Author: Archive

UPS applauds new trade deal with South Korea

Posted by | Apr 5, 2007 | |

UPS congratulated the U.S. and South Korean governments for brokering a free trade agreement that will strengthen the countries’ economic ties.

“The United States and South Korea have reached a trade accord that establishes new opportunities for small and large companies on either side of the Pacific,” said Alan Gershenhorn, president of UPS International. “The increase in trade that will come from this agreement means more jobs and more global competitiveness for the two countries.”

The U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement contains vital provisions for the express delivery industry, including enhanced market access and improved customs clearance times that allow companies such as UPS to better serve their customers.

South Korea is the seventh-largest trading partner of the U.S., totaling some USD 78 billion in bilateral trade. More than a quarter of U.S. exports to South Korea come from small- and medium-sized businesses.

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Retail progress helps domestic courier services grow in Romania

Posted by | Apr 5, 2007 | |

DHL Romania last year witnessed a 60% growth in the sector of domestic delivery services, with this sector expected to continue as one of the company’s main growth drivers in the future, says Gian Sharp country manager with DHL.

He explained that while document delivery will not experience a rise, as documents can now be sent by e-mail, express parcel shipment services would certainly witness growth.

Though internal courier services account for only around 10 percent of the company’s turnover the growth remains significant.

In 2005, DHL derived around 18 million euros from courier services alone, with the company’s representatives putting last year’s growth rate at more than 20%, which means the company’s 2006 turnover for this sector exceeded 20 million euros.

Consecutively the company posted a 21.7% increase on the sector of express imports, which was bolstered by rising online sales with Romanians now able to buy products from abroad by using the Internet. As regards the volume of express import services, the company also expects significant increases this year, but the biggest increase will be witnessed on the segment of day definite services.

According to the company’s representatives DHL is a global as well as domestic leader in the segment of express delivery services. DHL expects its domestic turnover to increase by 35-40% this year, having already witnessed growth of over 30% in the first three months of 2007 against the same period last year.

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Vodafone seals handset supply deal with Poste Italiane

Posted by | Apr 5, 2007 | |

Vodafone will today announce a wholesale deal on mobile telephony with Poste Italiane as part of efforts to counter slowing revenue growth in its Italian business, the Financial Times reported.

The Italian postal service, which has 14,000 branches, will offer mobile phones and related services to its customers. They will be branded Poste Italiane while running on the Vodafone network, the newspaper said.

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Germany rethinks board structure after corruption scandals

Posted by | Apr 5, 2007 | |

Under German law, companies are required to give as many as half of their supervisory board seats to labor representatives. That increasingly appears to be leading to conflicts of interest and bribery in corporate Germany, because executives need a board’s support to keep their jobs and carry out strategies.

Nowhere in Europe are the ties between labor and management so close.
Germany requires any company with more than 2,000 employees to grant half its board seats to labor.

Its advocates say that the consensus-driven corporate culture helped the country emerge from the devastating effects of hyperinflation and two world wars over the last century to become a powerhouse in the global economy.
But German media are beginning to point to questionable practices between labor representatives and management at other German companies, such as Deutsche Bahn and Deutsche Post.

At Deutsche Post World Net, the German postal company and operator of the DHL express delivery service, the chief executive, Klaus Zumwinkel, has also been accused of getting too cozy with labor. Good relations will be important next year when a commitment of no layoffs expires.
In one example, Deutsche Post has 530 employees who have put their normal jobs aside to act as full-time labor representatives, often with company cars and private secretaries. This is well above the legal minimum of about 400 for the company, which has more than 500,000 workers and is one of the world’s largest employers.

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Christian Salvesen’s pre-close trading statement

Posted by | Apr 4, 2007 | |

Overall, the outcome for the year ended 31st March 2007 is expected to be in-line with market expectations. A third consecutive year of strong contract wins has delivered revenue growth of around 10 pct in the second half of the financial year, following the 7.5 pct reported in the first half, and all businesses have grown. Contract wins are ahead of last year’s GBP 120 million, with high contract retention rates and a continuing strong pipeline.

In the Food & Consumer sector, results will reflect the strong performance in our UK businesses and a stabilising performance in mainland Europe.

In the Transport sector, results will reflect the continuing challenges in the UK market. We have commenced a thorough review of this business which will be completed by the end of May.

We recently concluded a strategic alliance with leading Turkish freight forwarder, Ulustrans, to offer integrated transportation services between Turkey and the rest of Europe. The alliance will combine Ulustrans’ established freight forwarding services with Christian Salvesen’s extensive networks in Europe.

The programme of restructuring to improve efficiency across the Group is continuing, with particular focus on our UK and Spanish transport businesses and the European food & consumer business, and will result in restructuring costs of around GBP 4.5 million in the second half of the year just ended.

We have recently agreed some important changes with the trustees of our UK pension scheme which have reduced both the ongoing P&L cost and the balance sheet deficit without the need for additional cash contributions.

The year end debt position will be around GBP 45 million, following the successful sale and leaseback of part of our UK property portfolio in September 2006. That transaction generated GBP 47 million in cash for property with a book value of GBP 19 million. Following that transaction, the book value of our remaining properties was GBP 48 million net of related indebtedness.

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TNT Post scoops BT contract

Posted by | Apr 4, 2007 | |

TNT Post has been appointed by BT to deliver The Phone Book to 3.2 million homes across the UK as part of a three-year contract.

The move follows TNT Post’s GBP90m contract win in January to deliver BT’s addressed mail.

The new contract will see TNT Post deliver 22 of the 170 local editions of The Phone Book.

TNT Post will provide on target and on time services to ensure The Phone Book is delivered efficiently and effectively.

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South Sudan to receive mail directly

Posted by | Apr 4, 2007 | |

Authorities in southern Sudan and Khartoum have signed an agreement that will allow the southern capital of Juba to receive mail directly for the first time, officials said on Friday.

Currently letters headed for the south have to pass through northern Sudan.

“The Sudan postal service has accepted that we should have our own gateway,” said Francis Apaya Elia, the south’s director of postal services.

The agreement also meant the south can produce its own stamps, said Gier Cuang Along, southern minister for telecommunications and postal services.

Elia said the national postal service would now apply to the International Postal Union (IPU) for permission to make Juba a postal gateway.

Along said the issue of postal service had not been properly addressed during the peace negotiations that culminated in a 2005 agreement ending 21 years of civil war between north and south Sudan.

The peace agreement led to the formation of a semi-autonomous southern state with its own government. It also gave the south the option to vote for secession in 2011.

The possibility of an independent southern state made the issue of postal service a security concern.

“There are things you have to do now,” Along said.

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MBE sets up new alternative ‘Post Office’ venture

Posted by | Apr 4, 2007 | |

Mail Boxes Etc. (UK) Ltd., (MBE) is offering sub postmasters and independent retailers an opportunity to provide alternative postal services under a new franchised concession. This could create postal services in areas where they did not exist previously and would also enable sub postmasters facing closure to stay in business and continue to serve their local communities.
MBE is an experienced franchisor with a rapidly expanding network of more than 100 high street-based centres in the UK that specialise in a wide range of postal, communication and business services for local companies and members of the public.

The new franchise proposal offers a proven business solution that mirrors the existing MBE model and could make excellent use of former post office premises. Outlets in former post offices and convenience stories will handle post and parcels and also offer a wide range of other popular services currently offered by the Post Office network including, for example, foreign currency exchange, bill payment services and money transmission.

MBE’s new developments in this area will be spearheaded the founder of Postmasternet Ltd, a company that successfully courted big business to introduce new income streams for ailing post offices. The founder said:
“We are confident that our proposition will appeal to sub postmasters, especially those who want to stay in their own area and are entrepreneurial. There are limitless opportunities, particularly in places with large numbers of small businesses and people working from home.”

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