Author: Archive

New U.S. Postal Service rules now in effect for packages and envelopes

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

A new U.S. Postal Service policy has gone into effect as of Monday for packages and envelopes that weigh more than 13 ounces if they’re being mailed with only stamps as postage at a location other than a post office retail service counter.

Customers can use of one several online postage applications, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or an Automated Postal Center if they wish to mail items that weigh more than 13 ounces in postal service collection boxes or pot office lobby mail slots; or if they wish to leave the items for pickup by their letter carriers. Online postage applications include the postal service’s Click-N-Ship service on usps.com and PC Postage from and authorized USPS vendor.

If a customer is unable to use one of the above methods to prepare and affix postage, items weighing more than 13 ounces must be presented for mailing at a post office retail service counter. Business customers who use postage meters may continue to use meter postage for packages of any weight and mailing method.

Customers will notice new decals on USPS collection boxes and post office lobby and Automated Postal Center mail drop slots. The new red, white and blue decals inform customers that deposit of stamped mail over 13 ounces in prohibited and any such mail will be returned.

Previously, the prohibition applied to mail more than 16 ounces. The change is part of ongoing security measures established by the postal service, in cooperation with other government agencies to keep the public, customers, employees and the U.S. Mail safe.

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New Postal Strikes – Small Businesses Paying the Price

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

Small and medium sized businesses spend millions of pounds on their post every day, and are the ones paying the price as the postal strikes continue.

Each day on average, over GBP 2 million of post is sent by small and medium sized businesses; and the strikes could cause cash flow problems, customer relationship problems, or even the failure of a business if payments or invoices are delayed by even just a few days.

Natalie Evans, Head of Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Most smaller sized businesses have no option but to use Royal Mail and collectively spend millions of pounds each day on their post. This series of strikes is doing nothing but cause delay and frustration for those who rely on the postal service and the sooner it is resolved the better.”

With strikes continuing until at least the 8th August (with different sites at different times), the problem is not likely to get better anytime soon. You should make sure that customers and suppliers are aware of potential delays, and try to plan ways around the problems (E.g.: Paying directly into a bank account instead of sending a cheque) to ensure your cashflow is affected as little as possible.

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Vietnam bans strikes in key sectors

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

Vietnam has banned strikes in key public services and in sectors that are “of extreme importance to the national economy,” the communist government said on its website on Wednesday.

Industrial action will be prohibited in power stations, the oil and gas sectors, airports and train stations, the postal service, newspaper delivery, and water supply, irrigation and drainage services, it said.

The list of companies and state agencies, released in a decree by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, is subject to revision “depending on the socio-economic circumstances,” said the official government website.

Government ministers and local authorities would meet every six months with employers and trade unions in the sectors banned from strike action “to hear and handle legitimate requests from the workers,” the website said.

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Mackenzie of UPS Freight to retire. Jack Holmes named President

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

Jack Holmes, a 28-year UPS veteran who has headed the operations of UPS Freight for the past year, has been promoted to president of the trucking unit to replace the retiring Gordon Mackenzie.

Holmes, 47, headed the UPS transition team after the company acquired the former Overnite Transportation Co. in 2005. For the past year, he has served as the senior vice president of operations at UPS Freight.

Mackenzie is a veteran of more than 40 years in the transportation industry, including the last 12 at UPS Freight and Overnite. Mackenzie has served as president of UPS Freight since Aug. 1, 2006, and will step down Sept. 10.

“Gordon Mackenzie played a critical role in the development of Overnite Transportation and then stayed on board with us to ensure a smooth integration and to help set the stage for the growth we’re seeing now,” said Mike Eskew, UPS’s chairman and CEO. “All of us at UPS appreciate his contributions and wish him the very best in retirement.”

Before joining Overnite in 1996, Mackenzie served as senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Preston Trucking Company. He also held various executive positions with Standard Trucking Company; Ryder/PIE Nationwide, Inc., and Transcon Lines, Inc. Prior to assuming the post of president of UPS Freight, Mackenzie served as the unit’s chief operating officer.

Holmes began his UPS career in 1979 in West Chester, Pa., as a part-time employee. He became a package car driver in 1982 and was promoted to management in Philadelphia in 1983. He served in various operations, engineering and safety assignments in Alabama, Georgia, Utah and in the Chicago area before being named head of the UPS Freight transition team.

According to the American Trucking Associations, UPS Freight now is the nation’s fourth-largest less-than-truckload (LTL) company.

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Rail tickets from designated post offices

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

Indian Railways and the Department of Posts on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the sale of reserved tickets through post offices spread across the country.

The Memorandum of Understating was signed by A.K. Goyal, Additional Member (Commercial), Railway Board, and S. Samant, Chief General Manager, Department of Posts in the presence of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Minister of Communication and Information Technology A. Raja at Rail Bhavan.

Mr. Prasad said this was the joint endeavour of his Ministry and the Ministry of Communications and IT for the benefit of the people, especially for those living in remote areas.

Mr. Prasad said that in future the facility of issuing e-tickets would also be provided at mutually agreed locations.

He said that in the first phase, reserved tickets would be available at: Phulbani (Orissa); Deoghar (Jharkhand); Auraiya (Uttar Pradesh); Anjaw (Arunachal Pradesh); Bishnupur (Manipur); Champhai (Mizoram); Mangaldoi (Assam); Jowai (Meghalaya); Senapati (Manipur); Udaipur (Tripura); Yingkiong, Daporijo, Bomdila & Along (Arunachal Pradesh); Doda and Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir); Panchkula (Haryana); Sundergarh (Orissa); Madras High Court (Tamil Nadu); Ahwa (Gujarat); Noida Sector 56 P.O. (Uttar Pradesh); Udyog Vihar P.O. Gurgaon (Haryana); Dahisar, Mumbai (Maharashtra); Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu); Pushkar (Rajasthan); DLF Gurgaon (Haryana); Dwarka Sector-6 (Delhi); Greater Noida Alpha (Uttar Pradesh); Indirapuram, Shipra Sun city, Noida (Uttar Pradesh); Kavinagar, Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh).

The Department of Posts will realise service charge from the passengers in lieu of issuing tickets.

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Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) products at post offices

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

After selling agarbattis, post offices will now sell Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) products. One can purchase a BSNL recharge coupon or a top-up card at any of the post offices in the State.

The Department of Posts had entered into an agreement with the BSNL for sale of the latter’s products through post offices in Andhra Pradesh.

Disclosing this at a press conference on Tuesday, Vijayawada region’s Post Master General (PMG) B.V. Sudhakur said that the strong network of post offices in the State would be of help to the BSNL to serve its customers better.

BSNL customers would be able to purchase prepaid connections, postpaid connections, broadband connections, Sancharnet cards and India Telephone Cards at all post offices.

Mr. Sudhakur said the department was also planning to set up retail book marts at post offices in the State. This would enable the students to purchase books at a discounted price. ‘We hope that the retail book mart will bring good revenues to the department,’ he said.

The PMG said a state-level philatelic exhibition would be held at Sri Sitarama Kalyana Mandapam of Port Trust in Visakhapatnam from October 31 to November 2. Nearly 500 philately frames would be arranged in the exhibition and allotted to philatelists. Visakhapatnam region’s Assistant Director K. Vara Prasada Rao could be contacted over phone on number 0891-2544933 for further information on the exhibition.

Mr. Sudhakur said mechanised delivery through Mail Business Centres (MBCs) was introduced with a view to delivering the mails at the earliest. In the new system, mails would be delivered to the addressees from MBCs located at Vijayawada, Guntur, Ongole and Khammam. The MBCs were main hubs of activity at the Rail Mail Service (RMS), he said. Director of Postal Services J.T. Venkateswarlu was also present.

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HongKong's daily express mail to treble by 2015

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

Hong Kong’s daily express mail volume is expected to treble to 2.3 million items by 2015, said Postmaster General,Hongkong Post Mr Tam Wing-pong.

Tam said as Mainland China was entering a new era of fast economic growth in the international platform, Hongkong Post was seeing rapid growth in international mail and parcel volume creating opportunities in the short/mediumterms for its transit service.

Apart from conventional services, Hongkong Post can also serve as a“Value-added National Gateway to PostalNetwork of China, he said, adding thatthe country could ride on HongkongPost’s well-established infrastructure andhigh performance as well as its valueaddedhubbing service.

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