Author: Archive

Correos using radio to track packages

Posted by | Mar 13, 2007 | |

Spanish postal company Correos is to use a system of computer chips embedded in packets to identify their location using a radio identification system.

The chips are embedded in the RFID stickers placed on the items, and a trial of the system has shown that 10,000 packets were identified correctly.

The company has invested one million euros in the project, and now it will be used firstly in the company’s messenger service, before being extended to other items.

Correos currently handles 5 billion items a year and delivers post to 19 million addresses a day.

Read More

Japan Post plans to deliver trust sales boost

Posted by | Mar 13, 2007 | |

Japan Post, the world’s biggest financial institution and the traditional safe haven for the country’s millions of highly conservative savers, has outlined ambitious plans to double sales of higher-risk investment trusts.
The company’s announcement highlights the key role it plays in changing households from savers – who put their money in conventional bank or post office accounts, where it earns a tiny rate of interest – to fully fledged investors, who put money into securities to win a higher return.
As Japan Post customers shift more of their money from post office accounts and into investment trusts, they are also likely to contribute to the continuing large flow of money out of the yen and into other currencies.
This is because many investment trusts put money into foreign as well as Japanese assets. This large outflow has been a big driver in pushing down the yen in recent years, enabling the carry trade to prosper.
The Expansion of Japan Post’s investment trust business ties in with the reformist political legacy of Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese prime minister until last year.
Mr Koizumi was determined to reduce the share of the economy controlled by the public sector.
The launch of the investment trusts has the same purpose as the planned privatisation of Japan Post, which is due in October.
Both will switch assets away from the inefficient public sector to the wealth-generating private sector.
This is because money resting in Japan Post’s conventional savings products is primarily used to buy bonds issued by the Japanese government and its various agencies.
By boosting sales of investment trusts and pocketing the fees from selling them, Japan Post hopes to increase profitability at a time when it wants to establish viable financial independence ahead of privatisation.
The company plans to double its sales target of investment trusts to Y1,100bn (USD9.3bn) in the year to March 2008, after reaching its annual 2006-7 target of Y540bn a month early in February, a spokesman told the Financial Times.
Japan Post will also increase the number of post offices selling investment trusts by about 400 to 1,155, although this is still a fraction of the more than 20,000 branches in its network.
From June, the company will add two more investment trusts to its current line-up of nine, said the spokesman. One will con-centrate on high-dividend shares, and the other will change its asset mix as the investor ages.
Japan Post launched investment trusts in October 2005, with offerings from Nomura, Daiwa and Goldman Sachs that inves-ted in bonds, equities and property.

Read More

Fortec announces five million investment programme

Posted by | Mar 13, 2007 | |

Rugby based Fortec Pallet Distribution Network has today announced a £5 million investment programme in a new 140,000 sq foot central hub, IT systems and equipment that will accommodate the organisation’s expansion plans for at least the next five years.

– move to new Central Hub at Easter – new facility three times size of present hub – record turnover and profits in 2006

The multi-million-pound investment, unprecedented in the 10 year history of Fortec, has been approved by French parent company Geodis following Fortec’s record financial turnover and profits for the fifth year running in 2006.

Fortec, currently based on the Europark Estate near Rugby will move to a 140,000 sq. ft. building eight miles south of its existing location. The new building which is nearly three times the size of the current hub is located on a 9.25 acre site and provides excellent motorway access.

Extensive refurbishment of the new hub site at Watford Gap is currently underway and this work is scheduled to be completed by late March in readiness for the relocation of Fortec staff and facilities to the new central hub after Easter.

Rod Abrahams, Managing Director of the Fortec Pallet Distribution Network commented: “This multi-million pound investment in a new central hub, systems and facilities is without doubt a quantum leap for the business.

“The new site represents a huge step forward in the future development of Fortec and will enable the network to handle the forecast volume growth which is anticipated over the next few years.

“The facility enables Fortec to continue to focus on the quality end of the pallet distribution market – providing our licensees with the right infrastructure to send their customers goods through a safe and secure environment with the full benefits of extensive IT support.

“This is a milestone for Fortec and will help shape the future success of the company for many years to come,” he added.

The new Fortec Pallet Distribution Network Hub is an enabler through which the company can facilitate its expansion plans:
a) It will enable the network to increase from 61 to 75 licensees.
b) It will enable the network to launch new products for licensees and their customers.
c) It will enable Fortec to develop extensive ground-breaking IT enhancements.
d) It will enable Fortec to build upon its reputation as a quality provider.

Read More

UK direct mail volumes drop 2.1% in 2006

Posted by | Mar 13, 2007 | |

The volume of direct mail sent last year declined by 2.1% to 5.03bn items, according to Royal Mail.

Expenditure also dropped 2.1% from GBP2.37bn in 2005 to GBP2.32bn in 2006. The figures measure the whole direct mail market and not just those items handled by Royal Mail.

The overall volume figure includes mail addressed to consumers and mail addressed to businesses. Consumer direct mail volume dropped 1.6% to 3.94bn items, while business direct mail dropped 3.6% to 1.09bn.

Providing more detail about the consumer direct mail market, Royal Mail identified which six market sectors that grew in volume: Education grew the most by 10.4%; followed by charity, up 9.5%; leisure and entertainment, up 3.7%; health, up 2.8%; home shopping and mail order, up 1.3%; and “other financial”, up 0.2%.

The number of items sent to 55- to 64-year-olds increased by 11.5% and the number sent to recipients in social class AB climbed 1.1%.

The volume of direct mail sent in the fourth quarter of 2006 was 1.18bn, down 4.6% on the corresponding quarter last

Read More

FedEx board adopts majority-voting standard for election of directors

Posted by | Mar 13, 2007 | |

FedEx Corp. announced that its board of directors has amended the company’s bylaws to adopt a majority-voting standard in uncontested director elections and a resignation requirement for directors who fail to receive the required majority vote. The amended bylaws also prohibit the board from changing back to a plurality-voting standard without the approval of our shareowners. The bylaw amendments are effective immediately and will apply to all future elections of directors.

Under the new majority-voting standard, a director nominee will be elected only if the number of votes cast “for” the nominee exceeds the number of votes cast “against” the nominee. Previously, directors were elected under a plurality-voting standard, in which candidates receiving the most votes were elected regardless of whether those votes constituted a majority. Plurality voting will continue to apply in contested elections.

If an incumbent director does not receive the required vote for reelection, the amended bylaws require the board of directors, within 90 days after certification of the election results, to accept the director’s resignation unless there is a compelling reason not to do so and to promptly disclose its decision (including, if applicable, the reasons for rejecting the resignation) in an SEC filing.

Read More

Norway Post to buy Sweden’s Transflex Group

Posted by | Mar 12, 2007 | |

Norway Post has entered into a contract to buy all the shares in Transflex, a Swedish transport and logistics group. This acquisition will strengthen the position of Norway Post and Nor-Cargo in the Nordic region and within the field of international land transport.

The purchase of Transflex is part of the Norway Post Group’s strategy of expanding within the Nordic region. This transaction emphasizes Norway Post’s ambition of getting a foothold in Sweden and becoming one of the four largest logistics companies in the Nordic region.

Transflex was established in 1998 and has operations in Halmstad, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Jönköping and Linköping. It has 75 employees and achieved revenue of SEK 417 million in 2006. Transflex has grown dramatically since its formation and is one of this industry’s most profitable and well-run players.

The Transflex Group will become a part of Norway Post’s logistics network in Sweden together with refrigerated-transport company Frigoscandia, courier and express delivery company Box and Nor-Cargo’s Swedish operations. The acquisition of Transflex will strengthen Norway Post’s and Nor-Cargo’s
opportunities to establish a strong international network based in Southern Sweden.

Read More

DPD defends Austrian B2B parcel market leadership

Posted by | Mar 12, 2007 | |

DPD has successfully defended its leadership of the Austrian B2B parcels market despite the efforts of expanding Austrian Post to win a sizeable chunk of the market.

DPD Austria has announced that it increased turnover by 6.4% to EUR 132.2 million in 2006, which kept it at the head of the B2B parcels market. DPD carried 34.2 million parcels in Austria last year, which was an increase of 8.2%. About 70% of these volumes were domestic, and 30% were international.

Key success factors were the carrier’s strong regional presence with 13 depots and performance quality of 98% for transit time reliability. “Our regional expertise makes us into a strong partner for our customers,” said managing director Georg Karoh.

For 2007, DPD Austria is targeting turnover growth of 2.5% and a volume increase of 4.5%. The carrier will be putting a special focus on neighbouring Eastern European countries as well as the new EU members Romania and Bulgaria. The carrier has 1,400 employees and 900 vehicles.

Read More

Singapore Post announces Senior Appointments

Posted by | Mar 12, 2007 | |

Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) today announced the appointment of Mr Dennis Quek Hong Kai as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for its Logistics and eBusiness divisions, to further drive growth in these two businesses.

Mr Quek, 44, will join SingPost on 1 April 2007. He has held various key management positions in both local and regional logistics companies including Flextronics International (Singapore) Pte Ltd and PTC Logistics (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

SingPost’s International Mail and Mail businesses will continue to be led by Mr Teo Yew Hwa and Mr Woo Keng Leong respectively. Mr Teo Yew Hwa will be promoted to Executive Vice President (International Mail) and Mr Woo Keng Leong will be promoted to Executive Vice President (Mail), with immediate effect.

These latest appointments further strengthen SingPost’s senior management team, which is poised to meet the challenges of the impending liberalisation of the Basic Mail Services market and to take the Group on its next phase of growth.

These three executives report to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lau Boon Tuan.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

Have you noticed a decrease of non-EU inbound parcel volumes since the implementation of the new €3 charge?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!


View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest