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South Africa: Post Office to Spend R 2,6 bn

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

The South African Post Office planned capital expenditure of R 2,6 bn on new and existing infrastructure over the next three years to continue current growth, it said yesterday.

Newly appointed chairwoman Vuyo Mahlati told senior employees, union representatives and the media yesterday that the Post Office would more than double its capital expenditure in the coming year. The money would go to building new post offices, upgrading others and improving access to information technology (IT).

“We will increase capital expenditures from R 300 m in the last financial year to R 892m (this year),” she said, announcing year-end results in Johannesburg.

This would increase to R922m in 2009 and then drop to R800m in 2010, once plans had been met.

Chief financial officer Nick Buick said the investment would be split 60 pct-40 pct between building and improving property infrastructure, and increasing access to broadband and information and communications technology.

The government contributes about R300m annually to the Post Office, and had committed to this figure for the next two years at least.

This money was to subsidies meeting the needs of rural South Africans.

A further R 200 m for this purpose would come from the Post Office’s cash resources – currently at R 4,5 bn. 1 British Pound (GBP) = 14.61709 South African Rand (ZAR)

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Agreement reached on minimum wages for postal workers in Germany

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

The German employers association of postal services said it and Ver.di trade union have agreed on a minimum wage for the industry, with postmen getting 9.80 eur an hour in western Germany, and 9.00 eur in the east.

All other workers in the sector, such as those in back-offices, will be paid 8.40 eur an hour in western Germany, and 8.00 eur per hour in the east.

The wage agreement will be effective from Oct 1, and can be cancelled on April 30, 2010, at the earliest.

Under the deal, minimum wage rates in eastern Germany will be be replaced by those applicable in western regions from Jan 1, 2010.

Deutsche Post’s main competitors TNT NV’s TNT Post and PIN Group AG are not member in the employers association of postal services and have recently set up their own group.

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TNT Express launches new online portal for German customers

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

TNT Express has launched a new version of its ”myTNT” online portal for small and medium-sized customers in Germany to manage their domestic and international express shipments.

The portal offers customers the opportunity to manage the entire shipping process from price enquiries, shipping orders and shipment tracking through to invoicing, TNT Express Germany said. Customers could also select options such as “receiver pays” and individual collection and delivery times. Through its integration in TNT’s operative systems, many customer processes would be speeded up and simplified.

The web-based, e-business application is designed for SMEs, and thus expands TNT Express’ portfolio of electronic shipping services, the company added. TNT Express Germany said that it had already registered a “significant” rise in online shipping in recent years, and aimed to further strengthen this trend.

Across TNT Express as a whole, more than 80,000 customers in over 60 countries use online solutions for shipping orders, the company said.

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Japan Post Expands Salesforce Platform Deployment to 45,000 Users

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

Salesforce.com , the market and technology leader in on-demand business services, today announced Japan Post will deploy the Salesforce Platform to an additional 40,000 users. Japan Post tapped Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (HitachiSoft), a salesforce.com partner in Japan, to develop a custom, on-demand application for reporting customer inquiries and compliance-related issues as the world’s largest financial institution advances toward privatization in October of this year.

This latest implementation is in addition to the 5,000 users that Japan Post announced for its Salesforce Platform-based customer information management solution in April of this year, bringing the total number of Salesforce Platform subscribers at Japan Post to more than 45,000 and making it the largest on-demand platform deployment in the world. Thirty-six thousand of these subscriptions were activated on July 31, 2007.

Japan Post is one of the 35,300 companies of all sizes, industries and geographies that comprised the salesforce.com customer base as of July 31, 2007. Revenue and subscriptions will be recognized as the service is delivered.

In addition to delivering mail and selling stamps, Japan Post serves as a savings bank and provider of financial products to individuals, and is the largest financial services firm in the world in terms of asset holdings.

Japan Post’s latest custom-developed, Salesforce on-demand application enables employees stationed at 24,000 post offices across Japan to report customer and compliance-related issues to regional branches and Japan Post headquarters in Tokyo. By swiftly and securely reporting customer issues and improving business processes, Japan Post is laying the foundation for raising service levels and strengthening internal compliance as the public corporation moves toward privatization in October 2007.

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Magazine names USPS one of best for Hispanics

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

Hispanic Business magazine named the U.S. Postal Service one of the best companies for Hispanics. The Postal Service is the only federal agency included in the magazine’s DIVERSITY ELITE 60 list, an annual directory of the best companies for Hispanics determined by more than 30 variables that measure companies’ commitment to Hispanic hiring, promotion, marketing, philanthropy and supplier diversity.

In an article that accompanies the ranking in the September issue, Hispanic Business notes that the Postal Service is not only delivering the nation’s mail, “but also a commitment to diversity within the huge organization, with suppliers and throughout the communities it serves.”

“We see ourselves as a microcosm of America,” said Anthony Vegliante in the article. Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president for the Postal Service, says the agency’s talent acquisition and retention strategy reflects continually changing demographics and targets all Postal Service positions, including its many corporate positions in engineering, legal, financial and other professional fields.

The Postal Service is committed to fostering a business culture that provides an inclusive work environment for all employees. The diversity of its employees, their backgrounds, education, perspectives, talents, and skills, is key to the organization’s success in providing excellent customer service to diverse markets.

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TNT's Very Important Hi-Tech Contract Powers Up

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

biggest IT distribution companies to ensure the speedy delivery of thousands of PC components and software products to hundreds of High Street retailers and PC builders.
TNT’s latest deal with VIP Computers, for an undisclosed fee, is the start of a close partnership between the two companies to ensure seamless service to VIP’s customers.

The contract will also include a small number of international deliveries, where the 56-bay TNT depot at Liverpool John Lennon Airport will be utilized. The depot currently handles more than half a million deliveries on the international side of the business each year.

John Peden, Strategic Account Manager, TNT Technology Express, said:” We’ve tried as much as possible to integrate with VIP IT systems to provide a seamless, real-time information exchange between their systems and ours (based on world standard XML technology).

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NYK opens Wellingborough site

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

NYK Logistics has opened a 330,000 sq ft distribution centre in Wellingborough to house its operations for a major customer.

It has invested GBP 1 million in the former Somerfield distribution centre.

Some 5,000 pallets of the customer’s product have been transferred from NYK’s Grange Park site in Northampton to Wellingborough. 110 NYK staff from Grange Park have also been transferred to the new site.

The existing operation will occupy about 70 per cent of the site and work on the second phase, which will provide a further 85,000 sq ft of speculative warehousing space is scheduled for completion in November 2007.

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TNT guilty of false advertising claims against Royal Mail

Posted by | Sep 5, 2007 | |

complaint about a TNT magazine insert that portrayed its service as the cheaper, more convenient alternative.

The front of the insert said: “100 pct Reliability 20 pct Savings 0 pct Hassle – See what you’re missing”. The reverse side said: “Discover our irresistible rates, faster service and ease of use when you make the switch to TNT Post – the UK’s leading competitor to Royal Mail… See how much you could SAVE with this simple savings calculator chart.”

The chart displayed savings per annum achieved when using the TNT service to post a stated number of items per day. Below the chart the text stated: “Prices are for TNT Post’s PremierSort Flex service and compared to Royal Mail 1st Class.”

In its complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, Royal Mail argued that the comparison was misleading and unfair because it compared TNT’s two- to three-day delivery service with its next-day service.

TNT Post said that the comparison was transparent, specific and was neither unfair nor misleading. It said its postal service competed with several different Royal Mail services and said that a comparison of its two- to three-day services with Royal Mail’s first and second-class services was valid because it enabled customers to make an informed choice.

But the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that although TNT had included the disclaimer stating that prices were for its PremierSort Flexservice, many readers would be unaware that the service had a two- to three-day delivery period. The ASA reviewed further comparisons between the two companies found on the insert about savings, delivery time and reliability and ruled they were likely to mislead because the exact context of the comparisons was not made clear, in relation to distinctions between Royal Mail’s first- and second-class post.

The cASA upheld the complaint and told TNT to ensure that the basis of any future comparisons was prominently stated in the body copy of the ad.

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