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Rent out post office space to commercial entities

Posted by | Jun 8, 2008 | |

Postal services assets, primarily its islandwide network of post offices and sub post offices could be used to generate additional revenue if space in those outlets are rented out to other commercial establishments, a report said.

The report, which has as its prime focus to enhance the revenue of the loss making Sri Lanka Posts (SLP) was handed over to Posts Minister Mahinda Wijesekera at the SLP Hqrs. bldg,, on Wednesday.

SLP is the only organization having islandwide outlets (some 4,703 outlets) providing “easy” access to every household. This facility will be “gladly” embraced by other institutions that do not have such infrastructure facilities. There are many institutes such as telephone companies, internet service providers, electricity companies, Water Supply Board, insurance companies and local government authorities who want to collect revenue from their customers and are looking for operational space, post offices may fill this vacuum, the report said.

SLP, formerly known as the Postal Department, made a Rs. 2.3 billion loss last year. It has accumulated losses totalling Rs. 11.2 billion over a 12 year period beginning from 1996.

Among the recommendations made in this document which was prepared by Deputy Post Master General K.A.S. Senadhira were to take advantage of the fact that many commercial banks were waiting for a tie-up with SLP to receive more agency services, including using the postal network for foreign money remittance. HSBC already uses post offices for credit card payment settlements.

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Remittances through post offices

Posted by | Jun 8, 2008 | |

The Postal Department is discussing with a remittance service and a private commercial bank to introduce remittance services in postal outlets.

The Department operates some 650 post offices and 3,500 sub-post offices islandwide.

The service providers with whom the Department is having discussions are Western Union (WU) Money Transfer Service and DFCC Vardhana Bank (DVB).

Posts Minister Mahinda Wijesekera speaking at the Postal Department Hqrs., Bldg., on Wednesday said that the necessary space available for such banking operations will be rented out to them.

The Minister said that the Department made a Rs. 2.3 billion loss last year. Its expenditure this year is forecast at Rs. eight billion, and next year, Rs. 10 billion.

“Such steps will help us to mitigate such losses through the rent income received,” said Wijesekera.

The Department has some 19,000 employees.

At present, still the main types of remittance service in the country are the traditional telegraphic transfer systems and bank drafts which are costly, WU Sri Lanka Marketing Manager Imran Carim told The Sunday Leader.

The Postal Department also has a tie-up with HSBC for credit card settlements.

“We will be negotiating with other banks, to get them also into this scheme,” Posts Ministry Secretary W.M. Piyasena told The Sunday Leader.

He said that the Department was talking to Moratuwa University and Dialog Telekom for networking of their branches and utility bills settlements, by the consumer making use of the Department’s islandwide postal network to make those payments which will be transmitted electronically.

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Qtel services to be offered at post offices

Posted by | Jun 8, 2008 | |

Users of Qatar Telecom (Qtel) services will now have an option when it comes to the payment of bills, following the signing of an agreement between the General Postal Corporation (Q-Post) and the telecom service provider.

Qtel services at post offices will be offered in a phased manner, starting with Q-Post offices located in Dafna, Abdul Aziz bin Ahmed Street and Al Kahraba Street.

Other than payment of bills, postpaid and prepaid GSM cards and prepaid charge cards will be available at post offices. At a press conference, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani, Qtel COO, said: “Today’s joint efforts will enable customers to subscribe to most of their telecom services and mail their personal or business parcels at the same time. Also, this will provide customers with more outlets in numerous areas to meet their telecom needs, in addition to Qtel’s 17 branches.”

Waleed Al Sayed, Qtel Executive Director (Customer Services), said: “We are planning to work on a long-term relationship. All the range of our products will be gradually rolled out. As you are also aware, training for Q-Post employees will need to be given. By early 2009, all services will be provided.”

Al Sayed said Qtel employees will not be sent to the post offices but will only provide the training. “We have no intention of doing the work physically there. We have confidence in Q-Post to deliver quality service to customers,” he said.

Six post offices will now be offering the Hala recharge service while six will be added later.

Ali Mohammed Al Ali, Q-Post Chairman, said: “We hope all branches will be covered by the end of this year. Customers can now take care of their daily responsibilities with less stops, thus saving them time and without having to drive across town as our Q-Post branches as well as Qtel’s are available throughout Qatar.”

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FedEx Facebook: Sending 'virtual gifts' in a company box was top download last week

Posted by | Jun 8, 2008 | |

FedEx Corp. is bouncing off the walls in the walled garden called Facebook.

In just over a week, 270,000 users have downloaded its Launchapackage.com application for sending virtual gifts, all wrapped up in a FedEx box, of course.

What you might not expect are the sounds of jet engines as the package zooms into your space, bouncing off the parameters and landing with a cool-sounding thud on the bottom of your screen.

“A year ago, we decided we wanted to see if could own virtual delivery in the social community,” said Steve Pacheco, FedEx director of advertising and the guy who helps mastermind the company’s award-winning Super Bowl ads.

“You can put anything you want in it and fling it to family and friends.”

Last week, Launchapackage was the No. 1 download out of Facebook’s 40,000 applications.

The feed is a key part of the viral spread. Because it includes news about people you’ve admitted to your site, it tends to be of high interest, he said.

“We’re able to see what times of day it is being used. And what people are sending in their packages is really great information. We’re learning more about how people socially engage,” Pacheco said.

What FedEx already knows is that the average Facebook user is plugged in 20 minutes a day. Multiply that by its 70 million active users and you have a space “where we think we need to play,” Pacheco said.

Users get the download for free. To give them reason to wrap their text, photos or video in a FedEx box, FedEx provides technology-cool interactive visuals, like the giant rubber band that stretches across your screen to send your message into the next realm.

The concept was developed with Atmosphere BBDO, the interactive arm of FedEx New York advertising agency BBDO.

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Quintiq completes software installation at DHL Express Singapore

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

Quintiq, a provider of advanced planning and scheduling systems, has said that it has completed the installation of Parcel and Express Planning Solution at DHL Express Singapore.

Quintiq has said that APS will ultimately provide all DHL Express operations throughout Asia-Pacific with advanced planning and scheduling capabilities for their courier dispatching processes, in their overall express parcel services.

Development of the Quintiq software for DHL Express in Malaysia is now underway, with implementation expected to be completed during Q2, 2008. India, China, Hong Kong, Australia and other countries in the region are scheduled to go live through the rest of the year and early 2009, the company has said.

Oliver Facey, vice president of operations programs for Asia Pacific at DHL Express, said: “The kind of improvement that we have already seen in dispatching efficiency is a direct result of the increased visibility and automation provided by the Quintiq solution. Although the solution has only just gone live, we are pleased by these preliminary results.”

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UPS will have no presence at local hub

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

A spokesperson for United Parcel Service (UPS) said Friday the shipping giant will “unequivocally” not use the Wilmington hub in any way if an agreement with DHL is inked.

Norman Black, director of global media services, talked to the News Journal Friday from the UPS headquarters in Atlanta, Ga.

“Anything involving the future of that hub in Wilmington has got to be addressed to DHL. It’s their facility, their operation, their network, the thing that they’re changing. The only thing I can tell you unequivocally, is no, UPS is not planning on doing anything in Wilmington,” Black said.

He mentioned it was discussed at the press conference last week in Bonn, Germany, that if UPS is hired to take over DHL’s air transport, the agreement implicitly states it is based on using UPS’ existing air network.

The agreement may mean the direct loss of at least 8,200 employees in the southwest region of Ohio, according to local and state of Ohio public officials.

UPS and DHL announced the two major transportation companies are in talks over a 10-year agreement worth USD 1 billion annually.

UPS has six hubs, with the main global hub at Louisville, Ky. and other hubs in Ontario, Calif.; Dallas, Texas; Rockford, Ill.; Columbia, S.C.; and Philadelphia, Penn.

Black foresees no new information being available for two to three months while lawyers in the United States and Germany work behind the scenes on a final contract. After that is complete, the companies will build an operational plan.

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Consultation On Changes To Post Office Network – Post Office Ltd proposes two additional branches for closure in the Bristol and Somerset area

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

Post Office Ltd recently confirmed decisions reached following local public consultation into its Bristol and Somerset area plan. As a result of the feedback received, Post Office Ltd amended its original proposal and decided not to proceed with the closure of three branches at Bear Flat, Lower Weston and West End.

In order to ensure that the planned future network can be supported by the available funding from Government and meets the criteria it has set, including the requirement that no part of the UK is advantaged or disadvantaged relative to other areas, Post Office Ltd is now proposing the permanent closure two branches at Southgate and Hinton St George. A six week public consultation on these new proposals will begin on 17 June.

In proposing these branches for closure, Post Office Ltd has taken into account that customers would be able to access Post Office® services from nearby branches.

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