France’s state-owned postal service La Poste chairman Jean-Paul Bailly said he hopes to raise the business’ stake in the life insurance company CNP Assurances beyond the current level of around 17.5 pct.
Read MoreRoyal Mail faces the prospect of being broken up if it blocks access to its delivery systems by rival operators.
Graham Corbett, the postal regulator, said that the state organisation may be forced to spin off its sorting offices and distribution centres if it was felt that Royal Mail was unfairly obstructing competitors.
The postal group is obliged to allow other postal companies to use its infrastructure, but the regulator has yet to determine the price.
Read MoreFive companies filed applications for a license for restricted mail delivery service with the Japan Posts Ministry on Tuesday, when the ban on private-sector entry into the mail delivery business was lifted. But no applications were filed for the nationwide mail delivery service. The deregulation step is thus expected to do little in promoting competition.
Read MoreFrench industry minister Nicole Fontaine plans to introduce a bill to the Senate in June proposing the expansion of telecoms regulator ART’s jurisdiction to include postal services. If the change takes place, ART will become ARTP (‘Autorite de regulation des telecommunications et des postes’).
Read MoreAlliances are being cemented in the increasingly competitive field service delivery market. Following the recent announcement of an agreement by Hays DX and Bybox to offer a network of “intelligent” drop-boxes, Business Post has appointed a business manager to drive the development of the UK HomeServe operation it has launched jointly with Collectpoint. She is Kate Stansby, who joined the company five years ago as a graduate trainee, and has latterly been involved in franchise development. Whilst implicitly targeting business-to-consumer customers with its HomeServe operation, Business Post is putting particular emphasis on the appeal of the Collectpoint partnership for the field service market. It points out that many of the 3,500 Collectpoint delivery points are likely to be near the homes of field engineers and similar staff.
Read MoreBy setting up broadband Internet connections at its 90-odd member companies, pallet delivery network Palletways says it has been able to launch the first real-time consignment tracking service in its sector. The service is mediated by EasyNet, which is providing a hosting facility on two Internet servers at its Manchester processing centre. This allows Palletways customers to access data about their consignments directly over the Internet. They will also be able to call up a scanned image of the proof of delivery document via the Web site on the day following delivery of the goods.
Read MoreBusiness-to-consumer deliveries may be tricky, but express carriers are getting smarter at handling them effectively, and are streamlining their B2B service as they do so.
Read MoreSignificant growth in business-to-consumer deliveries is planned for the coming year by Lynx Express, and the company is also extending its “in-night” delivery service for field engineers to collections from continental suppliers. Xerox is one of the first customers to benefit. To enhance its UK capacity, Lynx is spending £3.5 million on a new Vanderlande “shoe sorter” mechanised sortation machine, which will be installed on a mezzanine level in one of its two hubs at Nuneaton. Currently only one of these is mechanised. The new facility will double potential throughput to 400,000 shipments a night by next year. “We’re very confident in the future of the company,” managing director David Burtenshaw reported at a briefing in March, adding that there was no intention of selling its services cheaply to fill the extra capacity. “We’re not falling into that trap.”
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