Author: Archive

DHL invests USD 250 million in Russia

Posted by | May 7, 2008 | |

DHL focusing on express transportation of goods plans to invest up to USD 250 million in Russia by 2011, the General Director of the Russian office of the company said.

The intention to invest in Russia is explained by fast growing volume of freight traffic in the country. DHL has set up its own network of transportation hubs and offices in 500 towns and cities of Russia.

The company plans to put money into development of office and terminal networks as well as construction of new regional logistics centres.

DHL is the leader in the field of express transportation of goods and logistics. The DHL network operates in over 220 countries. The company has been acting in Russia since 1984 and is covering over 500 settlements at the moment.

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DHL inaugurates the industry's largest Hub in Central America

Posted by | May 7, 2008 | |

DHL inaugurated the largest Hub in Central America. With this new center, DHL has increased its capacity to sort up to 5,000 packages per hour, representing a 250pct jump from its previous shipping handling capacity.

Strategically located at Tocumen International Airport in Panama, a country that connects the main poles in the Latin America, the new DHL hub boasts the infrastructure and capacity needed to efficiently respond to the accelerated rise in international trade, particularly between the United States and Central America, which stems from the recent free trade agreements.

The USD 4.5 million hub was designed to optimize space allowing for greater operational and storage areas which results in increased shipment capacity and improvements in aircraft departure time by 10pct . The new 83,000 square-foot center- three times larger than the previous facility- considers various innovations and technology systems including a cold room for storing packages that require temperature control, material handling system and a re-packaging area.

In Mexico, the expansion of DHL Mexico City’s main hub resulted in increasing the company’s operating capacity by 20pct. The expansion is part of a five-year investment plan of over USD 112 million.

In Brazil, DHL opened recently four points-of-sales centers in the country’s major cities strategically located in high-traffic areas that facilitate access to small- and medium-size companies.

In Jamaica, a new Gateway was built and recently inaugurated to speed customs clearance.

In Argentina, the company invested USD 1 M to open a customer service center with state-of-the art technology which doubled the capacity.

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Royal Mail encourages e-retail best practice with delivery promise tool

Posted by | May 7, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has launched a new consultancy tool to help online retailers make sure they offer consumers the best possible experience and reduce shopping basket abandonment.

The internet based ‘Delivery Promise Tool’ can analyse any e-retail website, monitoring the quality and availability of delivery information such as cost, time, tracking, delivery options and contact details. It produces a detailed report which includes recommendations on how each website can improve its service.

Royal Mail created the tool after its Delivery Experience research revealed the importance that consumers place on having access to clear delivery information before placing an order online.

The research revealed that 19 in 20 online shoppers have abandoned a shopping basket, 37 per cent regularly, and that four in ten (42 per cent) did so because of the delivery charge.

The creation of the Delivery Promise Tool follows Royal Mail’s launch of two new services to improve the delivery experience for shoppers. Royal Mail Tracked enables retailers to provide their customers with a tracking number when the goods ordered are dispatched so that the shopper can track the progress of the delivery themselves. And the Safeplace service also gives shoppers the opportunity to specify a safe, alternative delivery point, such as a shed, porch or neighbour, should they not be at home to receive the item.

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Jupiter Research Study Finds Multi-Channel E-Commerce Expansion Vital To Online Retail Success

Posted by | May 7, 2008 | |

ChannelAdvisor, the leading provider of e-commerce channel management solutions, today announced the results of a JupiterResearch study on marketing and sales strategies for online retailers. Sponsored by ChannelAdvisor and conducted by independent research firm JupiterResearch and Internet Retailer, the study provides in-depth insights into the fundamental issues driving multi-channel online retailing.

Seventy-five percent of online retailers surveyed cited multi-channel expansion as a key component in their marketing strategies. Ninety-eight percent report they market on at least two online channels.

“The results provide actionable information for retailers who are evaluating online programs including paid and organic search, and comparison shopping engines,” said Brad Wolansky, Vice President Global E-Commerce of The Orvis Company. “We partnered with ChannelAdvisor for solutions to help us manage our paid search and comparison shopping engine initiatives and they have provided good value including higher ROI and predictable rates of success.”

The recent findings deliver a unique perspective on how online retailers are capitalizing on the full spectrum of e-commerce channels and explore the benefits and the challenges of expanding their reach. It also focused on the area of third-party outsourcing and how to measure its success. Those retailers who choose to outsource should look to their e-commerce partners to develop performance metrics that demonstrate their long-term worth including lifetime customer value, product margins and customer retention.

“This survey suggests that ChannelAdvisor has a unique opportunity to help retailers assess where they in the multi-channel life cycle and the implications for moving forward,” said Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor. “Clearly, going multi-channel is the first step. To be truly successful, they need to define what they expect from their e-commerce solution providers in terms of marketing spend and efficiencies to judge the overall profitability of the relationship.”

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What's not in store: Merchants hold back imports

Posted by | May 7, 2008 | |

Latest industry report shows sharp drop in volume of shipments of retail goods, with weakness expected to flow through summer.

A significant drop in volume of imported retail goods into the United States is providing fresh evidence that a slowing economy has pinched American consumers’ ability to shop freely, according to an industry report Wednesday.

In-bound container traffic to the U.S. was down 4.8% in March from February, which traditionally is the slowest month of the year for retail-related imports, according to the latest joint monthly Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and forecasting firm Global Insight.

That figure represented the lowest monthly volume since February 2006.

What’s more, the NRF forecasts that growth in-bound container traffic will remain at or below last year’s levels through the summer months “due to the underlying weakness in consumer demand in the U.S. economy,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy with the NRF.

Looking forward at year-over-year figures, Port Tracker estimates a 3.2% dip in April, a 4.8% fall in May, a 7% drop in June, and a 2% decline in July. In September, in-bound container traffic is finally seen rising by 3%.

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