Republic Of Ireland. Quality Of Postal Service Monitor – Interim Report. Items Posted On Or Between 1st January & 30th September 2007
Read MoreRoyal Mail has mounted an aggressive defence of its proposed zonal pricing scheme, claiming Postcomm’s rejection of its original plan was ‘fundamentally flawed’.
The 44-page response comes five months after Postcomm threw out the first proposal (precisionmarketing.co.uk) but includes only a few minor amendments. Royal Mail is sticking to its guns – the main tenet of its argument is that increased competition in the postal market is allowing private operators to cherry-pick areas where it is cheaper, and therefore more profitable, to deliver mail.
It has put forward a strong legal argument, claiming Postcomm has not “undertaken a competition economics assessment of the application” and that its stance is “inconsistent with EU and UK competition law on discriminatory behaviour”. It continues: “This is a fundamental flaw in Postcomm’s consultation proposal which Royal Mail believes is legally incorrect.”
Under zonal pricing, brand-owners will pay more for deliveries of items in many rural and some urban areas. Royal Mail maintains that the move is in line with its aim to make its services ‘cost-reflective’.
Read MoreGerman services union Verdi and the postal employers’ association have agreed on a new formula for their wage contract which could open the way to a deal on a minimum wage in the sector, the union said on Thursday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), who rule in an uneasy coalition, have been arguing about the possible introduction of a legally binding minimum wage for the sector for months.
A spokeswoman for Verdi said the new version of the wage contract would apply to companies that “predominantly” transport letters.
The formulation is a response to worries from Merkel’s conservatives that Deutsche Post’s competitors, who pay lower wages, could be hit if a minimum wage of between 8 and 9.8 euros was brought in for the whole sector, as the SPD wants.
If the two parties can agree, the wage could come into effect when Deutsche Post’s monopoly ends at the start of next year.
Verdi’s pay commission still has to approve the proposal.
The two parties have been wrangling for months over which employees a minimum wage should apply to and whether that would amount to half of the number of employees in the sector.
Deutsche Post’s competitors, who include Dutch mail company TNT, have said the suggested minimum wage is too high.
Read MoreFast, reliable service is important to most any business, but in the courier industry it’s do or die. Just one hour’s delay can leave a significant negative impression on customers waiting for that all-important letter or package.
UTi Sun Couriers, a division of UTi Worldwide, is Southern Africa’s largest courier company, specializing in moving express freight to and from any address in South Africa or overseas. With branches throughout the country, UTi Sun has built its business on timely and reliable deliveries.
To further enhance customer service, the courier decided it was time to replace an antiquated radio trucking system and approximately 800 outdated handheld computers. In its place, UTi Sun needed a technologically advanced parcel tracking system with the ability to confirm deliveries in real-time.
Equipping Mobility: Intermec, ProScan and MTN
UTi Sun Couriers management tapped Intermec partner ProScan Systems to design, equip and implement the new system. ProScan is a leader in barcoding, RFID, data collection, wireless networking, and mobile technologies, and is the sole distributor for Intermec products in South Africa.
The integrator – along with Intermec and MTN, Africa’s largest cellular network – delivered the first phase in one of the largest and most advanced combined WLAN and GPRS mobile communication and data collection systems in the country. The system features Intermec 761 handheld computers.
La Poste’s French domestic express subsidiary Chronopost successfully contributed to the launch of Apple’s popular new iPhones in France by transporting 25,000 mobiles to 650 branches of France Telecom last week in a high-security operation.
Chronopost picked up the 25,000 iPhones from the French communications group and transported them under escort to its hub in Massy. There they were sorted under surveillance for onward distribution by a special team in 10 dedicated trucks accompanied by security guards to 55 regional Chronopost depots.
The high-value phones were then delivered to 650 local offices of France Telecom under special security arrangements. To ensure a smooth delivery, France Telecom provided security guards at the entrance of each office.
“Chronopost was able to meet our high expectations for this extremely sensitive delivery in terms of delivery times and shipments safety,” stated Claude Sanchez, responsible for transport procurement at France Telecom Supply Chain France.
“For this operation, Chronopost gathered together its entire know-how in express delivery, especially in applying security measures for the treatment of sensitive products. All of the Chronopost teams, which are used to this procedure, were mobilized for this project to respond to our customers’ needs,” added Andrè Valade, Chronopost security manager.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court of California on Thursday denied the final appeal of FedEx Corp.’s domestic ground unit, which tried to overturn a lower court’s ruling that FedEx drivers are employees and not independent contractors.
The package delivery company claimed its drivers are independent contractors, which under federal labor laws prevents them from organizing, and from receiving medical, pension and other benefits given to employees.
Last month, a federal judge approved class-action status for a lawsuit filed on behalf of about 14,000 FedEx Ground delivery drivers.
Read MoreEffective December 1, 2007 time:matters, the expert for courier, sameday and emergency logistics which belongs to the Lufthansa group, will cooperate with the Slovenian airline Adria Airways. The airline, which is based in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, is as the country’s largest and most significant airline, a member of the “Star Alliance” carrier network. With the new partnership, time:matters expands its route network that encompasses around 400 destinations in 90 countries to Ljubljana Airport (airport-code: LJU). Thus southeast Central Europe gains a quick direct connection to the international logistics network of the provider that specializes in especially reliable “high-speed” solutions. This will result in advantages not only for companies that have particularly urgent shipments to send to or from Slovenia – the companies based in neighboring Austria or its bordering country Slovakia will benefit from the new sameday hub at the nearby Ljubljana Airport as well.
Due to the agreed cooperation between Adria Airways and time:matters, the Greater Ljubljana/Vienna/Bratislava area is practically moving closer to numerous economic centers both in Europe and around the world. The integration of Adria’s flight plan into time:matters’ sameday route network means for example that important components or spare parts can be flown directly from Ljubljana to Vienna four times a day or to Zurich three times a day – so that they usually reach their recipient within just a few hours after dispatch. Up to now such express deliveries often first had to be transported from Slovenia to Graz Airport by car, causing the loss of valuable time. Since flights from Ljubljana also fly to the important transit airports in Frankfurt and Munich several times a day, express shipments to destinations outside of Europe can in many cases also be realized “sameday.”
Read MorePackaging delivery company United Parcel Service Inc expects regional growth in Asia will remain robust and be unaffected by a slowing U.S. economy, a senior company official said on Thursday.
UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, has said growth this peak season would be below the previous four years, reflecting slowing U.S. economic growth, the housing sector slowdown and expectations of low retail sales growth.
But rising trade within the Asia-Pacific region was boosting demand for freight and logistics services in countries including China, India, Vietnam and Thailand, said Ken Torok, president of Asia-Pacific region for UPS.
“Asia-Pacific is our fastest growing region, as the momentum in the services sector and infrastructure development continues,” he said at a conference to launch a strategic alliance with local logistics firm AFL Pvt Ltd.
“And in the region, intra-Asia trade is the fastest growing and leading segment,” he said.
The UPS annual Asia Business Monitor for 2007 showed intra-Asia trade accounted for the most volume growth from small and medium enterprises. Also, trade with the Middle East overtook Europe and the United States for Asian firms.
“Growth within the region is so strong, that what happens in the U.S. market will not have as big an impact on Asia as it did some years ago,” Torok said.
For UPS, business in Asia grew by more than 20 percent in the third quarter, while China and India grew by more than 25 percent, Torok said.
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