Security first at Amtrak
Amtrak Express has incorporated the secure delivery services gained by its acquisition of Nightspeed Secure Services in August.
Read MoreYear: 2005
More volume, better value, says Nightfreight
Irregular dimension and freight specialist Nightfreight has launched QuorumValue, a new service which operates on the basis of the bigger the volumes inputted, the better the value for the customer.
Read MoreEU begins investigation into Deutsche Post acquisition of Exel
The European Commission has begun its initial investigation into the acquisition of Exel PLC by Deutsche Post. All mergers and acquistitions and joint ventures that meet certain sales thresholds in the EU are subject to approval by the commission. The initial probe lasts one month. The commission will decide on the outcome of its initial probe into this deal on Nov 24. At the end of its initial probe, the commission can decide to clear the deal, conditionally clear it, or open an in-depth probe lasting up to four months if there are serious competition concerns.
Read MoreBelgian De Post/La Poste lose 2.5m Euro from Franking Machine Fraud
Belgian postal services company De Post/La Poste lost some 2.5 mln euro (USD2.99 mln) due to franking machines fraud in 2004, it was reported on October 20, 2005.
A total 16,000 franking machines are installed at companies and civil service offices. De Post/La Poste has checked 5,100 franking machines and registered a large difference between the franked amount and the money received.
The company has lodged a complaint for fraud against several companies.
Read MoreFedEx Express to expand in India
FedEx Express will expand operations in India, increasing its number of flights and destinations, a senior company official said.
“We will add five flights to and from (New) Delhi taking the total to 16,” Robert W. Elliot, the company’s president for Europe, Middle East & Africa, was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires. “With these incremental flights we will be able to carry (an) additional 900 tons of cargo to and from India.”
FedEx will also add 184 full time employees, taking the total head count in India to 425, he said.
The company will increase its retail presence from 11 cities to 54 cities, Elliot said.
“Enhanced transit times, additional capacity and the ability to clear customs on location will facilitate faster and easier trade with powerful trading blocs like Europe, and help Indian businesses take advantage of the new trade opportunities in Eastern Europe,” Elliot said.
Read MoreGerman Federal Network Agency allows mail consolidators new numbering variant
The Federal Network Agency has called on Deutsche Post AG (DPAG) to end an anti-competitive practice. DPAG had refused to accept mail from consolidators, under their downstream access agreements, if it was not in conformity with DPAG’s specified numbering. Some of the competitors had called for a numbering method that differed slightly from DPAG’s and that would enable mail to be numbered consecutively at the same time as being automatically sorted to postal routing regions. “Doing away with a second processing run means that the consolidators, under their agreements, can consolidate larger volumes in the narrow time window they have between collection from the customer and dropoff at DPAG”, Matthias Kurth, Agency President, declared. “It will allow the consolidators to achieve bigger rate discounts for their customers – mostly SMEs – and to tap further customer potential.”
Read MoreUPS thinks outside the delivery box
‘WHAT can brown do for you?’ is not a marketing slogan that would work well in Europe. The Dutch journalist sitting next to me bursts into laughter when the idea is suggested during an interview with Kurt Kuehn, one of UPS’s senior vice presidents at the delivery giant’s boardroom set in leafy suburban Atlanta.
“Imagine how it would sound in German,” he says, hinting that a US company proudly advertising how its staff wear brown shirts would not go down well in a country where the colour brown has become almost taboo.
Fortunately, UPS is not that naive. Kuehn says it has never tried to export the slogan, which works well in the US where the company is known as “Big Brown” and the public has grown fond of its brown vans, which deliver packages to front doors across the country.
Corporate messaging does not, however, appear to be one of UPS’s many strengths. Its senior executives find it hard to hide their envy and disdain for rivals that use marketing to raise their profile.
Read MoreGerman military to privatise logistics, has approached DHL
Germany’s military is planning to privatise its logistics operations and has approached Deutsche Post World Net AG’s DHL about the matter, Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing Ulrich Horsmann, head of the military’s procurement office, and a spokeswoman for DHL.
‘We were approached by the military, which asked us to work out some ideas on the matter,’ the spokeswoman for DHL said, but added there are currently no ongoing talks.
The newspaper cited industry sources as saying DHL is likely the only serious candidate for such a major project, especially as United Parcel Service already handles the US military’s logistics.
Horsmann said the German government may put out an initial 800 mln eur tender by the second half of 2006, which may result in 250 mln eur annual cost savings. Germany’s military spends about 3 bln eur per year on logistics.
The military’s privatisation plans include 190 depots, warehouses and distribution centres.
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