Author: Archive

Courier told to explain lost data (UK)

Posted by | Jan 19, 2008 | |

The papers were found on Thursday by a motorist on a roundabout near Exeter.

Karl-Heinz Korzenientz picked up hundreds of documents with passport photocopies and benefit claims details.

Secretary of State Peter Hain has ordered an immediate inquiry. TNT said it “deeply regretted” the temporary loss of the documents.

The papers included incapacity benefit files, others relating to pensions and Jobseeker’s Allowance, bank statements, passport documents and copies of passports.

There were also documents relating to home loans and mortgage interest, and details of national insurance numbers, addresses and dates of birth.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said: “We have now recovered a number of documents following their loss from a TNT vehicle and we believe they constitute all the material that was lost.

“We have no reason to believe that any individuals’ details have been misused. We take the security of individuals’ data extremely seriously.

“As part of our own inquiry, we have asked TNT for a full and urgent report on all of the circumstances relating to the loss of this data.”

The Information Commissioner has also been informed.

The courier firm said: “TNT takes the loss of any consignment extremely seriously.

“We are currently working closely with partners in the DWP and a full and thorough inquiry into this incident is currently being undertaken.”

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Postcomm takes first steps to split Royal Mail operations

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

Postcomm has set the ball rolling on a consultation which could lead to the eventual separation of Royal Mail’s collection and delivery operations in order to improve on current access agreements.

A consultation document was published yesterday to review the current framework allowing rival operators to use Royal Mail’s delivery arm. Earlier in the week, Postcomm proposed the principle of ‘wholesale equivalence’ which has already been adopted by Ofcom to reduce the burden of regulation on BT.

These moves stem from Postcomm’s Strategy Review which was launched in August 2007. As part of this review Postcomm has made a commitment to evaluate the current access agreements and identify and resolve any problems with the existing arrangements.

A letter was sent this week to all postal operators, organisations representing mail users and postal watchdog Postwatch asking for their views on how best to regulate the industry from 2010 when the current price control arrangement expires.

In the letter, Postcomm chief executive Sarah Chambers said: “We want to begin by taking a top-down approach, based on what we have learned from our Strategy Review. We want to consider whether adopting a different approach could allow a significant reduction in the scope of regulation, whilst maintaining sufficient protection for customer and operators in those areas where Royal Mail has substantial and enduring market power.”

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Palletforce announces new chief executive officer

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

PalletFORCE has announced the appointment of Michael Conroy as its new Chief Executive Officer, with effect from Monday 14th April 2008.

With over 18 years of experience in parcel distribution and third party Logistics, Michael is well placed to maintain and develop PalletFORCE’s growth. He is currently the Managing Director of FedEx Supply Chain Services Limited (previously ANC Logistics). Based at Newcastle-under-Lyme. During the seven years Michael was part of the senior ANC Group management team, the company saw a huge growth in both profit and turnover and the ANC business became synonymous with service excellence, which attracted the interest of FedEx Corporation who bought the company in December 2006.

Michael lives in Stratford-upon-Avon and is married with two children. In his spare time he enjoys playing and watching sport whilst being an avid supporter of Newcastle United.

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DHL to use Eco-friendly sea transport from Bremen to Venezuela (Germany)

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

DHL are the first company to use ocean-going cargo vessel with wind propulsion system Shipping becoming safer, more profitable and more eco-friendly

The MS Beluga SkySails is being used for a commercial transport for the first time. It will carry the first parts of a complete particle board factory from Bremen to Venezuela on behalf of DHL Global Forwarding.

The multipurpose vessel will set sail early next week. What makes it so special is a new wind propulsion system with a huge towing kite that provides additional thrust for the ship at sea – a sustainable solution for reducing fuel consumption, costs and emissions.

DHL will transport the particle board factory to South America for its client, Dieffenbacher, in a total of eight partial shipments. It is to be used for a government-sponsored housing project.

For several years now, DHL has made it its business to provide customers not only with first-class service but sustainable transport solutions as well. In its endeavours to develop efficient and eco-friendly logistic services with the latest technologies, the group was the first logistics company to cluster its innovation activities, giving top priority to climate protection.

Today its business customers in Europe can already send their shipments with the climate-neutral GoGreen Service. The company is also increasingly using alternative propulsion systems such as biogas and electric motors.

On 15th December 2007, the MS Beluga SkySails was christened in Hamburg by Eva Luise Köhler, wife of Germany’s Federal President. The so-called “multipurpose heavy-lift carrier” belongs to the fleet of Bremen shipping company Beluga Shipping GmbH.

Depending on the wind conditions, fuel costs can be lowered by between ten and 35 percent. A small, 87-metre-long freighter would thus save an average of 280,000 euros in fuel costs per year.

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China express service industry may slow down

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

China’s fast developing express service industry may slow down in 2008 as cargo transportation demand from domestic and foreign companies may decrease due to the steam-losing US economy.

Logistics Association China envisions that foreign majors represented by DHL and Federal Express will tap the chance of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to reinforce their leading positions in the Chinese market, while domestic players, especially private ones, which feature smaller business volume, weaker capital strength and poorer management, will see days get harsher.

Historical data show that China’s express service industry has been growing at a pace of around 30 percent in recent years and become one of the fastest growing markets of the world.

But according to DHL China, signs of slowdown actually appeared in 2007 though the Chinese market still maintained steady growth in the year, largely due to US economy deceleration and tax policy changes, which decreased cargo transportation demands between the two countries.

DHL said those companies used to adopt air shipment switched to relatively money-saving means as seaway shipment.

Another major foreign player Federal Express China is more optimistic, saying the Chinese economy to a certain degree can be independent from world market changes and it is certain that domestic express service market will continue stable growth momentum. Domestic analysts, however, hold that with market base getting increasingly bigger, the growth of domestic express service industry will get slower as compared to years ago.

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DHL starts next day delivery express service to US, Canada and Mexico

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

DHL Express has started a new service: with DHL US Next Day time-sensitive goods and documents from the most important Swiss economic regions will be delivered to the US, Canada and Mexico on the following day.

DHL Express is offering delivery before 10.30am (DHL Express 10.30), before 12.00pm (DHL Express 12.00) or before the close of business (DHL Express Worldwide). With US Next Day DHL can deliver to almost anywhere in the US as well as commercial centers in Canada and Mexico by the next day.

This new service is made possible by the DHL hub in Wilmington, Ohio, one of the largest private airports in the world, as well as four further international gateways. More than 34,000 staff in the US work around the clock to distribute the items. In recent years DHL has invested 1.2 billion US dollars in the comprehensive network and in expanding the hub in Wilmington.

The commercial centers of Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Biel/Bienne, Basle, Lucerne, Zürich and Wil (St. Gallen) all benefit from DHL’s US Next Day service. A customer in the Geneva area can have his US Next Day item collected by DHL as late as 12.45pm. Customers in the Basle region have the last collection time at 3.45pm because a dedicated DHL plane is used for this service to fly from Basle via East Midlands to Wilmington. Duty is paid on these items while in the air.

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Online accounts for 15pct of all retail spend

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

According to the Interactive Media In Retail Group (IMRG) and Capgemini co-authored report “e-Retail Sales Index” UK online shopping reached an all time high in the run up to Christmas, with GBP 15.2 spent online in October to December bringing the full year UK e-retail sales to GBP 46.6 billion, up 54pct on the GBP 30.2 billion recorded for 2006.

Within key sectors such as electrical goods, the research indicates that growth in online sales does come at the expense of high street retailers.

December’s e-retail sales were nearly 50pct higher than last year’s, although demand for online shopping tailed off significantly towards the end of 2007 with December’s Index only 0.2pct higher than November’s, reflecting the credit crunch across the UK economy.

The data, collated by IMRG and analysed by Capgemini’s consumer retail team, reveals that peak online shopping occurred in the first week of December where there was a 9pct increase in all online sales. This is later than in previous years, indicating that consumers are making the most of pre Christmas discounting and delaying purchases until the onset of the sales.

The final week of the year only saw a reduction in online sales of 4pct (compared with -22pct in the previous year) suggesting a tendency to go online to spend Christmas money and vouchers and hitting the online sales post Christmas rather than the high street sales.

Following the lead of US traders in 2006, several leading retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Dixons and Comet, ran online sales promotions on Christmas Day itself, attracting significant levels of business while the high street shops were shut. Four million people shopped online on Christmas Day 2007, spending an estimated GBP 84 million, an average of approximately GBP 21 each.

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Online accounts for 15% of all retail spend

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

A record GBP 15.2 billion was spent online in the 12 week run up to Christmas 2007 according to first set of official industry figures for the UK

According to the Interactive Media In Retail Group (IMRG) and Capgemini co-authored report “e-Retail Sales Index’ UK online shopping reached an all time high in the run up to Christmas, with GBP 15.2 spent online in October to December bringing the full year UK e-retail sales to GBP 46.6 billion, up 54% on the GBP 30.2 billion recorded for 2006.

Within key sectors such as electrical goods, the research indicates that growth in online sales does come at the expense of high street retailers.

Anthoula Madden, Vice President at Capgemini UK’s Consumer Products and Retail Team said, “Online growth has proven robust and sustainable over the past year, increasing its share of UK retail from 10p in the pound to 15p. Whilst we are yet to see high streets sales decline there can be no doubt online is growing its share at the expense of bricks and mortar retailers and we believe that this trend will continue.”

December’s e-retail sales were nearly 50% higher than last year’s, although demand for online shopping tailed off significantly towards the end of 2007 with December’s Index only 0.2% higher than November’s, reflecting the credit crunch across the UK economy.

The data, collated by IMRG and analysed by Capgemini’s consumer retail team, reveals that peak online shopping occurred in the first week of December where there was a 9% increase in all online sales. This is later than in previous years, indicating that consumers are making the most of pre Christmas discounting and delaying purchases until the onset of the sales.

The final week of the year only saw a reduction in online sales of 4% (compared with -22% in the previous year) suggesting a tendency to go online to spend Christmas money and vouchers and hitting the online sales post Christmas rather than the high street sales.

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