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PIN Group to open its books to investors next week

Posted by | Jan 29, 2008 | |

PIN Group will next week open its books to investors interested in acquiring Axel Springer AG’s stake in the mail services company, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing a company spokesman.

Publishing group Axel Springer in December stopped funding PIN Group, after the German government decided to introduce minimum wages to the postal industry.

The report said negotiations with interested parties need to be concluded by end-February, as PIN companies will otherwise halt mail deliveries.

A total of 38 of 91 companies forming PIN Group have in so far filed for insolvency.

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Teamsters back out of FedEx Home Delivery election (U.S)

Posted by | Jan 29, 2008 | |

The Teamsters voluntarily canceled an organizing election scheduled for February 1, 2008 at the FedEx Home Delivery facility in Worcester, Massachusetts. The withdrawal signals a defeat for the union, which was seeking to organize FedEx owner operators in Worcester.

This is a complete victory for FedEx Home Delivery contractors in Worcester and a total defeat for the Teamsters, said Paul Callahan, FedEx Grounds Senior Vice President of Contractor Relations. These 18 independent contractors sent a clear message to the union that they want to remain just that “independent”. As small business owners, they want to make business decisions for themselves, without third-party interference. At FedEx Home Delivery, we believe contractors have the right to make their own decisions and we will continue to defend their right to do so.

February’s election was originally scheduled to take place in 2006, but the Teamsters delayed it with legal maneuvers. This is the Teamsters fourth failed attempt to organize contractors in Worcester.

We appreciate the relationship we have with our contractors, Callahan said. Moreover, we support our contractors desire to manage and grow their own businesses and to continue delivering the exceptional service our mutual customers in Massachusetts have come to expect.

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TNT takes a special view on express services

Posted by | Jan 29, 2008 | |

TNT Special Services is the latest product from the integrator giving customers wider delivery options.

TNT’s time-critical, freight and special handling services have been put together to achieve double-digit growth within the next five years.

The newly-appointed TNT Special Services Divisional general manager, Grant Cochrane, said: “What we’ve created is an all encompassing solution at TNT by integrating our domestic, international and bespoke services all under one roof.

“This is great news for the customer because it means our centralised customer service team can deal with all requirements rather than going from one part of the business to the other.

“Our time-critical services take over where our previous Sameday product left off. Sameday needed bringing together with the international side of the business to provide a global offering, but at the same time give a truly local service, so we can compete more vigorously with the local courier market. This move will help to achieve that. We will be able to offer a full range of services where the express sales force can help to market our instant response products.”

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USPS makes Premium Forwarding Service permanent

Posted by | Jan 29, 2008 | |

The US Postal Service announced this week that its Premium Forwarding Service will now be available to domestic residents on a permanent basis.

The service enables US residents who temporarily relocate to another address within the country, such as a summer home, to have all their mail — including magazines and catalogs — forwarded to them. Mail must be forwarded for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of one year. The service is not available internationally.

The service was first rolled out as an experimental product in August 2005. Due to its popularity with customers and the overall success of the service, the USPS said it has decided to make it permanent. According to the USPS, about 300,000 people have signed up for the service, which has generated USD 25.7 million in revenue so far.

When people sign up for the service, mail is reshipped once a week to the temporary location. There is a one-time enrollment fee of USD 10 and a weekly forwarding fee of USD 11.95. Express Mail and Priority Mail, as well as Registered Mail, are forwarded separately for no additional fee. Customers can sign up for the service at the post offices that services their permanent address.

Change of Address orders and Hold Mail services are provided free of charge by the USPS.

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Pitney Bowes Introduces New Features and Products to SendSuite™ Distribution Solutions

Posted by | Jan 29, 2008 | |

Pitney Bowes Inc. announced new features and products to its SendSuite™ distribution solutions portfolio. The enhanced suite of solutions expands Pitney Bowes’ line of products and services to offer more powerful and efficient mailstream and package management.

“The expansion of features and products to Pitney Bowes’ SendSuite distribution solutions portfolio is the next step in our multiphase strategy to consolidate our package shipping and receiving solutions and services into one integrated offering for customers,” said Jeff Marshall, Vice President of Customer Marketing for Pitney Bowes Global Mailstream Solutions. “The powerful combination of these solutions provides customers with total visibility of the movement of packages and accountable mail, from origin to final delivery.”

Additions to Pitney Bowes’ SendSuite distribution solutions portfolio include:

– SendSuite™ Shipping Solutions
– SendSuite™ Desktop Solutions
– SendSuite™ Arrival® Tracking System

Pitney Bowes SendSuite distribution solutions are available as fully-functional, stand-alone modules or customers can combine the offerings to take full advantage of the suite.

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Globe Telecom and Western Union Join Forces to Deliver Money Transfers through Mobile Phones in the Philippines

Posted by | Jan 29, 2008 | |

The Western Union Company, Globe Telecom and its wholly owned subsidiary, G-Xchange, Inc., announced today that they will join forces to introduce a cross-border mobile money transfer service supporting low-principal, high-frequency remittances.

Globe Telecom, a leading telecommunications provider in the Philippines, offers its GCASH service with an “electronic wallet” feature that allows users to send and receive cash and make payments, including bill payments, donations and online purchases via texting. Globe Telecom had more than 19 million subscribers as of the end of September 2007 and close to half a million active GCASH users.

Once the Western Union(R) mobile money transfer pilot has launched, the service will connect operators to Western Union’s existing global money transfer system. Once connected to the Western Union service, operators will be able to use their own “mobile wallet” software to enable person-to-person mobile money transfers over Western Union’s cross-border remittance network. The Mobile Money Transfer service will enable consumers to transfer money to or from mobile wallets and will offer a global network of Western Union Agent locations for cash-to-mobile and mobile-to-cash transactions.

Mobile networks now cover more than 80 percent of the world’s population, and 3 billion people have a mobile phone,(2) creating a unique opportunity to extend the benefits of financial services to many of the world’s families for the first time.

The agreement with Globe is part of the pilot program of Western Union and the GSM Association, a global trade association representing over 700 GSM mobile phone operators, to facilitate the development of cross-border mobile money transfer services.

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SMART Communications and Western Union to Deliver Mobile Remittances in the Philippines

Posted by | Jan 29, 2008 | |

The Western Union Company announced today that it has joined forces with Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART), a leading wireless services provider in the Philippines, to jointly develop and pilot a Mobile Money Transfer service.

The service, which is being developed as part of the GSM Association’s Mobile Money Transfer strategic initiative, aims to make low-principal, high-frequency remittances available to the country’s more than 8 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).(1)

SMART, which ended 2007 with more than 30 million subscribers, already has an established mobile financial service platform linking local bank accounts to mobile handsets, providing significant convenience for banked consumers. At the end of 2007, more than 7 million SMART subscribers were in the Smart Money system, close to 2 million of whom are cardholders. The company has agreements with five Philippine commercial banks and links to over 7,000 ATMs nationwide, more than 100 Smart Wireless Centers and thousands of third-party Smart Money fulfillment partners.

“More than 44 percent of households in the Philippines have a relative or family member working abroad,(2) and the mobile phone plays a tremendous role in keeping families connected,” said Matt Dill, General Manager, Western Union Mobile. “We believe there is a real opportunity to extend the reach of Western Union’s brand and service proposition to a new and more mobile consumer base.”

The number of immigrants globally is about 200 million – approximately 3 percent of the world’s population.(2) According to recent World Bank data, the Philippines is the fourth-largest receiver of remittances in the world and received an estimated $17 billion USD in 2007.

Once the Western Union(R) mobile money transfer pilot has launched, the service will connect operators to Western Union’s existing global money transfer system. Once connected to the Western Union service, operators will be able to use their own “mobile wallet” software to enable person-to-person mobile money transfers over Western Union’s cross-border remittance network. The Mobile Money Transfer service will enable consumers to transfer money to or from mobile wallets and will offer a global network of Western Union Agent locations for cash-to-mobile and mobile-to-cash transactions.

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