Author: Archive

Poste Italiane targets logistics growth with rail JV

Posted by | Mar 27, 2008 | |

Poste Italiane, the Italian postal group, is aiming to expand in the logistics sector with the formation of a joint venture with Italian Railways (Ferrovie dello Stato/FS).

The two groups announced they will merge their small logistics businesses, SDA Logistica (Poste Italiane) and Omnia Logistica (FS), into a single company to be called Italia Logistica. This will initially have revenues of some EUR 70 million, putting it among the top ten Italian logistics companies, according to the two groups. They hope it will grow into a market leader by 2010.

SDA Logistica, founded in 2000, is currently a unit of SDA Express Courier, Poste Italiane’s express and parcels delivery subsidiary, and uses its operational network of 96 depots, six distribution hubs and two air gateways. SDA Express Courier, with some 3,100 staff, had revenues of EUR 460 million in 2007.

Italia Logistica will focus on offering long-distance intermodal freight transportation using both rail and road, combined with door-to-door delivery services. It will use the two groups’ acceptance and distribution facilities. Additional services will include return logistics and hotel/catering logistics.

Poste Italiane director general Massimo Sarmi said that the two groups were combining their logistics and technological experience in order to create a national logistics operator able to compete with the leading European players.

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Citipost Supporting Cancer Charity Distribution

Posted by | Mar 27, 2008 | |

Citipost Ltd is the Distribution Sponsor for CANCERactive starting this month. Initially, Citipost will be providing all UK distribution services for the charity’s quarterly icon magazine, contributing savings of more than GBP 6,000 per year. Over the coming years, Citipost pledges to continue to work in partnership to supply improved distributions services and raise increased funds to support CANCERactive.

Rob Bradford, Managing Director, Citipost DSA Ltd, says; “We are very excited about our charity partnership with CANCERactive and the opportunity to make a big difference for people affected by cancer and their families in all communities across the UK. Citipost is proud to provide key distribution services for CANCERactive. We’re committed to successful fundraising and I am confident that this will be a long and beneficial partnership.”

Citipost will provide all the distribution services for the quarterly icon magazine that is sent out to more than 32,000 readers and 300 Cancer centres across the UK.

Chris Woolams, Founder, CANCERactive, says: “CANCERactive is the only UK charity fully covering Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies, not merely the Orthodox ones, thus helping cancer patients increase their personal odds of survival. We provide all this information for free and, even though the Trustees and Directors take no remuneration, this still requires funding. The support of organisations such as Citipost is vital to ensure that we continue to provide these unique information services to the 320,000 people who develop cancer in the UK every year”.

CANCERactive is the UK’s number one cancer charity for evidence-based information on holistic cancer therapies.

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TNT files complaint with the European Commission about Germany’s postal sector minimum wage

Posted by | Mar 27, 2008 | |

TNT has filed a complaint with the European Commission about the introduction of a euro 9.80 minimum wage for all postal carriers in Germany, which violates European Union rules.

The German government’s decision to declare the minimum wage generally binding violates the European treaty on competition and freedom of establishment. Under the cover of social reasons, it aims to raise the costs of Deutsche Post’s rivals, hinder competition, and shield the historic monopolist from the impact of market liberalisation and the realisation of a single European postal market.

“Some Member States are taking protectionist measures to circumvent the Postal Directive. European customers deserve more than a cosmetic liberalisation,” says Peter Bakker, CEO of TNT. “By filing our complaint, we join in the European Commission’s efforts to ensure fair competition.”

On 7 March 2008, the Berlin Administrative Court in first instance ruled that the German State had failed to consider the economic impact on competitors when introducing the euro 9.80 minimum wage. The German government publicly disregards the ruling.

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British CIOs adjust to laws covering disabled workers

Posted by | Mar 27, 2008 | |

Disabled people have so far lost out on many of the benefits that technology has brought. But changes are on the way

Technology is supposed to make it easier for everyone to live and work, but for the 10 million disabled people in the UK, many of whom find it difficult to use a conventional keyboard and screen, life is much harder than it need be.

Everyday business activities such as accessing information or using email are complicated or impossible for those with physical or sensory impairments, because websites and in-house systems cannot be adjusted to cater for their needs.

On the face of it these adjustments seem simple enough: the ability to make text bigger, change colors, have onscreen text read aloud or to plug in special hardware and software. In fact many alterations that disabled people need can be achieved just by changing Windows settings.

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Post Office Decision Following Additional Consultations In East Essex And Suffolk

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

Post Office Ltd today announced its decision on the future of three East Essex and Suffolk Post Offices, following a six- week public consultation ending on February 14 2008.

In October 2007 Post Office Ltd developed and published a local area plan proposal for the East Essex and Suffolk area, setting out the changes it proposed to make as part of the implementation of the Government decision to reduce the UK wide network of Post Office branches by up to 2,500 from its current level of more than 14,000 while continuing to provide funding to support a more sustainable network in the future.

As a result of feedback received during the local six-week public consultation Post Office Ltd amended its proposal by deciding not to proceed with the proposed closures of Fore Street, Honeycroft Lawford and Warley Road Post Office branches and proposing the closure of Henham Stores Post Office branch, High Street, Henham, CM22 6AS; Kersey Post Office branch, 4, Vale Lane, Kersey, Ipswich IP7 6EH and Little Bentley Post Office branch, Dysons Textiles, Bentley Manor Barns, Church Road, Little Bentley, CO7 8SE.

The closure of these three Post Office branches is confirmed today.

During the consultation Post Office Ltd received more than 140 responses about the Post Offices.

The main concerns raised in relation to the proposed closure of Henham Stores Post Office branch were that the closure would affect the local community and could result in the closure of the associated shop. Respondents also commented about lack of transport in the area.

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Federal Court issues certification decisions (U.S)

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., reports that today the United States District Court in Indiana in the pending multi-district litigation (MDL) has issued a decision denying class certification in the Montana, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa, Virginia and Illinois cases.

The Court granted class certification for the Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, Wisconsin, Alabama, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Oregon, Indiana, West Virginia, Florida and Rhode Island cases. The state case in California was certified but a nationwide Family Medical Leave Act claim filed there was denied certification.

Today’s decision was a procedural ruling. It does not determine the proper classification of contractors nor does it have any impact on the company’s contractor model or operating agreement.

“FedEx Ground is proud to be associated with nearly 15,000 owner-operator contractors, all of whom made the decision to be self-sufficient, to be their own boss and to control their professional success,” said Maury Lane, FedEx Corp. spokesperson. “Their right to pursue independence and economic opportunity is now being threatened by efforts on behalf of a few that will jeopardize the future of the majority.”

FedEx Ground believes in the American right to work for oneself and is committed to defending the freedom of the 15,000 independent contractors to make their own professional and business decisions. This court decision will not affect FedEx Ground’s ability to serve its customers in the world-class manner they have come to expect.

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ShipGooder takes shipping to the next dimension

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

It’s an old question with an interesting twist: Which costs more to ship – a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers? The answer: It depends on the size of the box.

Couriers use package dimensions to determine the “dimensional weight” of a shipment. Large packages cost couriers more to ship than smaller packages. Couriers charge this higher cost to their shipping customers. For example, if a square box measures 24 inches on each side, the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx UPS and DHL count the weight of the box as 72 pounds, even if the box and its contents weigh only 25 pounds.

ShipGooder.com, the market leader for providing courier rate searches across multiple carriers, today announced the launch of a new dimensional weight feature. In addition, ShipGooder.com announced a new function to allow visitors to specify a residential destination for their shipments.

Visitors to ShipGooder.com simply enter their shipping origin and destination zip codes, along with the dimensions and weight of their shipment. Package dimensions can be input when visitors click on the “advanced options” link on the homepage. ShipGooder automatically determines the dimensional weight of the package to calculate the ultimate shipping weight that couriers will charge. Current rates from the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS and DHL are instantly displayed in a simple table along with rates from local and regional carriers.

Once the rates are displayed, ShipGooder’s AJAX technology allows visitors to change any shipping parameter, such as the package weight or destination zip code to see updates to the rates in real-time. Additionally, the free website does not require visitors to register any personal information, and does not clutter its pages with distracting ads.

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TTPost spending USD 4.7m to upgrade its delivery service

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

The Trinidad and Tobago Postal Corporation (TTPost) is set to improve its delivery network at a cost of USD 4.7 million within the next three months.

TTPost communications manager, Simone Farmer, said yesterday that the company, currently involved in wage negotiations with the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Workers’ Union, had met recently and identified solutions to several issues.

Postal workers in South and Central have been protesting in recent times over a series of problems, including defective mail bags, unsafe conditions at the workplace and general “unsatisfactory working conditions”.

Recently in Chaguanas, Couva, Marabella and San Fernando, workers downed tools in protest of these conditions.

The buildings occupied by the Chaguanas and Marabella workers were deemed unsafe and the workers also protested insufficient motorcycles for the delivery officers.

Workers at San Fernando, Couva and other areas also complained about defective mailbags.

Farmer said in a statement that the company’s decision to spend millions to improve its delivery network was a result of concern raised by the workers.

Among the challenges faced by TTPost, Farmer said, was the inadequacy of staff facilities at premises rented by the company for its delivery operations.

Farmer said April 25 was identified as the deadline date for repairs to the Chaguanas and Couva/California delivery offices, while defective mail bags and other old materials currently in use by workers will be replaced by April 30.

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