Year: 2006

19 Arab countries take part in first-ever UPU-conducted philately workshop at Emirates Post Training Centre

Posted by | Dec 12, 2006 | |

A UPU-conducted workshop on philately, the first of its kind in the regin, hosted by Emirates Post, was inaugurated at the Emirates Post Training & Development Centre, with 19 countries from the Arab Permanent Postal Commission (APPC) taking part.
The four-day event will highlight several philately-related issues, such as developing the youth market, technology in the manufacturing process, personalized stamps, security perforations and innovations in philately.

Inaugurating the workshop, Mr. Mohammed bin Shaker, Assistant Director General, Zones, Emirates Post, said: ‘The hosting of this workshop reflects Emirates Post’s commitment to encouraging philately in the region. This event is timely because it comes on the heels of the successful hosting of the 19th Asian International Stamp Exhibition and the 12th GCC Stamp Exhibition by Emirates Post in Dubai last month.’

Over the next four days, the workshop will be addressed by Mr. Mohamed Bahloul, Director of Philately, Tunisia; Mr. Louise Virgile, Cultural and Commercial Director, La Poste, France; Ms. Irena Kyrincovicova, Sales & Marketing Director, The Slovak Post, Ms. Hiba Belbachir, Philately Marketing & Promotions, Poste Maroc and Mr. Jean-Francois Logette.

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Bilbray joins Postal Service governors

Posted by | Dec 12, 2006 | |

Former Nevada Rep. Jim Bilbray was confirmed by the Senate over the weekend to serve on the board of governors of the U.S. Postal Service until the end of 2015.

Bilbray, 68, was nominated in August by President Bush to complete the remainder of a term that expired Dec. 8, and then serve a new nine-year term.

The Senate confirmed Bilbray’s appointment as Congress closed this year’s session.

The 11-member board of governors usually meets monthly and is comparable to a board of directors for a private corporation.

Board members are paid USD30,000 a year and USD300 a day for meetings.

Bilbray, a Democrat, represented Las Vegas in the House from 1987 through 1994.

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Postal dept’s finance mart launched

Posted by | Dec 12, 2006 | |

Postal Department has come up with a concept of Finance Mart, where the customers will get the financial services under one roof.

Inaugurating the Mart at Head Post Office (HPO) Civil Lines, on Sunday, Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Dr Shakeel Ahmed said that the move is beneficial for the customers as they will get the financial services in a modern and improved manner, at one place.

he postal department is heading towards modernisation, said the Minister adding that the plans were afoot to computerise the services in a large number of post offices in the state.

The department will also take measures to improve the services being rendered to senior citizens”, he claimed. In addition to this, the department is set to provide better services during upcoming Ardh Kumbh mela.

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The Christmas card retains its crown as the most popular festive greeting

Posted by | Dec 12, 2006 | |

The Christmas card still retains its position as the preferred festive greeting despite competition from text and e-mail, research from Royal Mail revealed today.

More than eight in ten people (84 per cent) prefer the personal touch of a Christmas card from friends and family, the study showed. It also revealed 60 per cent of people like to receive a hand written letter as a seasonal greeting while only three in ten people (32 per cent) like to be sent a festive text message.

The figures have been released as Royal Mail reminds customers sending Christmas greetings that its pricing system changed in August.

The research, which was based on the opinions of over 2,000 adults, also reveals the importance of Christmas cards in maintaining a social network, with nearly a third (28 per cent) claiming they will send a Christmas card to people they have not seen for up to a year. And a quarter said they will send a Christmas card to people they have not seen for as long as seven years.

Christmas cards can also reportedly play a role in re-establishing relationships with six out of ten people (63 per cent) saying they are more likely to get in touch with someone who had sent them a Christmas card.

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Publishers applaud postal reform

Posted by | Dec 12, 2006 | |

The Magazine Publishers of America and the entire magazine industry are applauding the recent victory of postal reform.

Approved by both Houses of Congress on Dec. 9, the reform included resolutions for two of the magazine industry’s most important issues: Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)/military pension funding and limiting rate increases to increases in the Consumer Price Index.

On the CSRS issue, the bill eliminates the CSRS escrow fund and returns responsibility for the military pensions of postal employees back to the U.S. Treasury.

The MPA played a key role in the mailing community’s efforts to push for the legislation, and several MPA member companies were instrumental in making the case to Congress.

Congressional leaders of reform include chairman Susan Collins and fellow senators Tom Carper and Joe Lieberman; and chairman Tom Davis and representatives Henry Waxman, John McHugh and Danny Davis from the House.

The New York based-MPA represents more than 240 domestic publishing companies with approximately 1,400 titles, more than 80 international companies and 100-plus associate service providers.

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Catalog reinvention turns new page

Posted by | Dec 12, 2006 | |

There are vested interests on both sides of the debate. Printers, paper manufacturers and the U.S. Postal Service see the paper catalog as being invincible. Internet service providers, search firms and the Internet industry see the catalog as a relic of the pre-online era.

The truth: the debate will be decided by metrics. The problem: we don’t have the metrics.

The coming year will advance those metrics and the logical answer will be that the catalog is losing influence and search is gaining influence.

In fact, while not in 2007, but one year soon, there will be no multichannel marketing, only marketing once again, and it will demand mastery of all channels.

Photography will become much larger-heroic, as it is called. Space, copy and message will be thought of differently; not as cost per square-inch, but conversion cost relative to paid search, keyword expense and pay per click/pay per order.
In 2007, the number of pages will decrease. As catalogs morph to Web drivers, the intent will be to attract buyers rather than display products. If a buyer can be attracted to the in-depth online product experience with 36 pages instead of 120 pages, the “bait-and-hook” catalog will gain in usage.

In 2007, the debate between “black box” membership list co-ops and list-specific co-ops will intensify. Catalogers will demand metrics – from both – that empirically prove the future value of customers.

In all cases, however, youth and profit will come to dominate their operations. And that can only mean huge shifts from tradition to innovation, from passive to aggressive, from print technology to online technology, from response-based to conversion-based.

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DHL Express strengthens its sales outlet network following an agreement with Prodesa

Posted by | Dec 11, 2006 | |

Last October, DHL Express and Prodesa, press distributors to shops and newspaper stands belonging to the Grupo Zeta, signed a collaboration agreement adding Prodesa to DHL’s Spanish outlet network.
Under this agreement, the Prodesa Rail Press and La Tienda Z outlets will offer DHL services functioning on the basis of the new pre-payment system. Clients will therefore be able to pay beforehand for this service, receiving the packaging of their choice to suit their needs, together with a folder containing simple instructions to help them complete the documentation required for their shipment. Once wrapped, they can hand it in at the collection point whenever it suits them.

Apart from making it faster for clients to complete the procedures related to the sale of DHL services, this system is adapted to the Prodesa outlet style and ensures that clients get the right packaging for their shipments.
This agreement targets responding to the growing demand for transport services by individuals, small company owners, freelance professionals and the fast-rising number of immigrants generally located in towns and cities.

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Post offices could go mobile to survive

Posted by | Dec 11, 2006 | |

Rural post offices could go mobile or relocate to pubs and church halls under plans to preserve the threatened network.

The ideas are being encouraged by the Scottish Executive, as it faces fallout from the likely closure of hundreds of rural post offices.

Whitehall ministers will announce this week that changes to the support for Britain’s loss-making post offices, including the removal of counter services on which they have depended, could see many of them close.

Opposition parties, business and campaign groups yesterday stepped up their demands for ministers not to sanction wholesale closures among the 14,500 offices across the UK.

Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling will tell MPs this week how much money the government is prepared to give the Royal Mail which will help shape the future size of the network.

Ross Finnie, Scotland’s Rural Development Minister, has been putting the special case for Scotland’s rural post offices, arguing that closures would mean the financial exclusion of many Scots.

Pilots have been tried to make the network more flexible, combining services with other facets of village life, including the village hall, and pub. There has also been the possibility of running mobile post office vans.

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