Year: 2005

UPS finds favour with German logistics managers

Posted by | Sep 28, 2005 | |

United Parcel Service, the US parcel forwarding company, enjoys the most favourable image among logistics service providers on the German market, according to the annual survey by the market research institute Emnid involving 300 logistics managers. The German shipping and logistics company Hapag-Lloyd Container Line ranks second, while Lufthansa Cargo, the freight arm of the airline group Deutsche Lufthansa, ranks third. They are followed by DPD Deutscher Paketdienst, which belongs to the French group La Poste, US group Federal Express (Fedex) and Hermes, a subsidiary of the German mail order group Otto. DHL, the German market leader, ranks only 11th with a verdict of ‘average’.

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Royal Mail accused of delaying investment in post offices

Posted by | Sep 28, 2005 | |

Royal Mail has come under fire for delaying investment in its urban post office network and leaving government money “lying idle” by spending only Pounds 13m of Pounds 30m allocated for the work. The criticism by Postwatch, the consumer group, coincided with the start of talks between the publicly owned postal operator and unions over further job losses. Royal Mail is lobbying the government to allow it to change its ownership and balance sheet structure, arguing that it needs billions of pounds of investment to compete effectively when the postal services market is opened to full competition next year. Royal Mail is also locked in a fierce dispute with Postcomm, its regulator, over future price controls. Any suggestion Royal Mail has failed to spend money already at its disposal could strengthen Postcomm’s argument that Royal Mail is overstating the prices it needs to charge customers to generate a decent financial return.

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Post Danmark, CVC Capital Partners close to buying stake in Belgium’s De Post

Posted by | Sep 28, 2005 | |

Post Danmark AS and the UK’s CVC Capital Partners are close to buying a 49 pct stake in the Belgium postal services, De Post – La Poste, daily Jyllands-Posten reported, citing Post Danmark chairman, Fritz Schur. The shareholding in De Post – La Poste has been put up for sale by the Belgium government. Post Danmark and CVC Capital Partners have been negotiating with the Belgians over the weekend and Schur told the daily that he expects to call a board meeting as soon as next week in order to have the deal cleared.

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DHL takes on US rivals at the shop-front

Posted by | Sep 28, 2005 | |

DHL is planning to open a new front in its competition with United Parcel Service and FedEx by launching a chain of retail outlets in the US. The German courier company believes it needs a bricks-and-mortar presence in America to woo customers from the two main domestic operators. John Pearson, vice-president of commercial operations, said DHL had yet to decide how many stores it needed but the number could reach the thousands. “We are in the process of mapping out where we need to beand what is realistic,” he told the FT. The prospect of DHL-branded shop-fronts springing up across the US underlines the company’s ambition to become a significant force in North America. The Deutsche Post subsidiary has secured about 10 per cent of the US parcel market since its Dollars 1bn acquisition of Seattle-based Airborne two years ago. Retail outlets would help DHL strengthen its reach among lucrative small business customers not big enough to receive dedicated pick-up services.

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USPS new five-year plan builds on success

Posted by | Sep 27, 2005 | |

The US Postal Service Board of Governors Tuesday approved the “Strategic Transformation Plan 2006-2010,” initiating the agency’s next strategic phase, building on the successes of the original Transformation Plan, introduced in 2002. “Transformation became the watchword of the Postal Service in 2002,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter. “Our goal was to position the Postal Service to navigate a dynamic market environment and communications landscape successfully. The results speak for themselves.” He noted that postal product and service offerings are marked by innovation, ease-of-use, and accessibility.
Potter said, “We have reduced costs and increased productivity. Our people, the men and women of the Postal Service, have brought service performance and customer satisfaction to record levels.” During the next five years, the Postal Service will remain focused on its core business and those strategies that produce results, he said.

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Bigger, brighter, better UK post offices delayed –

Posted by | Sep 27, 2005 | |

Much needed investment to create bigger, brighter, better post offices has been lying idle for 3 years. A year ago Postwatch, the watchdog for postal services, wrote to the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited to express concern at the delay in carrying out work to upgrade post offices. Peter Carr, Chairman of Postwatch, has again had to write to Chief Executive of Post Office Limited to express Postwatch’s continued frustration that, as at the end of August, only GBP13 million of GBP30 million made available from Government had been spent. Work is incomplete in 72 per cent of the branches where improvements were promised. Peter Carr, commenting on the lack of progress said: “Post Office Limited have been quick to close post offices but slow at investing in those that remain. We are constantly told all the GBP30 million has been ‘allocated’ but the reality is that only GBP13 million has been spent after 3 years.

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More Royal Mail jobs to go as cash handling wanes

Posted by | Sep 27, 2005 | |

Royal Mail is set to announce more job losses, this time at its cash-handling division which is the subject of a new review by the postal operator, The Times has learnt. The operation, which employs 2,000 people, has shrunk over the past couple of years largely because of the Government’s decision to pay most benefits direct into claimants’ bank accounts. The closure of nearly 3,000 post offices in recent years has also hit the cash-handling business. Although other functions such bureaux de change have grown, Royal Mail last week told unions that it needs to consider the future of cashhandling. However, it is believed that the organisation is committed to keeping cash-handling for internal purposes -such as the movement of money and stamps around branches -although its work for external customers could be under threat. No deadline has yet been set for a conclusion of the review. However, Royal Mail is familiar with the problems facing the business. Two years ago it attempted to outsource the division but met with stiff opposition from the Communication Workers Union.

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DHL Mexico to Invest USD12 mln to modernise transport fleet

Posted by | Sep 27, 2005 | |

DHL Mexico, the Mexican unit of German express delivery services provider DHL Express, will invest USD12 mln (9.98 mln euro) to renovate its transport fleet, the vice president for operations of the Mexican unit, Luis Humberto Erana, said on September 26, 2005. DHL Mexico plans to buy 36 light trucks Mercedes Benz, as well as 32 light trucks M2 from US truck producer Freightliner LLC. The aim of DHL Mexico is to transport a total 300 tonnes of documents and packages daily in the Latin American country.

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