Author: Archive

New Amtrak bosses start efficiency drive

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

The new owners of UK parcel company Amtrak claim they can make significant cost savings without wholesale redundancies.

But the linehaul and hub operations had to become “a lot slicker”, said new MD Alan Jones.

“It’s all about making sure costs are in alignment with revenues, ” he told IFW. “Clearly we cannot leave things exactly as they are. We have got to take costs out of the business, because you can’t just put GBP 1 on a parcel.

“But a couple of million off our trunking costs would go straight to the bottom line.” Amtrak has 14 double-deck trailers out of a total linehaul fleet of 120, and more will be added. “We carry a lot of fresh air around.

Double-deckers help to reduce that, ” Jones said.

Funding for re-investment in the business has been secured from Lloyds TSB, but it has taken no equity. Netfold, a five-man consortium, now wholly owns Amtrak.

Netfold comprises Ron Series, former executive chairman of Tuffnells Parcels Express, plus four former directors of the Seawheel shortsea business: Jones, Gerry Ruffell, Tom Naylor and David Bardsley.

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Schenker expands night express services

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

Leading German freight transport company Schenker has expanded its specialised night express services. For standard parcel services, the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary cooperates with UPS.

Schenker Germany announced that its “NightPlus” service has grown to some 2.1 million consignments per year. Goods are collected in late afternoon or early evening and delivered by 08:00 the following workday morning, or even by 06:00 or 07:00 if required by customers.

The specialist express service is targeted at customers with urgent items such as spare parts that have to be delivered before the start of the working day. Automotive workshops and repair centres are a key customer group.

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Strong 2006 lays the ground for increased competitiveness

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

President and CEO Erik Olsson commented that Posten is performing well. We have reached operating earnings of SEK 1,442m for the full year, despite costs of SEK 617m for Posten’s restructuring and transition to a new operational structure in the fourth quarter. These will result in annual cost reductions of SEK 300m, fully effective by 2008, thus reinforcing our long-term competitiveness.

The acquisition of Strålfors together with a robust economy and intensified sales efforts have resulted in Posten setting a sales record for 2006. Both Posten’s logistics and direct marketing services have grown by 8 percent each.

The expanding market for information logistics services is a key growth area for Posten. During the year, Strålfors grew by a full 20 percent in this area. Earnings for Strålfors have also been weighed down by structural costs that will strengthen the company’s competitiveness in the face of future challenges. In order to take advantage of the identified synergies, Posten and Strålfors are merging their printing operations in Sweden.

Posten’s end-to-end solutions for the growing distance trade have, together with the upswing in the economy, softened the fall in mail volumes. This has maintained the income level from Messaging, Posten’s largest business area, keeping it the same as last year.

– Net sales totaled SEK 27,823m (25,277)
– Operating earnings totaled SEK 1,442 m (1,281)
– The fourth quarter was weighed down by costs of SEK 617m for Posten’s restructuring activities, which will result in annual cost reductions of SEK 300m
– Net earnings totaled SEK 1,013m (1,478)
– Equity-assets ratio was 33 (33) percent
– Cash flows from operating activities totaled SEK 2,602 m ( 2, 251)
– The Board proposes that SEK 400m (175) be paid out in dividends

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Postal Service Providers Challenged On Vigilance

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

Stiff international competition is forcing Africa’s postal service providers to reinvent themselves to remain relevant communication market players.

Speaking at a nine-day cost accounting seminar that started on Tuesday at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala featuring several countries, the Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology, Mr John Alintuma Nsambu, called on the African postal industry to be dynamic to accommodate challenges of market liberalisation, globalisation and technological advancement.

He said the government supports the cost accounting techniques to promote efficiency within the industry.

The seminar is part of a training programme coming amid years of reform of Posta Uganda to turn it into a modern customer-orientated company.

Acting Managing Director Posta Uganda Emmanuel Mulooki said cost accounting seminar will help Posta Uganda to monitor and evaluate its expenditures.

Participants in the seminar have come from Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Others have come from Ghana, Nigeria, Swaziland, Zambia and Ethiopia.

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DHL to invest Y1.1bn in Japan

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

The CEO of DPWN, Klaus Zumwinkel, has been touring North Asia this week and outlining his company’s investment plans for the region. Reports from Japan indicate that Klaus Zumwinkel has stated that DHL will invest Y1.1bn (USD100m/euro66m) at its facilities in Kansai International Airport in Osaka and Central Japan International Airport near Nagoya. This is in addition to the already announced decision to establish a distribution hub in Ichikawa near Tokyo for the DHL Express business.

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'Big Orange' adds Splash of Colour to its Range

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

TNT may be famous for it orange trucks, but it will be adding to its colour palette in 2007 thanks to deal worth in excess of GBP 1million a year with one of Britain’s biggest colourant suppliers to the plastics industries.

Britain’s leading business-to-business express deliverer won the deal with ColorMatrix to transport colourants from the company’s headquarters in Knowsley, Merseyside, to firms across the UK and Europe. The colours are used to tint transparent materials including bottles for big brand drinks manufacturers such as Coca-Cola and Robinsons.

From Knowsley, TNT transports the goods to its newly opened GBP 5.6 million gateway depot at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which handles domestic parcels for the North-West of England as well as international consignments to and from mainland Europe and further afield.

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Finland Post 2006 Net Profit Up to 67.7 Mln Euro

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

Finland Post Group said its net profit went up to 67.7 mln euro (USD88.9 mln) in 2006 from 64 mln euro (USD84 mln) in 2005, on the back of a 15 pct rise in net sales.

The board will propose a dividend payment of 0.675 euro (USD0.89) per share for 2006.

Finland Post acquired Norwegian logistics company Universal Spedisjon AS in the third quarter of 2006. The company was consolidated in the group’s accounts in September 2006.

In September 2006 Finland Post sold its 49 pct stake in the transport joint venture Kelpo Kuljetus Fi Oy to its partner DHL. Under the agreement, Finland Post bought Kelpo Kuljetus regional transport business from DHL.

In the autumn of 2006, the group also signed a lease agreement for a 20,000 sq m logistics centre in Moscow. Finland Post will start Russian operations in the spring of 2007.

Finland Post had 25,294 employees in 2006.

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How to Prepare for USPS Changes in 2007

Posted by | Feb 16, 2007 | |

USPS regulation changes in the Spring of 2007 will be transforming the mail preparation method once again. In 1996, Mail Classification Reform was implemented, with new categories and mail classes introduced to meet customers’ needs and simplify postal operations. These categories described the type of communication, delivery speed and the extent of sorting. The cost structure for these various services encouraged mailers to prepare proper addresses, use barcodes and presort their mailpieces for faster processing and lower costs. Mailers who were running the most efficient mailing operation possible were able to save more on postage with worksharing discounts and smart addressing.

With the upcoming 2007 Rate Case, the Postal Service will be placing more emphasis on mailpiece shape in setting new rates. 2007 rates have not been finalized at this time, and mailers are still in the dark as to what the final new qualification and preparation rules will be. It is more critical than ever for mailers and shippers to rethink their packaging choices, and to make changes to current systems to maximize efficiency.

Preparation is key, but that doesn’t mean that mailers will have to spend more time on manual labor, if they utilize the right software. The need for quality mailing software has increased dramatically over the last several years, and will continue to do so with future rate cases planned by the USPS. Mailing software that manages all postage payment methods, reduces labor, and increases transactional speed and accuracy is no longer a luxury, but now necessary to help organizations avoid the profit leaks that can compromise successful businesses.

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