Author: Archive

American Red Cross and FedEx announce collaboration to help small businesses

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

A national survey of small businesses conducted by the American Red Cross and FedEx Corp. found that while 94 percent of small business owners believe there is a potential for a disaster to seriously disrupt their business within the next two years, only 43 percent feel prepared for a one week disruption of their business, and 22 percent feel prepared for a one month disruption. Importantly, many businesses do want to become better prepared, with almost a quarter of respondents indicating they are planning on taking steps to prepare their businesses for disaster.

Based on these findings, the American Red Cross and FedEx Corp. will create tools to help small businesses get prepared.

FedEx and the Red Cross have been working together to examine small business disaster preparedness because of the important role small businesses play in the national and global economy, as well as the safety and strength of the communities in which they are located.

Having responded to more than 75,000 disasters nationwide last year, we have seen first hand how businesses with trained employees, protected resources and plans for operational continuity can decrease the physical and financial impact of a disaster, and lessen the burden on first responders, said Darlene Sparks Washington, Director of Preparedness for the American Red Cross. All businesses should have a disaster plan, but for small businesses, being prepared can make a difference in being able to stay in business after a disaster.

The survey data is especially relevant considering that one in four businesses do not reopen after a major disaster such as a flood, tornado or earthquake, according to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, and considering that small businesses account for more than 99 percent of businesses in the United States alone.

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Deutsche Post World Net appoints new CFO

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

Effective October 1st, John Allan (59) will assume responsibility as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) based in Bonn, the headquarters of Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN). Allan is already a member of the Deutsche Post World Net Executive Management Board and responsible for Logistics, based in Bracknell/London. In future, he will also take over the Global Business Services (GBS), the Group’s Shared Services such as IT, Procurement, Real Estate, or Legal Services.

Frank Appel (46) will take over Allan’s current position as Head of the Logistics division in Bracknell, effective October 1st. Appel ran the DHL Logistics business prior to the Exel-acquisition and is currently on the Executive Management Board in charge of Global Business Services (GBS), Mail International and Global Customer Solutions (GCS). While Allan takes over GBS after Appel successfully established these Shared Services functions, the latter will keep his responsibility as Head of GCS, the unit which manages the relationships with Deutsche Post World Net’s top 100 customers. Appel will also continue to run Mail International, Corporate Regulatory Management as well as the “First Choice”-program, which is Deutsche Post World Net’s quality and customer service improvement initiative.

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Kuehne + Nagel, AstraZeneca ink new pact

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

Kuehne + Nagel (K + N) has inked a new pact with UK-based drug maker AstraZeneca to provide the global cold chain air and sea freight for some of its products.

Under the contract, K + N will facilitate the transportation one of AstraZeneca’s statins, as well as an oncology drug and an anesthetic, among other medicines, and some active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), from production sites in the UK, Sweden, France, Italy and Germany, to destinations in the Middle East, Japan, Africa and the USA.

The pharmaceutical products it has been charged with are in both emulsion and solid form and must be maintained within a stipulated temperature range, said K + N.

So far this is exactly what they have been doing. Aside from the new K + N deal, in May AstraZeneca awarded UK-based NYK Logistics a two-and-a-half-year contract for the distribution of its drugs throughout Europe, worth GBP 6m (EUR 8.9m).

NYK said at the time that the arrangement would bring together the distribution operations of AstraZeneca’s European manufacturing facilities for the first time, as until now, each plant operated independently and was responsible for its own transportation.

Under the terms of the contract, NYK will use its pan-European network of road transport partners to provide AstraZeneca with the temperature-controlled distribution of almost 50,000 pallets of product per year from AstraZeneca’s 10 manufacturing facilities across the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden to 30 delivery points throughout Europe.

The European contract logistics market is currently flourishing, and recent research from Analytiqa revealed that spending on outsourced logistics services in the European pharma industry is likely to exceed USD 2bn in 2011 as more and more opportunities arise for 3PL providers.

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Royal Mail Sets Out Vision For Future Working – updated

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has set out its plan for the future in its ‘full and final offer’ to its workers and is pressing on with change whether in total agreement with the CWU or not.

It emphasizes the need to be flexible and the way in which employees presently work has to change and goes on to say that Royal Mail and CWU have agree that in order to achieve these aims an unprecedented focus is required on driving up the efficiency of the operation and the productivity of its people.

Night shifts are to be removed from all mail centers with the exception of busy city centre units. Delivery times are to be pushed back in step with legislative change to 7.5 T vehicle maximum speeds on 7.5 ton trucks. Weekend working at premium rates is to be cut back drastically. Seasonal changes will also be taken into account allowing greater flexibility for holidays but staff will be expected to cover other duties as required. Door to door products are to be increased from 3 to 5 items but payment for these capped at 3.

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UPU Strategy: round tables in Montevideo and Vienna

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

The series of UPU regional round tables on the future World Postal Strategy continues. On 3 and 4 September, it was the turn of member countries of the Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (PUASP) to add their input to the next UPU postal strategy: Nineteen Latin American countries, as well as Canada, United States of America and Spain, recently met in Montevideo (Uruguay).

Another round table was held in Vienna (Austria) on 11 September, bringing together members of the Association of European Public Postal Operators (PostEurop). Like the other regional encounters, the Vienna round table also decided on priorities, in this case those of European operators for the upcoming Nairobi cycle, among them quality of service, the regulatory context and corporate social responsibility. PostEurop has yet to approve these priorities. The European Committee for Postal Regulation (CERP) announced that it too would discuss the World Postal Strategy before the end of the year.

Since the first round table, held in the Russian Federation in June, 252 participants from 107 countries have had the opportunity to give their views of the future strategy. The International Bureau has just sent out the first draft strategy document to all UPU member countries for comment. This wide-ranging consultation will enable all member countries, not just those elected to the Union’s decision-making bodies, to have a say in the discussion. Before being adopted by member countries at the 2008 Nairobi Congress, the UPU’s future four-year roadmap will be discussed at the joint sessions of the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the Council of Administration (CA) in February 2008. The future strategy covers three main themes: the interconnectivity of networks, governance of the postal sector and the development of markets and economies.

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Bibby Line Group acquires majority stake in Costcutter

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

Liverpool-based Bibby Line Group has taken a 51% stake in the supermarket group, including the previous shareholding held by Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Costcutter’s existing management team and shareholders – executive chairman Colin Graves, managing director Nick Ivel, sales and development director David Thompson, and trading and marketing director Angela Barber – will continue to operate the business. They will be joined on the board by three non-executives from Bibby Group.

Bibby handles the ambient distribution for retail buying group Nisa Today’s. Costcutter, which owns 28 shops and supplies more than 1,500 independent convenience stores, is the largest member of the group. The deal is believed to have valued Costcutter, which has a turnover of GBP 540m and earnings of GBP 13m, at more than GBP 100m.

A spokesman for Bibby Line Group says the company does not wish to comment on the deal. But Graves says it will secure the future of Costcutter and lead to the expansion of the business, which currently employs 450 people. He adds: “This secures the company forever and a day. Bibby is not into short-term investments. The main reason for selling was to secure the long-term future of Costcutter.”

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Post Office launches over 50s life cover

Posted by | Sep 14, 2007 | |

The Post Office announces its launch into the life market with its new Over 50s Life Cover, available now.

The over 50s plan builds on the Post Office’s existing range of financial services and offers affordable and comprehensive peace of mind to people who want to avoid passing on funeral costs or outstanding debts to their family.

Acceptance is guaranteed for everyone that applies. Only three simple questions need to be answered to receive a quote, with no medical questions or checks needed.

Customers can choose how much cover they want with premiums starting at just £7 a month up to a maximum of GBP 50. Post Office® Over 50s Life Cover offers higher sums assured than the leading products currently on the market and will pay out the full sum assured after just 12 months (see comparison tables below).

And customers can choose a free gift – a Freeview box, digital camera or box of wine – after their third monthly payment has been collected.

Post Office director of insurance Phil Ashkuri said: “This is the first of a suite of products the Post Office is launching into the life market. Our Over 50s cover is easy to understand and apply for, with guaranteed acceptance. We also offer our customers more comprehensive cover than some of the leading plans on the market by paying out the full sum assured after just 12 months.”

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A Conservative view on UK Post Offices

Posted by | Sep 13, 2007 | |

The Conservative Party’s Quality of Life taskforce report, chaired by John Gummer and Zac Goldsmith, was released today. It has some interesting views on the future post offices:

“Shop, post office, church, pub, and primary school – these are some of the indicators of a vibrant rural community, but few villages possess all five. However, they remain vital for the minority of the population – e.g. young people, mothers in one-car families, the elderly – who do not have access to a car. Conservatives should aim to minimize the closure of these services and stimulate innovative ways of providing alternatives for villages that do not have them.

Sub post offices play an important role in village life and could become again a vibrant centre for rural services. In the age of the internet, they already perform a useful role in mail order fulfillment. Their demise is partly because of the failure of Government to design modern benefit delivery packages that would make use of their services and partly the legacy of Post Office history where labyrinthine systems, a lack of interest in the network, and a failure to keep up with modern retailing was bred by a belief that the system had a God-given right to survive.

There are clear indications that the Post Office has changed significantly and would be capable, given the chance, of running a sensibly sized rural network providing a wide range of services in communities that would otherwise be without. Instead of complaining when supermarkets do not want to continue to house a post office, we should be redesigning the sub-post office so that it becomes a much sought after adjunct to a business as well as a business in its own right.

To that end we should initiate an independent enquiry chaired by a successful retailer and with full access to Government Ministers and Departments, to recommend innovative structures and technologies to make the Post Office rural network modern and indispensable. It should also be charged with advising Government on the redesign of its services so that they could be provided better through the agency of the local post office.

In the meantime, Conservatives should pledge to keep the GBP 150m a year subsidy for rural sub post offices in order to maintain the network while exploring radical solutions for service delivery in rural areas, which might include their being the agent for suitable local authority services, the centre for parish council transport-sharing schemes, and the provider of an emissions-saving means of taking services to rural customers.”

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