Year: 2007

TNT's Asia Road Network expands into China

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

TNT announced the expansion of its Asia Road Network into China. TNT thus becomes the first integrator in Asia to operate an integrated road network linking over 120 cities in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indochina and China across 4,000 kilometres. The road network, which connects Singapore to Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Guangzhou, the capital of the Guangdong Province, will become fully operational early 2008 after completion of the last trials. The Asia Road Network connects to TNT’s international express network in China. Linking it to TNT’s Chinese domestic network will be a next step. This move will eventually allow TNT’s customers to benefit from seamless road connections in the region.

Introduced at the end of 2005, TNT’s Asia Road Network connects Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China through the north-eastern border of Vietnam. Boasting 24×7 real-time Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) tracking of TNT’s container trucks, TNT has seen double-digit growth in overall volumes since the launch in 2005. The growth is largely driven by customers moving high-value goods such as electronic, automotive and computing components. The road service is two to three times faster than sea freight and offers customers, significant savings of up to 30 per cent compared to air freight.

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Salary negotiations for 2008 completed at Austria Post AG

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

The salary negotiations for the employees of Austria Post AG have finally been completed.

After several weeks of bargaining, the two negotiation teams agreed – pending approval by the Supervisory Board – on a 3 pct increase for 2008 for salaries based on the collective salary agreement as well as for civil servant salaries and special contract salaries.

Any supplementary remunerations and allowances will likewise be raised by 3 pct for the coming year.

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Kenya Postal Corporation to invest Sh100m (USD 1.59 million) in service upgrade

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

The Postal Corporation of Kenya has embarked on a Sh100 million (USD 1.59 million) project to revamp its courier services. Mr Fred Odhiambo, the chief executive officer said the programme was geared at reclaiming its dominance in the courier services. “We started the services through EMS speed post but we are currently only controlling three per cent of the business. We lost focus but we are on the right track now,” said Odhiambo.

He said among the measurers being put in place include the purchase of more trucks and motor bikes for delivery purposes, establishment of new courier hubs and computers for records. “We want to start delivering parcels ourselves to our customers and keep off dependency on third parties,” he said. The MD was speaking in Kisumu soon after unveiling a Sh70 million (USD 1.11 million) Nyanza regional postal headquarters and Kisumu General Post office project. He said upon completion, the complex would save the corporation over Sh14 million (USD 0.22 million) annually on rent payments.

He said the new building would be spacious offering an ultra modern block, which will accommodate at least 15,000 private letterboxes and sorting offices. The storey building will also have 13 counters in the banking hall, modern and customer friendly EMS centre, parcels and customs offices, mail loading base, computer, server, data centre and regional administrative offices.

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Ireland: Compensation made available for poor postal services

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

The ‘Complaints and Dispute Resolution Guidelines’ for postal service providers will see this implemented over 20 of Ireland’s 31 postal service providers.

Comreg yesterday issued the guidelines, which cover An Post, but also companies like Cyclone Couriers, Olympus, and Nightline, some of Ireland’s larger courier firms.

The new guidelines do not cover larger delivery firms such as Fedex, DHL and SDS, but this may change when the postal service industry is liberalised under EU laws in 2011 and is opened up to greater competition.

People can now be compensated by postal providers for delays in delivery of over seven days, damage or loss. It also says a postal service provider must display a simply explained complaint and dispute resolution procedure.

This will lay out the timeframe for a complaint to be made, a timeframe for receipt of answer and a guideline to compensation payable, which can be paid back in either cash or a number of stamps.

Comreg has brought in these regulations with the aim of maintaining into the future a “confidence to postal consumers that the postal industry maintains consistent complaints and redress standards”.

The company will have to refund costs and also pay compensation if it is found to be at fault.

The only time these guidelines do not apply is in the case of any form of industrial relations issue, such as a postal strike.

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Axel Springer to take up to 620 mln eur write-down on PIN Group

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

Axel Springer AG said it expects to write down the value of postal service provider PIN Group AG, in which it holds a majority stake, by up to 620 mln eur this year after talks with the other owner to finance the business failed.

The write-down will have a negative impact on net profit, it said in a statement.

PIN Group will be included in discontinued operations in the company’s full-year results.

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Pitney Bowes Launches Mailstream Consulting Services

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

Pitney Bowes Management Services, Inc. (PBMS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes Inc. launched Pitney Bowes Mailstream Consulting Services™, a new services offering designed to help customers manage rising postal costs.

Through Pitney Bowes Mailstream Consulting Services, PBMS’s expert postal consultants work with many of the Fortune 1000, federal government agencies and the top 200 U.S. law firms to benchmark a customer’s mailstream processes, comparing them to proven best practices in the mailing industry. This helps organizations on several levels, including:

– Leveraging the Mailstream – PBMS conducts an in-depth review that maps data and mailing process to help capture and control postage spend and generate useful data and control mechanisms.
– Uncovering Potential Cost Savings – Using a variety of assessment tools to define, measure and analyze customer operations, PBMS reports back key findings on such areas as address quality, presort optimization with work share discounts, and return mail processing aimed at mitigating postage increases by reducing the overall cost of mailing.
– Mitigating Operational Risks – A profile of operations created from information gathered on-site and through discussions with key stakeholders enables the customer to prioritize areas of concern /opportunity, assuring compliance with USPS® requirements and preventing costly audits.
– Preparing for the Future – The USPS has announced that all mailers need to be using the Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMBC) by January 2009. PBMS can help migrate to the IMBC and identify the areas of opportunity from this technology change. PBMS can help translate postal requirements into the financial language needed to improve communication and ultimately impact the bottom line.

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Correos bolstered its workforce with 1,800 new hires for the Christmas campaign

Posted by | Dec 19, 2007 | |

In order to maintain postal and parcel service standards, on 1 December Correos activated its reinforcement measures for the Christmas Campaign, in which over 500 million postal objects will be distributed in conjunction with the Christmas holidays: 15 pct more that the average number of deliveries in the rest of the months of the year.
Specifically, Correos hired 1,825 workers to bolster its staff in the sorting centres, for deliveries and for customer service in its network of offices. Furthermore, the postal employees will work nearly 60,000 hours of overtime.
In addition to the usual deliveries, last Saturday 15th December the postal workers delivered 10 million letters and parcels, and there are plans to make a special delivery next Saturday, 22 December.
Correos has also bolstered transport and links to necessary points, and collected the post from the letter boxes more often on the days and in the towns. Furthermore, the introduction of the new MARABÚ II computer system, included this year in the letter box collections, contributed decisively to improving this process.
The post offices also reinforced their customer service staff for posting and collecting their deliveries.
All these measures guarantee that the massive amount of post and parcels at Christmas is distributed in the normal times and with Correos’ quality and service standards. Postal delivery is up-to-date and normalised. It is important to note that the nearly 40,000 Correos postmen and women, including the rural postmen and women, make around 25 million deliveries each regular working day at Christmas.

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