brokerage operations.

UPS expects to enhance its levels of reliability and to further build its brand presence in Korea. As part of its strategy to provide total integrated logistics solutions, UPS will begin integrating its Supply Chain Solutions operation with the newly-formed package express entity to offer a single UPS branded portfolio.

Earlier this year, UPS rolled out a series of new services to better serve Korean customers including a simplified suite of three services for shipping international air freight. The suite includes a substantially expanded express freight option with guaranteed door-to-door service. By combining the capabilities of the world’s 9th largest airline with UPS’s position as a global freight forwarder with access to other airlines, UPS is the only transportation and supply chain provider offering guaranteed integrated air freight services in a single portfolio.

UPS began operating in Korea in 1988. The company operates 31 weekly flights to and from Incheon Airport using B-747, B-767 and MD-11 aircraft connecting Seoul to Qingdao, Shanghai, Taipei and Anchorage.

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