Author: Archive

Vodafone virtual mobile commitments accepted by Italy's antitrust authority

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

Italy’s antitrust authority said it has accepted commitments made by Vodafone Group PLC to open its network to virtual mobile operators, ending its probe into Vodafone without imposition of sanctions.

The authority said its decision follows contracts signed by Vodafone with BT Group PLC and Carrefour enabling them to set up Italian virtual mobile operations, plus a similar preliminary contract with Poste Italiane.

‘The authority has considered the contract signed by Vodafone with BT Italia for wholesale access services to its network to be a decisive element,’ the authority said in a statement.

BT will be able to offer a wide range of mobile services including GSM, GPRS and UMTS as well as offering integrated fixed-mobile and mobile-mobile services for company customers, it said.

‘In addition, the contract’s conditions on termination fees allow BT Italia to make a fixed-mobile offer to company clients that competes with the one offered by Vodafone,’ it said.

On the Italian post office preliminary contract, the authority said this is particularly important because of the extensive sales network the post office has available.

The authority launched its investigation into mobile sector competition in February 2005, with Telecom Italia SpA and Wind Telecommunicazioni SpA also being probed.

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Fedex Express Canada rewarded for Customer Service Centres

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

CCEOC Inc. announced that all three Federal Express Canada Ltd. customer service centres have achieved the prestigious Contact Center Employer of Choice designation for 2007. This is the fourth year in a row that FedEx Express Canada, a unit of FedEx Corp., has participated in the program and achieved certification.

The Mississauga and Montreal customer service centres achieved the Gold level designation, while the Vancouver customer service centre achieved the Platinum level designation.

The Contact Center Employer of Choice (“CCEOC”) program helped identify areas of improvement for FedEx Express Canada. The company responded by building exceptional work environments that attracted and retained high-performing employees. By targeting the key recommendations outlined in the CCEOC Summary Reporting, the FedEx Express Canada customer service centres have experienced increased employee satisfaction, increased customer satisfaction and reduced turnover.

The Contact Center Employer of Choice award is the industry standard for recognizing and branding people-centric contact centers. Through a proprietary assessment, a contact center can quickly determine if they meet the qualification standards. Once the designation is achieved, the contact center is profiled on the official CCEOC corporate web-site www.ccemployerofchoice.com, receives a prestigious framed certificate, and is promoted through various print and electronic news channels. To maintain their CCEOC standing, certified contact centres are reassessed every 12 months.

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Additional USD 40 million investment enhances DHL’s footprint in China

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

DHL announced a new dedicated flight connecting Qingdao and Hangzhou with DHL’s Central Asia Hub in Hong Kong. The move will increase the economic connectivity of the three cities and accelerate the inbound and outbound express business in Zhejiang and Shandong provinces. DHL has already started gateway operations at the Hangzhou International Airport. These latest investments by DHL totaled about USD 40 million, and are part of the planned USD110 million investment in its China business in the next few years, which DHL announced in February this year.

The new ten-time weekly flight allows DHL to better meet the increasing demand for international express and logistics services and capabilities due to the rapid economic development in these regions. The new flight, operated by a Yangtze River Express Airlines 737-300 freighter aircraft with a payload capacity of 13 tons, marks Hangzhou Airport’s first international air express cargo connection. The flight, together with DHL’s new 2,000 sqm Hangzhou Gateway, will boost the economic development in booming cities like Hangzhou, Ningbo and Qingdao, and further strengthen DHL’s market leadership in China.

Currently, DHL-Sinotrans has developed the largest air express services network in China with four international gateways – Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen – as well as eight additional direct flight gateways: Qingdao, Dalian, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Xi’an (outbound only) and Hangzhou.

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Support for postal strike growing in Britain as workers face ballot

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

Britain looks set for a national post strike this summer after independent polls showed that a clear majority of Royal Mail workers intend to vote in favour of action next month, The Times has learnt.

Postal workers are set to deliver a 65 per cent yes vote in favour of a national strike, according to independent polling commissioned by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the main postal union.

The percentage in favour of an all-out strike over pay, which could cripple services as early as next month, has increased from 54 per cent four weeks ago to 65 per cent last week, according to sources at the CWU.

A telephone survey of 2,000 postal workers by the Campaign Company also rates a video sent to postal employees by Allan Leighton, the chairman of Royal Mail, as the single most negative message from Royal Mail. In it he uses the word “bulls**t”.

CWU sources are believed to be increasingly confident of a convincing vote in favour of strike action over the pay dispute amid an intense campaign by both sides. Last week the union advertised in seven national newspapers to put its case over pay and services to the public and to postal workers.

Royal Mail responded with its own campaign the following day. It has also used Mr Leighton’s direct appeal to workplaces as well as letters from him and Adam Crozier, its chief executive, to employees. It is 11 years since Royal Mail suffered a national strike.

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Royal Mail produce best-ever annual performance

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has delivered to its customers the best-ever annual quality of service against target, it was announced today.

First Class mail comfortably exceeded the official target of 93.0 per cent in 2006-07 with 94.0 per cent of letters arriving the next day. Also, 98.9 per cent of Second Class mail was delivered within three days against a target of 98.5 per cent.

Overall, 11 of the 12 targets the business is set in its licence were achieved or surpassed in 2006/07.

The business mail services which performed above target level included Mailsort (for bulk mailers), Presstream (for publishers) and PPI (Postage Paid Impression) for mail posted in pre-paid envelopes. Standard Parcels also performed at its highest level on record with a 94.5 per cent against a target of 90.0 per cent.

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Bilingual post office unit to open in Little Rock (US)

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

Those speaking Spanish in central Arkansas soon will be able to order a roll of stamps and mail packages in the language.

The United States Postal Service announced today a contract postal unit will open Thursday at Discoteca San Luis, off of West 65th Street in Little Rock. Officials say it will be the first such bilingual contract operation to open in central Arkansas.

A similar operation opened in April in Rogers.

The new contract post office will be open Sunday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm.

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U.S. Postal Service, Pitney Bowes, UPS, and Entrepreneur Magazine Support Community of Online Entrepreneurs at eBay Live!

Posted by | May 29, 2007 | |

The U.S. Postal Service, title sponsor of eBay Live! for the third year in a row, is expected to host informative workshops for the eBay community. Approximately 1.3 million sellers around the world use eBay as their primary or secondary source of income and each of the corporate sponsors for the event, announced, are integral to the continued success of eBay entrepreneurs everywhere. Sponsors include Pitney Bowes, UPS, and Entrepreneur Magazine. In addition, VeriSign is a member sponsor and OfficeMax is an associate sponsor.

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'USPS in search of bigger slice'

Posted by | May 28, 2007 | |

With a new structure to tackle the international market, the US Postal Service aims to get a bigger slice through co-operation rather than acquisitions. Last year, the USPS handled over 793 million pieces of international mail, which translated into USD 1.9 billion in revenues.

To lay the foundations of the international expansion drive, Paul Vogel, who was appointed managing director of international business and senior vice-president of the USPS last summer, has restructured the postal agency’s international activities, consolidating the separate elements into one global business unit.

The new organisation, which was recently unveiled, consists of five divisions. Besides the operations and global business management groups (the latter covers sales and account management), there are units for global finance and business analysis, global network strategy and technologies, and international postal services/partners (which manages international relations and Customs and liaises with the Universal Postal Union).

Yvonne Yoerger, a spokesperson for the USPS, said that the various elements existed previously, but they are now brought together under one umbrella to form a full, self-sustaining profit centre.

Other postal agencies have steered clear of the integrated express carriers, whom they regard as major competitors. In Yoerger’s eyes, the likes of FedEx and UPS are competitors as well as customers and service providers.

Vogel also sees room for growth in a number of markets, such as Eastern Europe and Latin America, but he is most bullish about Asia.

In terms of partnering with Asian postal agencies, the new USPS managing director sees a host of opportunities, ranging from helping postal authorities in less developed economies with infrastructure development and providing and exchanging advice and counsel to joint development of services.

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