Tag: Asia

DHL to step up India investment

Posted by | Mar 17, 2008 | |

DHL Express plans a major expansion in India to take advantage of the growth and penetration of retail business in the country, by increasing its exclusive outlets and strengthening road network.

The company is set to open 1,000 retail points across the country by 2010, up from the 150 centres that currently offer its products. DHL, which owns an 81.03% stake in Mumbai-based air express and transportation company Blue Dart Express Ltd, will also start at least 100 transportation hubs to help link the company to smaller towns and non-metro cities and towns.

The Indian logistics market is expected to reach USD 122 billion by 2015 from USD 45 billion today, according to market estimates. Most firms would like to capitalize on this growth potential by offering complete solutions, but such an effort would be difficult as they would need sizeable fleet and investment, said a Mumbai-based transport analyst, who didn’t wish to be identified.

The strengthening of road network would include creating small and large cargo collection centres and adding more vehicles. DHL serves 17,500-plus cities and towns through Blue Dart. In February 2007, it had announced a restructuring of business in India and South Asia.

Read More

Indian Department of Posts Enters Foreign Exchange Market

Posted by | Mar 17, 2008 | |

An agreement was signed between Department of Posts and Centurion Bank of Punjab here today to provide foreign exchange services to the public. Although the Department has full fledged money changing licence this is the first time that the Department is entering the foreign exchange market.

To start with the foreign exchange services is to be run as a pilot project covering the 31 Post Offices spread across 23 large cities, towns and villages in 11 states. The project will facilitate both the encashment of foreign exchange and transfer of money in foreign currency. While the main foreign exchange business will be operated by the Centurion Bank of Punjab, the Department of Posts officials will operationalise the scheme after training imparted by the Bank.

An agreement was signed today by Shri J. Panda of the Department of Posts and Shri Sudarshan Motwani of Centurian Bank of Punjab in the presence of Shri Anil Jaggia, Chief Operating Officer of the Bank and Shri I.M.G. Khan, Secretary, Department of Posts launching the services.

Speaking after the launch of the project Shri Anil Jaggia described this project as “one more step towards financial inclusion of our rural population”. Depending on the success of the pilot project the bank hopes to reach out this scheme to thousands of cities and towns across the country. The select Post Offices will be hubs around which the bank hopes to sensitize rural population about the liberalized foreign exchange norms.

Shri I.M.G. Khan, Secretary, Posts emphasized the initiatives taken by the Department of Posts to leverage the great strengths which lies in the network of Post Offices and the knowledge of people by postal departmental staff. He said with the induction of the new technology plan and the strengths available with the Postal Services they would be able to open up partnerships with all types of organizations which will be of great benefit to the people.

Read More

Consultative committee takes stock of rural postal network in India

Posted by | Mar 14, 2008 | |

Of the 155,204 post offices in the country, 139,046 post offices are functioning in rural areas with an average coverage of 22.61 sq.km per rural post office.

This was disclosed by minister of state of communication and information technology Dr. Shakeel Ahmed during the review meeting of the consultative committee of the parliament attached to his ministry.

“Since Independence, the Department of Posts has expanded its network by over 664 per cent, becoming the largest postal network in the world” Dr Ahmad told the members of parliament.

He further added that 3,000 new branch post offices are to be opened in 11th Plan, of which 2000 would be departmental post offices and some of these would be in the rural areas.

Highlighting the details of the expansion, he said office equipments would be provided to 10,000 rural branch offices while 50,000 pillar letterboxes would be installed in villages with branch post offices.

In the current Five Year Plan, all departmental post offices and 64,000 extra departmental post offices would be computerised and connected to the National Data Centre. He said that the department has been mobilising savings from rural areas for Small Savings Bank and National Savings Certificates, disbursing pensions, undertaking verification of electoral rolls, etc, as part of its agency and retail functions.

Members cutting across party lines stressed the need for enhancing the postal network in rural areas, especially in North-Eastern States.

Senior officials of the ministry of communications and IT, and officials also attended the meeting from MTNL and BSNL.

Read More

Hui takes over DHL’s South China operation

Posted by | Mar 12, 2008 | |

DHL has appointed Edward Hui as Country Manager Hong Kong, Macau and South China for DHL Global Forwarding.

In the new role, Hui is responsible for developing and executing the company’s corporate strategies and operations in Hong Kong, Macau and South China in collaboration with the global network.

He will also play a key role in exploring market opportunities and enhancing customer satisfaction for the complete range of freight logistics services that DHL offers to its customers.

“Edward has a proven track record, both in DHL and in the logistics industry, as well as excellent knowledge of Hong Kong and mainland China markets,” said Victor Mok, senior vice-president, Greater China, DHL Global Forwarding.

“I am confident that under Edward’s leadership, DHL will continue to attain and maintain the number one position in the region.”

Hui joined DHL Global Forwarding in 2004 as head of airfreight operations for Exel, and subsequently led the successful integration of the equally-sized freight operations of heritage Exel and DHL Danzas Air and Ocean.

Hui has a distinguished career in the transportation industry. Prior to joining DHL, he was with Cathay Pacific Airways for over 13 years where he began his career as a management trainee. He held management positions in various departments of the carrier including Corporate Planning and International Affairs in Hong Kong, and overseas stations in Malaysia and Indonesia.

In the latter part of his career with Cathay Pacific, Hui concentrated in leading strategic projects in China, including joint venture and alliance development.

Read More

Express couriers launch fresh online services

Posted by | Mar 10, 2008 | |

Several leading global and national express companies operating in Asian markets have begun 2008 by introducing new electronic/online service enhancements for customers. On the international front, that group includes TNT, FedEx and DHL, while at a national level, one recent example of such a development involves Indian operator Elbee Express.
Netherlands-based TNT last month announced its intention to offer secured electronic invoices with digital signature in over 30 countries, including several key Asian markets, by the end of March.

TNT explained that the new service, called Express Invoicing, was due to be made available to customers in most European countries, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, adding that the web-based e-invoicing solution would be free of charge.

TNT said it already offered e-invoices in 37 countries around the world, with another 10 countries preparing to introduce the paperless invoice this year. The company estimated it could eventually eliminate up to one million paper invoices per month.

For customers, claimed TNT, the e-invoicing service reduced paper processing costs and improved the accounts payable management process.

The latest electronic enhancement announced by US-based FedEx, also in February, involves providing users of e-mail application Microsoft Office Outlook with the ability to connect directly to FedEx shipping services.

This year has also seen DHL Express, part of German group Deutsche Post World Net, unveil DHL Ship Now, an online programme offering “a fast and seamless method for sending parcels to any destination inside or outside the country”. DHL said that facility enabled shipments to be booked directly over the internet without a DHL account number.

Meanwhile, Elbee Express claims to have become the first Indian express delivery company to offer customers the facility to access business information relating to their consignments and the ability to generate reports based on that data customised to their own needs.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest