Year: 2006

Panel to attract private companies in air cargo

Posted by | Dec 20, 2006 | |

In order to attract private investments in air cargo operations from Reliance, Tatas and Deccan Aviation, the government has set up an inter-ministerial group (IMG).
“The group will identify requirements of different sectors – ranging from those trading in perishable goods to consumer durables – and make suggestions to expedite and improve cargo trade at domestic airports,” an official in the government said.
The civil aviation ministry, which is formulating a new policy to develop domestic airports for international cargo handling, will include suggestions of various ministries in that policy.
The move is significant since a host of private companies such as Reliance and Deccan Aviation as well as Tata group have recently shown interest in starting dedicated air cargo carriers, he said. The group comprises of officials from civil aviation, finance and commerce ministries. Representatives from the cargo industry such as DHL Express and Blue Dart are also part of the IMG.

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RFID at China Post

Posted by | Dec 20, 2006 | |

Symbol Technologies has been involved in several major postal RFID programs around the world. At China Post, they have implemented UHF readers in 20 post offices in Shanghai. China Post, which ships 10 billion articles a year, wanted to trial RFID to:
Validate the use of UHF
Improve shipment tracking
Increase processing efficiency

It wanted to achieve a 99% read accuracy through this demonstrator project. Gen2 UHF tags are embedded in a robust plastic case but the EPC numbering system is not used – China Post use their own numbering system. Truck drivers were given handheld readers with fixed readers at the distribution/sorting centers. Concord Unity, the systems integrator, has reported so far a 99.4% performance rate when reading and encoding tags. The tags are attached to mail bags and are used to track letters sent by the express mail service. The system has resulted in several major paybacks so far – demonstrating that 33% more post could be processed in the same time as before; and ensuring delivery bags were sent to the correct location reducing errors and delays.

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Where is Asia’s Express Market going?

Posted by | Dec 19, 2006 | |

There’s only one way to go and that is UP. In 2007 we will see more new players entering the market as Asia’s economies continue to grow. Courier industry is characterized by high entry barriers. It needs huge investment in infrastructure and technology and there is intense competition in the industry. The market for courier industry can be divided into individual, corporate and small and medium enterprises. On the basis of type of delivery, it can also be divided into overnight delivery and same day delivery services.

Courier companies are using information technology to enhance the quality of their customer service and obtain competitive edge. There are only a few global courier companies like Fed Ex, DHL, UPS and TNT and there is intense competition among them with each one trying to establish its superiority. In India, presently, DHL, Blue Dart and Elbee are the major players contributing to 70% of industry’s revenues. An interesting observation in the past three years , is that the big Four are now entering the domestic market, an area that they have been relatively weak in. This could also result to a backlash on their main core international businesss. Asia’s domestic courier market has always been the strength of the home-grown operators with intimate familiarity of the terrain.

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FedEx seeks improved software testing

Posted by | Dec 19, 2006 | |

Believing current software testing approaches are antiquated, FedEx is working with the University of Memphis to take testing to its next steps.

The package delivery company has commissioned the university to research a number of topics pertaining to the matter, through the FedEx Institute of Technology program at the school. The testing project, called the Systems Testing Excellence Program (STEP) could result in the largest testing organization in the country.

Specifically, FedEx seeks methodologies to make testing processes shorter while ensuring that applications are high-quality. Current testing practices are basically the same as they were in the 1980s, said Dave Miller, vice president of information technology at FedEx. Code is written and then turned over to unit testing; testers look for defects and send that detail back to the development team, Miller said. Determinations are made on whether an issue actually is a defect or requirements shortcoming.

“We sort of believe that testing as a discipline has probably not kept up pace,” with other areas of IT, Miller said.

FedEx’s focus is on testing of large, complex, integrated software systems, on both mainframe and distributed systems.

“We want to make sure we’re in the forefront of the testing space,” Miller said.

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Qatar and China keen on boosting postal ties

Posted by | Dec 19, 2006 | |

Qatar and China would soon explore the possibility of enhancing co-operation between the two countries in the postal sector, a Q-Post communique said yesterday.
This was decided after a meeting between the Chinese Ambassador to Qatar Li Jian Ying and Chairman of Q-Post Ali Mohamed al-Ali yesterday at the latter’s office.
While thanking Qatar for launching a customised stamp dedicated to the next Asian Games, the ambassador praised the efforts being made by the postal corporation in revamping the sector in Qatar.
The ambassador congratulated the postal authorities for setting up temporary offices at some major Games venues for the benefit of the visitors. He appreciated Q-Post’s gesture in releasing over 1,000 sheets of customised stamps on the next Asian Games that Guangzhou in China would host.

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African postal administrations urged to embrace new strategies to survive

Posted by | Dec 19, 2006 | |

African postal administrations have been urged to embrace new strategies to make post offices autonomous and profitable.
Tanzania’s minister of Labour, Employment and Youth, John Chiligati, told delegates attending the ILO/UPU tripartite seminar on Social Dialogue in the Postal Sector from 27-29 November in Bagamoyo, Tanzania that postal administrations should adopt new technological changes to sustain jobs.
“Technological changes can sustain and offer new job opportunities if the workers are trained in information technology; otherwise technological advancements will become a serious threat to workers,” he said.
“The challenge now is to train traditional postal workers in modern electronic postal services. The survival of the postal industry in our region will depend on how the human resource is trained, motivated and participating in social dialogue,”
The minister said that social dialogue was an important feature of modern labour relations and called for the involvement of workers in structural and technological changes being implemented in the postal sector in the region.
And Universal Postal Union (UPU) representative Daniel le Goff urged African countries not live in a world of exclusion, but to seize the new business opportunities unfolding in the postal sector such as financial services, post bus and e-commerce.
He said the UPU, in conjunction with postal administrations in Africa, was implementation the Postal Development Plan for Africa (PDPA), an ongoing postal reform process that required stakeholder involvement.

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UPU philately workshop reviews new concepts

Posted by | Dec 19, 2006 | |

The need for involving the youth in philatelic activities and adopting new technology for producing stamps were among the topics highlighted at a four-day UPU workshop on philately hosted by Emirates Post at the Emirates Post Training &Development Centre.

The workshop, in which 19 countries from the Arab Permanent Postal Commission (APPC) took part, introduced the participants to new trends in philately. Experts from the UPU, La Poste, Tunisia Post and the Slovak Post were among those who made presentations.

At a concluding ceremony, Mr. Mohamed Bahlul, Director of Philately, Tunisia, said the first UPU level workshop on philately in the region threw light on a host of important philatelic issues and this will help regional philatelic organizations to raise their standards.

Mr. Louis Virgile, Cultural and Commercial Director, La Poste, France, who presented a paper on personalized stamps, said the participants showed good knowledge of philatelic topics and stressed that more such workshops need to be conducted in the Middle East and Africa region to boost philately.

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