Author: Archive

UPS appoints new District Manager for Germany

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

UPS has named Stefan Schürfeld to the position of District Manager UPS Germany in place of Jörns Reineke who will retire by the end of May 2008 after 32 years with the company.

Schürfeld, 51, will be responsible for operational business as well as strategic alignment of UPS Germany. “Germany is the largest local market outside the USA and I am looking forward to taking on the challenges involved,” he commented. “In the future, we will continue offering the best possible service to our customers and we will set benchmarks for the industry with technical innovations.”

Schürfeld started his career at UPS Germany in 1982 and held several management positions at UPS in Germany and Benelux. Most recently, since August 2006, he was District Manager (Great Basin District) in Utah, USA.

Reineke joined UPS at its start-up in Germany in 1976 and rose up through the ranks to hold a range of management positions. He took over the post of District Manager for Germany in 2004.

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Russian Post to remain state-owned company, official says

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

Russian Post is to remain a state-owned company, IT and Communications Minister Leonid Reyman told journalists during a meeting of the ministry’s board today, adding that the ministry had yet to decide whether Russian Post needed to be converted into a state corporation or into a joint-stock company fully controlled by the government. Commenting on the possible deregulation of the postal sector, Reyman noted that if private-owned companies were allowed access to the market, it was necessary to ensure that Russian Post did not become an operator of its least efficient segments.

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DHL's operations are in full bloom this Valentine's Day

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

DHL is exporting an estimated 15 million fresh cut flowers from Latin America this Valentine’s Day season, for delivery to customers in the U.S. and around the world. A combination of roses, carnations, tropical flowers and greens originating from Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica has already made its way into the U.S., as well as other destinations that celebrate the February 14 holiday, including the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Russia.

DHL consolidates floral parcels from growers in Latin America and protects the life of the flowers by using bonded cold storage facilities to keep the product cool prior to air transport and immediately upon arrival. Ninety percent of the floral shipments destined for the U.S. market go through Miami where they undergo agricultural inspection at the DHL terminal in Miami.

DHL customer VistaFlor Corp., a Colombian grower that exports bouquets, wedding flowers and arrangements to the U.S. for special occasions, will see its export volume soar from its normal average 5,000 boxes of flowers per week to as many as 53,000 boxes during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. In addition to maintaining VistaFlor’s shipments at the required 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 4 degrees Celsius), DHL handles the shipment documentation, freight brokerage, customs paperwork and clearance processes.

For its U.S. customers, DHL will deliver millions of flowers to retailers and consumers on or before February 14. DHL in the U.S. has added refrigerated trucks and dedicated flights exclusively for some of the most popular floral retailers and e-tailers.

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Parceline becomes DPD

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

Express carrier Parceline is rebranding as DPD, express network which has 500 depots in 38 countries. The new DPD uniforms and liveried vehicles will be seen immediately in the UK.

DPD, which stands for Dynamic Parcel Distribution, delivers more than two million parcels daily. It is part of the French GeoPost Group, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of La Poste Group – the French Post Office.

La Poste has also invested GBP 56 million in a new hub for the business about a mile from the existing site in Birmingham.

DPD has 42 depots in the UK and deals predominantly with business-to-business customers.

The existing Smethwick site will be used to support the expansion of sister company Interlink Express, which is aimed at small businesses.

Chief executive Kay Phillips said: “We will now be more easily recognised as an international operator.

The new hub is sited between junctions 1 and 2 on the M5 motorway, in Oldbury, West Midlands and uses the latest tilt tray technology supported by sophisticated MIS systems. It also has s a 24/7/365 vehicle maintenance unit for the fleet of double-decker trailers, along with executive offices and staff facilities.

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Stamps increasing by one cent to 42c in May (U.S)

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

The price for a one-ounce First-Class stamp will increase from 41 to 42 cents on May 12.

Prices for other mailing services, such as Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services (including single-piece Parcel Post), and Special Services will also change (see chart below). The average increase by class of mail is at or below the rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

“The Postal Service developed the Forever Stamp for consumers to ease the transition during price changes,” said Postmaster General John Potter. “We encourage Americans to buy Forever Stamps now for 41 cents, because like the name suggests, they are good forever.” The price goes up to 42 cents on May 12.

The Postal Service has sold 5 billion Forever Stamps since the launch last April and plans to have an additional 5 billion in stock to meet the expected demand before the May price change.

Consistent with a new law*, prices for mailing services will be adjusted annually each May. The Postal Service plans to provide 90 days’ notice before the price changes each year.

New prices for shipping services, including Express Mail and Priority Mail, will be announced in March. Prices for all postal products and services are available at usps.com/prices.

*The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act

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FedEx enables shipping inside Microsoft Office Outlook

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

FedEx Corp. will now provide users of Microsoft Office Outlook, the ability to connect directly to FedEx shipping services. FedEx made its announcement during the keynote event at the 2008 Microsoft Office System Developer Conference.

The application, FedEx QuickShip, is an add-in that utilizes web services to provide fast and easy access to FedEx shipping functions.

With the FedEx add-in installed, Microsoft Office Outlook users will be able to generate labels, track packages, check rates, schedule pickups and find FedEx drop-off locations while still inside their Outlook 2003 or 2007 e-mail application.

To initiate the shipping experience, users simply right-click on an existing contact and choose ship from the menu. Shipments are then stored in a task view allowing users to conveniently recall and sort previous shipments.

This announcement serves as a continuation of the FedEx Web services platform. This platform delivers e-commerce solutions to software developers who need to build shipping and logistics services directly into their own or customers infrastructure.

In late 2007, FedEx introduced the FedEx Developer Resource Center (DRC) to help developers integrate applications with FedEx technologies through FedEx Web services. The FedEx DRC provides developers online interactive documentation, downloads, technical FAQs, testing resources and processes to customers.

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Lufthansa and DHL to sue over Frankfurt Airport plan

Posted by | Feb 11, 2008 | |

German flagship airline Lufthansa plans to go to court over the expansion plan for Frankfurt Airport because of limits on night flights under the plan.

Lufthansa will take legal action against the planning approval for the airport expansion in view of the night flights issue.

DHL will also go to court over the expansion plan for Frankfurt Airport.

TUI’s holiday airline TUIfly and charter airline Condor said they would also sue over the issue.

In September, Frankfurt airport operator Fraport, the state of Hesse, the city of Frankfurt and several municipalities neighbouring the airport reached a compromise on the building of a new runway and a third terminal, with the condition that local residents are to protected from air-traffic noise by limitations on night flights.

The planning approval ultimately would permit just 17 flights between 11pm local time and 5am local time.

Lufthansa said the company welcomes the decision to expand Frankfurt airport. However, Lufthansa has requested more passenger and cargo flights than have been granted under the planning approval.

Lufthansa has requested approval to schedule 41 overnight flights between 11pm local time and 5am local time, Rhiel said.

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Britain to axe 2,500 post offices

Posted by | Feb 9, 2008 | |

British authorities say village post offices are becoming a casualty of the Internet as more people go online to pay bills and use e-mail.

“Customer numbers have gone down about 4 million per week compared to a couple of years ago and the losses are rising,” said Pat McFadden, the man named by the British government to pick 2,500 post offices for closure this year.

The British postal network loses about USD 7 million a week and hundreds of British post offices attract as few as 16 customers a week, on average, The Times of London reported Saturday.

Post offices in Britain, especially those in villages, continue to be used by large numbers of the elderly, who view the closures as a sign of disrespect toward them and fear their communities will change for the worse, the Times reported.

“No one comes into politics to do something that can be very unpopular locally to the people affected, and I am very aware of that,” McFadden said. “But sometimes governments have to take difficult decisions and make difficult changes. This is one of those occasions.”

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