Author: Archive

Corrective measures to rectify postal service shortcomings

Posted by | Aug 24, 2007 | |

Shortcomings at the top management level in the postal service has led to several irregularities. Corrective measures will be taken immediately after submission of the Committee Report, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Rauff Hakeem said yesterday.

Hakeem revealed this to representatives of trade unions attached to the Postal Department during discussions to enlighten them on matters of the interim committee report which probed into the alleged corruption and irregularities at the Postal Department.

The committee which probed into the allegations repeatedly put forward by the trade unions carried out its investigations based on 22 counts and submitted its findings on 10 special matters of grave nature.

Hakeem said both short term and long term steps were needed to be taken to rectify these shortcomings. He instructed the Ministry secretary to attend to these matters.

The Minister also dealt with matters on business posts and said a long term plan was needed to be introduced into this field and said it required Treasury approval. He said he would contemplate on introducing modern technology to make this service efficient with Treasury provisions. Ministry Secretary W.M. Piyasena, Ministry officials and trade union representatives were associated with the Minister at this meeting.

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Postbank hoping to boost profits with new strategy

Posted by | Aug 24, 2007 | |

Deutsche Postbank, the banking subsidiary of German postal service operator Deutsche Post, is hoping to boost its profits thanks to a new strategy, which is to be presented in December. In its retail banking business, the bank wants to have a sales system that will increase profits through the involvement of partners. Postbank is Germany’s largest multi-branch bank, with 14.6 million customers, according to the latest figures.

The bank has already said that it is aiming to increase profits in business with corporate customers by 50 per cent by 2010. This would bring the profit in this division to almost 560m euros, compared with 372m euros last year. Despite increasingly tough competition, Postbank is confident that it will meet its target of gaining over 1 million new private customers this year. Almost 60,000 new current accounts are reported to have been opened in July.

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Estonian post endorses list of post offices to be closed

Posted by | Aug 24, 2007 | |

Supervisory board of Eesti Post (Estonian Post) Friday endorsed the list of 44 post offices to be closed as of November 1.

“The decision on the closure is naturally unpopular but Eesti Post must achieve sustainability and prepare for 2009 when the post market opens,” said Meelis Atonen, chairman of the supervisory board.

He said the discussion was tense and strained but the supervisory board fully supported the present management’s plan of reforms.

Closure of the post offices is part of Eesti Post’s austerity program. The mail company has 540 post offices at present.

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DHL to seal ties with India Post

Posted by | Aug 24, 2007 | |

Deutsche Post is looking at developing a strategic partnership with the Indian postal system.

Through this venture, both postal authorities are aiming at strengthening their global business operations. The entities are in early stages of discussions to ascertain specific segments, like last mile delivery, sharing infrastructural facility & technological innovations in which they could strike a partnership and initiate operations.

According to sources close to the development, with this strategic partnership, DHL will leverage India Post’s vast infrastructural facility, almost 150,00 post offices spread all over India, for their last mile delivery operations and increasing its market penetration. India Post, on the other hand, will be looking at benefiting from the superior technical expertise of DHL in handling logistics operations. The final structure of the relationship, though, is yet to be finalized.

DHL, along with its 81 pct stake in the Indian air express company Blue Dart, already has a huge footprint in India in the express logistics and freight forwarding segment, though, limited to semi-urban and urban areas.

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Geodis wins Paul Smith fashion contract

Posted by | Aug 24, 2007 | |

Geodis announced yesterday it had won a contract with world-renowned fashion house Paul Smith of the UK to deliver the designer’s products to European retail outlets and its own boutiques.

The deal followed a 10-month trial between the companies via Geodis’ Eurofirst distribution network. Under the agreement, goods will be collected from Nottingham-based Paul Smith’s dispatch warehouses and conveyed to Geodis’ European hubs, to feed into domestic distribution networks for final delivery to outlets across France, Germany and other markets.

Jamie Cuthbert, managing director of Geodis UK, commented: “Our focus is on specific services and market sectors, one of which is the provision of end-to-end European road freight services for producers of finished, high value consumer goods and our new arrangement with Paul Smith fits perfectly with that profile.

“Geodis is at the forefront of fashion logistics across Europe and offers a range of value-added services specific to the sector, such as labelling, hanging, bagging and security tagging of garments,” Cuthbert added.

Geodis’ recently opened a new group age platform in Bonneuil sur Marne Port, outside Paris, and unveiled plans for a new hub in Paris, due for completion in late spring of next year.

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Japan Post to shut down ATMs on Sept. 30 ahead of privatization

Posted by | Aug 24, 2007 | |

Japan Post said Friday all of some 26,000 automated teller machines for postal savings will be taken out of service on Sept. 30 to prepare for the privatization of postal services due to start the following day.

All postal ATMs installed at post offices and other locations across Japan need to be suspended so as to confirm the amount of cash Japan Post holds on the last day as a public corporation, it said.

ATMs operated by financial institutions and convenience stores tied up with Japan Post will not be affected.

In addition, electronic remittances via the Internet and the use of debit cards will be possible as usual, Japan Post said.

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Royal Mail staff raises millions in payroll donation scheme

Posted by | Aug 23, 2007 | |

Royal Mail employees raised a record-breaking GBP 2.6 million through payroll giving in the last financial year, up almost GBP 440,000 on the previous year.

Around 50,000 employees at the organization make monthly payroll donations – at a rate of GBP 295 an hour. More than 850 charities have benefited from the scheme at the Royal Mail, the main beneficiary being ‘Help the Hospices’, which has received almost GBP 250,000 through payroll giving in the last year.

As a result of the results, Royal Mail has set itself the target of raising GBP 5 million a year through payroll by 2013.

Kay Allen, head of social policy at Royal Mail Group said: “With almost 50,000 employees signed up to our scheme, eight per cent of the UK’s payroll givers work at Royal Mail. Each and every one of our ‘payroll posties’ should be congratulated on their efforts.”

A recent Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) study revealed that 21 per cent of people across the country give no money to charity at all.

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New ‘high speed’ In-bound European Logistics Service from Business Direct

Posted by | Aug 23, 2007 | |

Business Direct Group plc. has set up a subsidiary company in Germany in advance of the launch of a dedicated inbound European ‘high speed’ through the night logistics service into the UK.
Business Direct GmbH has already opened an office at the local airport Niederrhein Weeze on the Dutch-German border for the 5 times a week nightly air bridge service into Coventry airport in the UK. Negotiations are at an advanced stage for a dedicated charter aircraft ready for the launch of the new service that cannot be achieved using scheduled services.
The new ‘high speed’ through the night service offers, computer, electronics and materials handling manufacturers with European-based distribution centers very late cut off times of 8pm for pick up and delivery into the UK before 8am the next morning. Niederrhein has been chosen as the European hub of this new through the night service as its location is near several hundred major distribution centres in Holland and North Western Germany and provides a straightforward collection opportunity.
Business Direct’s inbound European air service provides a completely seamless service linking directly in to its national network of over 300 Parcel Exchange facilities throughout the UK, in-boot service and next day technical courier services or direct into the manufacturer’s parts dealerships.
The other major advantage of this through the night service is that it will enable major suppliers of spare parts into the UK from central stocks in Europe to eliminate the need to hold stocks in the UK and therefore significantly reduce inventory, warehousing and distribution costs.

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