Author: Archive

India Post: pay traffic fine to postman at your doorstep

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Long queues for depositing traffic “challans” at collection centers will soon be a thing of the past in the Capital, thanks to a novel initiative by the Delhi traffic police that will send the postman to your doorstep to collect the fine.

Joining hands with the Indian Postal Department, the traffic police have introduced a system under which the postman, who earlier just delivered traffic violation notices, has been authorized to collect the “challan” amount as well.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Qamar Ahmed said all that a violator has to do is to pay the fine amount along with an additional Rs.5 as service charge through a money-order.

The violator will have to paste the counterfoil of the notice on the money-order form and retain the original copy and a receipt issued by the postman. In turn, the postman will be given some incentive for this additional task.

The initiative will also help the traffic police — which issue 12,000 to 15,000 notices every day — cut down substantially on manpower, which could be deployed for more important activities like traffic regulation.

The latest system ensures almost no interaction between violators and the traffic police. The traffic violation details are gathered from various sources – like red-speed camera, traffic monitoring system, e-mail, SMS, complaint cards and helpline — and are processed online in the traffic server installed at Teen Murti Traffic Police Lines. The processing is carried out through an indigenously developed software application that accesses ownership details from the master database, interfaces them with violation details and then prints out the notices. The traffic police also developed a software that will enable payment of “challans” at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). It is learnt the UTI Bank and the Oriental Bank of Commerce have already given their initial consent for providing such a facility through their ATMs.

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Geodis plans French express acquisition

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Geodis has signed a letter of intent to buy a French courier company called “46 Express” to strengthen its domestic express business. The deal was signed in July, according to the company’s half-year report.

“In July, Geodis signed a letter of intend to acquire the 46 Express group before the end of the year. This acquisition will deepen our express delivery network in France,” the company wrote. No further information about the company to be acquired was immediately available.

Meanwhile, Geodis has announced half-year results, with strong revenue growth following the February acquisition of freight forwarder Wilson (formerly TNT Freight Management). Consolidated revenue, including Wilson, rose by 22.1% to over €2,300 million, including 4.1% growth based on a comparable scope of consolidation and at constant exchange rates.

Revenue in France expanded by 5.9% to €1,394 million, led by steady growth in Groupage (LTL) and Freight Forwarding volumes, the company announced. Express revenues grew by 12% in the first half of 2007, boosted by the launch of pick-up and delivery operations for FedEx, Geodis said.

Express operating profit was stable with the positive effects of higher volumes and “ effective pricing policies” offset by higher operating costs and the start of a major new express contract, Geodis said in its H1 report. The company does not release express revenue or volume figures.

The company’s overall H1 consolidated operating profit fell to EUR 44.5 million, including EUR 14.1 million worth of Wilson integration costs, from EUR 53.1 million in first-half 2006. Net profit declined to EUR 14.2 million versus EUR 21.6 million in H1, 2006.

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Postcomm – enforcement guidance

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Postcomm has published its first stand-alone document setting out enforcement procedures relating to possible license contraventions. The guidance explains procedures likely to be followed by the postal regulator when it:

– considers complaints
– investigates licensed operators
– takes enforcement action
– imposes financial penalties.

Until now, these procedures have been set out in several Postcomm documents. The aim of bringing them together is to provide greater transparency, by setting out the general principles and approach involved in taking these actions in relation to possible license contraventions.

Some of the procedures set out in the Enforcement Guidance are required by statute, some are not. Where Postcomm is not bound to follow certain procedures, it will aim to apply the approach set out in the Enforcement Guidance on a consistent basis and, in the event that Postcomm decides to depart from the Enforcement Guidance, it will explain its reasons for doing so.

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Update on further strike action announced by the Communication Workers Union

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Commenting on the CWU’s announcement, a Royal Mail spokesman said:
“Royal Mail and the CWU have met on a number of occasions under the auspices of Acas and at the request of Acas are meeting again this afternoon and evening, so it is hard to understand why the CWU is calling for further talks when our teams are actively engaged in talks.

“Royal Mail also deplores the move by the union, in spite of these talks, to attempt to cause further disruption to customers’ mail. As the CWU is responsible for calling the strikes, they are clearly free to stop this damaging action at any time. Royal Mail urges them to do so, in the interests of our customers, our people, and the future of the business.

“Royal Mail has been talking to the union since March about the need to comply with new EU legislation, which restricts the speed of 7.5 tones vehicles to 56 mph, to make changes to cope with the later arrival of mail into many delivery offices. The time of last deliveries will not change. As we have discussed with the union, it is better to make this change in the summer when volumes are lighter, and we will advise all our people when we believe it is most practical to introduce the change needed to comply with the law.

“Royal Mail will again do all it can to mitigate the impact of any industrial action, including using non-operational managers to help keep the mail moving.

“We now ask the CWU to engage with the company on using the GBP 1.2 billion loan which the shareholder – the Government – has made available to invest in modern automated equipment to achieve world-class productivity.”

Royal Mail is already losing business because its costs and therefore its prices are too high against rivals who have more efficient operations and, as a result, lower prices. It means business customers, who post 90% pct of the mail, are choosing to take business elsewhere.

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DSV buys New Zealand based partner for undisclosed sum

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Danish transport group DSV AS said it has acquired the activities of its New Zealand based partner Leader Container Line International Limited for an undisclosed sum.

In connection with the acquisition, DSV has established the company DSV Air & Sea Limited, with budgeted annual sales of 40 mln dkr and 14 employees based in Auckland, the group added.

DSV said the establishment of the new company broadens its coverage of Oceania and complements its global network.

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Direct Mail boosts online commerce

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Online retailers and marketers gearing up now for the holiday season need to consider two pieces of research from comScore that show important consumer shopping and shipping habits.

According to the “2007 Multi-Channel Direct Mail Study,” direct-mail recipients were nearly twice as likely to purchase from a retail website as those who received only an Internet communication. And when the mail piece was a catalog, the results were even better — influencing more than two-thirds of shoppers to visit the site. That traffic created a 163 percent increase in sales over those who did not receive a catalog.

Catalog recipients typically buy more items (4.1 compared to 3.2) and spend more money (USD 88 compared to USD 69), the study showed.

That same research showed that catalogs jumpstart holiday shopping. In November, catalog recipients were significantly more likely than non-catalog recipients to have shopped online for holiday gifts.

Consumers were equally clear in wanting a choice on how to receive their online orders. “Package Delivery Research” found that 63 percent of online shoppers want an option to select the delivery company for their packages. A retailer’s favorability improves with the option to choose. Six out of 10 shoppers said they have a better opinion of companies if they could always select their preferred delivery company.

About 28 percent of business owners and 12 percent of consumers who shop online do not buy from companies that don’t offer a choice. Almost half of consumers who selected a delivery company chose the U.S. Postal Service (46 percent), according to the research.

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Post staff to end wildcat strike

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

The wildcat strike began at the Glasgow Mail Centre on last Tuesday 31st July before spreading to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

More than 1,000 CWU members met in Glasgow on Thursday 2 August. Customers in central Scotland were advised not to post items unless they were urgent.

An official 24-hour walkout by members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) also began on Thursday morning.

The unofficial strike began at the Glasgow Mail Centre in Springburn on Tuesday before spreading throughout Greater Glasgow.

It then spread to Edinburgh, where about 100 postal workers called an unofficial strike at the city’s main sorting office at Sighthill on Wednesday 1st August.

They claimed four workers had been suspended for refusing to handle mail transferred from the strike-affected Glasgow sorting office.

Later, Royal Mail confirmed that a “small proportion” of workers at the Aberdeen Mail Centre had also walked out.

Jim McKetchnie from the Communication Workers Union said workers had voted 60 pct in favour of returning to work from the wildcat strike.

The wildcat strike was called against the backdrop of a nationwide dispute over pay, pensions and future industry changes that has seen the CWU call a series of official 24-hour strikes.

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Royal Mail workers announce more strike dates

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

Royal Mail workers announced a new wave of 24-hour strikes on Thursday after talks failed to resolve a dispute over pay and job cuts.

Workers held the first national walk-out in 11 years in June and there were further rolling strikes last month.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the industrial action was due to Royal Mail’s “below inflation pay offer” and its plans to reduce the workforce by around 40,000 by automating mail-sorting processes.

It said the latest strikes would come against the Royal Mail’s modernization plans, due to start on August 13, which would make changes to delivery times and reduce customer services.

“The union has made a fresh offer for a period of calm,” CWU Deputy General Secretary Dave Ward said on Thursday. “All Royal Mail have to do is take a step back and engage in meaningful negotiations.”

The planned 24-hour stoppages will affect different Royal Mail units from August 9 to 17.

The Royal Mail said it could not understand why the CWU had announced more strike dates when the parties were engaged in talks at the conciliation service Acas.

It said the strikes were costing the company business.

“Royal Mail also deplores the move by the union, in spite of these talks, to attempt to cause further disruption to customers’ mail,” a spokesman said.

“As the CWU is responsible for calling the strikes, they are clearly free to stop this damaging action at any time. Royal Mail urges them to do so, in the interests of our customers, our people, and the future of the business.”

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