Author: Archive

Austrian Post retains A&M-Weltbild

Posted by | Dec 12, 2007 | |

Austrian Post said it has renewed a delivery contract with mail-order company A&M-Weltbild securing two million parcels and 27 million mailshots per year. The deal follows a similar contract with larger mail-order firm La Redoute and the loss of two key customers, Otto and Quelle.

Austrian Post general director Anton Wais said that the contract meant a long-running partnership could be continued, and he was pleased that Austria’s largest mail-order firm for books and entertainment was continuing to rely on the postal operator.

A&M-Weltbild, with a product portfolio of more than 2.5 million products, delivers a regular catalogue to 450,000 households 14 times a year.

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Korea Express sale attracts 10 bidders: court

Posted by | Dec 11, 2007 | |

Korea Express has attracted 10 bidders, an official at a South Korean court said on last Tuesday 11th December, in a sale that analysts say could fetch up to USD 2.2 billion.

The deal would be the biggest acquisition in the country’s transportation sector and also provide hefty fees for investment banks advising a list of major South Korean companies interested in bidding.

The official said the creditors of the logistics firm will allow the preliminary bidders to conduct due diligence from December 17 to January 4 before submitting a formal bid on January 11.

Korea Express declined to comment.

Local news provider MoneyToday said the bidders include transport groups such as Kumho Asiana, Hanjin Group HANJ.UL, the parent of Korean Air, Hyundai Heavy Industries and STX Corp, as well as retail giant CJ Corp.

Korea Express, in which Goldman Sachs is the biggest shareholder, plans to sell a 50 percent stake plus one share to a buyer by issuing new shares.

Korea Express picked in October a consortium consisting of Merrill Lynch and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers to manage the sale.

The logistics firm has been placed under court receivership since 2000 due to its debt guarantees for bankrupt former affiliate Dong Ah Construction.

Shares in Korea Express rose 2.0 percent to 102,000 won, compared with a 0.98 percent rise in the broader market .

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Dieter Weng Appointed as New FEDMA Vice Chairman

Posted by | Dec 11, 2007 | |

Dieter Weng, the President of the German Direct Marketing Association (DDV), has been appointed as the new Vice Chairman of FEDMA at the Board meeting on 15 November.
The addition of Dieter Weng completes the FEDMA Executive Committee, which consists of the Chairman, four vice-chairmen and the Treasurer. Weng will keep this post until the FEDMA Annual General Assembly in April next year.
FEDMA is thrilled Mr. Weng has agreed to be a Vice Chairman. The FEDMA Chairman, Emma Lawson, said after the Board meeting “Dieter Weng will, with his knowledge and experience bring valuable input to the running of FEDMA”.
Weng has been the President of DDV since 2005 and is a consultant with a focus on coaching, path finding and communications. He is 61.
FEDMA is the unique voice of the European direct marketing industry. Its national members are direct marketing associations (DMAs) representing users, service providers and media/carriers of direct marketing. FEDMA also has more than 200 direct company members. Today, direct marketing strategies (via mail, telephone, Internet and direct response) are an essential tool for companies to approach, inform and retain customers, as well as providing customer relationship services.

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Germany plans to limit D.Post tax privileges-paper

Posted by | Dec 11, 2007 | |

Germany’s Economy Ministry plans to curtail the tax privileges of Deutsche Post DPWGn.DE so that only postage stamps will be exempt from value added tax (VAT), a German newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Competitors of Germany’s biggest mail delivery company have complained that Deutsche Post has an unfair advantage over them because it is the only firm which has enjoyed sweeping VAT exemption privileges.

According to internal Economy Ministry documents obtained by Financial Times Deutschland newspaper, the ministry plans to help level the playing field by limiting Deutsche Post’s VAT exemption to postage stamps.

This means that mass mailings without postage stamps and other postal services will no longer be exempt from VAT.

Deutsche Post loses its domestic mail monopoly next year.

However, German government plans for a minimum wage in the postal sector have made rivals rethink their challenges to Deutsche Post when its monopoly ends.

One of Deutsche Post’s main rivals, mail delivery company PIN Group, said last week it will have to cut more than 1,000 of its 9,000 jobs in Germany due to Berlin’s plans to put a floor under wages in the sector.

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FedEx Opens First Station in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture

Posted by | Dec 11, 2007 | |

FedEx Express opened its first station, Kameyama Station, in Kameyama City, Mie prefecture. This is FedEx’s 24th station in Japan.

The station has been opened to meet anticipated demand for international express services for industries such as liquid crystal business and automotive business in the Kameyama City area. The opening of the Kameyama Station enables FedEx to offer its own pickup and delivery services in Kameyama City and Matsuzaka City.

With same-day customs clearance, FedEx is able to shorten the delivery time to the customer by one business day and the packages will be delivered to major cities in North America, Asia and Europe within the next business day. FedEx will provide next-business day delivery to major Asian cities as well, for existing service areas including Tsu City*, Kuwana City, Mie-gun Komono-cho, Kawagoe-cho, Asahi-cho,Yokkaichi City and Suzuka City, which were previously handled by Nagoya station. The cut-off time for same-day flight services is 2 p.m. (and as late as 4 p.m. in some areas).

Shipments from Kameyama Station are sent to Kansai International Airport, where they are loaded onto FedEx aircraft and delivered to major cities in North America, Asia and Europe within the next business day. Shipments from major cities in North America, Europe and Asia are delivered to customers in Japan the next business day, after arriving at Kansai International Airport and being cleared through customs and sorted.

*Some locations are excluded.

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DHL to expand in China through Sinotrans-Exel deal

Posted by | Dec 11, 2007 | |

Chinese logistics firm Sinotrans has sold its stake in Exel-Sinotrans Freight Forwarding Co. to DHL for USD 90 million, further expanding DHL’s reach in the Chinese logistics market.

The Exel-Sinotrans Freight Forwarding joint venture was establishing in 1996, according to a statement released by Sinotrans. The move is DHL’s latest expansion in the Chinese market. DHL in November announced it was spending USD 137 million to build a logistics hub in Shanghai.

In a recent interview with Purchasing, Tom Stanton, supply chain analyst at AFMS in Portland, Ore. said DHL is competing fiercely with U.S. rivals FedEx and UPS for market share in the Chinese market. “All three are investing heavily in China,” Stanton told Purchasing. “Each are developing better hubs and delivery services in the market. They are competing and serve a number of cities and are branding to the local Asian customers as well as the multi-nationals in Asia.”

Purchasing will do a deep-dive on the Asian logistics market in its January issue.

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FedEx Ground chooses Perrysburg, Ohio, site for new distribution hub

Posted by | Dec 11, 2007 | |

As part of a multi-billion dollar network expansion plan to nearly double average daily hub package volume capacity in North America, FedEx Ground, an operating unit of FedEx Corp., has chosen a 127-acre site in Perrysburg Township,Ohio, as the location for a new hub to replace its existing Toledo operation.

Total cost for the project is estimated to be USD 87 million, including land, construction and material-handling equipment. Once the hub is operating, FedEx Ground, through payments for property taxes, will be one of the largest contributors to the local Rossford City Schools annual budget.

The 400,000 square-foot facility will be built on Buck Road near the I-75 interchange. When it opens in 2009, the new hub will feature the latest automated material handling technology designed to initially process 22,500 packages per hour and 45,000 packages per hour when it eventually reaches full capacity after a projected expansion. The current workforce of nearly 550 employees and independent contractors is projected to eventually increase to more than 800.

Enhancing our distribution capability in the Midwest is an important step in our ongoing efforts to increase the size, speed and efficiency of our network, said Michael P. Mannion, senior vice president of Operations for FedEx Ground. This new facility will help us meet the growing demand of local shippers and serve as one of just two gateways for shipments destined to Canada.

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Office Depot entrusts European mail distribution to Spring Global Mail

Posted by | Dec 11, 2007 | |

Office Depot, one of the world’s largest sellers of office products, has chosen Spring Global Mail as its sole supplier for European mail distribution. The contract, worth EUR 180 million over a three year period, will see Spring managing the distribution of 175 million catalogues each year across ten European countries.

Office Depot and Spring have already been working together for a number of years, with Spring distributing Office Depot’s Viking Direct catalogues in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Ireland. A combination of proactive account management, reliable service and reduced costs resulted in Spring also being awarded the distribution of catalogues in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy.

“Improving the efficiency of suppliers across the supply chain is a key part of Office Depot’s strategy”, says René Crins, European Project Director for Office Depot. “Spring have real expertise in the field of international mail and they apply this knowledge to find the optimal postal distribution solutions in each of the European markets in which Office Depot operates. This, combined with the meticulous way Spring manages our mailing plans across the supply chain, has resulted in the appointment of Spring as our sole supplier in this critical area.”

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