Tag: Business Post

Suffering SMEs turn to alternate mail services

Posted by | Oct 16, 2007 | |

Small businesses have been hit hard by the postal strike and are now seeking out private alternatives to Royal Mail, a British Chambers of Commerce survey has revealed.

The snap poll, conducted over the weekend, found that 88pc reported the strikes had “a significant impact” on their business, with cash flow and loss of sales particular problems.

Of those affected, 55pc said they were now more likely to use private delivery companies.

The BCC said the figure reflected the anger felt by small businesses at the impact the postal strike.

The problem for small firms is that their options are limited by the fact that the Royal Mail’s biggest competitors, such as TNT, Business Post and DHL, are at the same time customers.

Only Royal Mail does the ‘final mile’ bit of deliveries meaning small firms, like the rest of the population, are in the words of one business owner, over a barrel.

Mr Frewin says the last 25 years has seen a consistent rise in the volume of mail. Over the last 18 months that figure has declined. “Is it a blip or a sign of long-term decline? Our concern is that what started with a one-day strike and now two-day strikes, will continue. The worry is that the postal industry will be brought to its knees.”

Talk is that TNT might be just the business to give Royal Mail a run for its money when it comes to ‘final mile’ delivery, but the discussion about another provider stepping in to compete isn’t new.

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Business deserts Post Office in the UK

Posted by | Oct 16, 2007 | |

Small businesses are ready to desert Royal Mail and switch to private sector delivery rivals after counting the cost of the damaging postal dispute, a survey shows.

More than half the small companies surveyed for the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), say they are more likely to use alternative services to reduce the risk of further disruption to their business.

Rival mail services, the internet or a personal limited service for key customers are among the options they are exploring.

Royal Mail is braced for a backlash from dissatisfied customers, but is banking on higher rates charged by rivals to prove a deterrent for business customers to switch. The weekend BCC poll, based on replies from 183 members, showed 62pc of them have already started using alternative services to send and settle invoices, while 88pc have seen their businesses suffer from cash-flow problems and lost orders and other costs involved in meeting the cost of the strike.

Natalie Evans, head of policy at BCC, said the survey results hammered home the damage to Royal Mail and the loss of confidence among customers. “It will not be easy for Royal Mail to regain their confidence,” she said.

Royal Mail has seen business shrink even before the strike with the loss of 40pc of its bulk-mail business. Rivals TNT, Business Post and Deutsche Post have been working flat out during the strike to ensure they keep the new business.

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Business Post – Pre-Close Period Trading Update

Posted by | Oct 4, 2007 | |

Business Post Group plc today issues the following pre-close period trading update for the six months ended 30 September 2007.

Group revenues for the first half of the financial year increased by 9% on the equivalent period last year. As previously announced, the Parcels contract with Federal Express terminated on 30 April 2007. Excluding the revenues from this contract, the underlying revenue increase was 15%.

Excluding revenues from FedEx, parcel revenues are in line with last year. Good growth in the B2B market has been offset by a decline in B2C. As we have previously indicated, the B2C parcels market is becoming increasingly competitive, which is impacting Parcels margin growth in the current year.

Our mail business, UK Mail, continues to achieve strong growth with revenues in the period up by some 60% on last year. We continue to win a significant number of substantial contracts.

Revenues in Specialist Services are broadly in line with last year.

Interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2007 will be announced on 14 November 2007.

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Business Post extends share of UK postal market

Posted by | Oct 4, 2007 | |

Guy Buswell, chief executive of Business Post, the private parcel and mail delivery group, said the postal strike beginning on Thursday could endanger the future of the mail industry if the dispute was not resolved soon.

During the strike, he said, the 6m to 8m pieces of mail which Business Post’s UK Mail subsidiary collects every night would continue to be delivered into Royal Mail depots and wait there for final delivery once the postmen and women were back at work.

Mr Buswell also said the group’s parcels business had seen a sudden slump in deliveries to consumers in the days following the Northern Rock crisis. He said there had been “a huge reduction in volumes” of parcel deliveries from companies which sell electronic goods, such as computers, over the internet.

He said the business had picked up again since, but that it showed that consumer confidence could be hit by such events.

In a trading update covering the group’s half year to the end of September, the group said the UK Mail business “continues to achieve strong growth with revenues in the period up by some 60 per cent.” The mail market in the UK was fully opened to competition in 2006 and UK Mail now has a 7½ per cent market share.

Group revenues in the half year were affected by the loss of a contract with Federal Express. That contract, worth GBP 20m a year in revenues and GBP 2m in operating profits, ended on April 30 after FedEx acquired a UK parcels business.

Mr Buswell said that the group was having success in winning new contracts, however, the loss of the FedEx contract meant that group revenues had increased in the first half by 9 per cent rather than an underlying 15 per cent.

Revenues from the group’s parcels operation were in-line with the same period of last year, as “good growth” in the business-to-business parcels operation had been offset by a decline in deliveries to consumers.

The group’s shares, which have fallen from around 480p in recent weeks ahead of the postal strike, slipped another 6p to 394p in morning trading.

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Business Post integrates its mail

Posted by | Sep 21, 2007 | |

Express Parcels and Mail is to become the brand name for Business Post’s express parcels and mail service. Previously the name only covered the group’s thriving postal business, but the decision has been taken to merge its parcels service under the UK Mail umbrella, as part of its integration strategy. Chief executive Guy Buswell is quick to explain that the firm is not dropping its parcels business: “Mail can mean anything these days. We think we can do better in parcels by changing…

Head of group marketing Nigel Proctor explains that the change links in with the company’s integration strategy, but without substantial cost: “We’re a private organization – the money has to be invested in the customer,” he says, adding that the group also wanted to “seize the opportunity” to remove the FedEx logo embossed on Business Post vehicles – a hangover from the FedEx contract Business Post lost after the US parcels giant purchased ANC late last year. “We don’t want to start the confusion [that it’s a rebranding]. The change is more around the integration,” Proctor says.

Subtle changes already in place, including single invoices and group tender processes, are helping the group to present a more integrated front, he adds. Business Post is also looking to relaunch the group website next month. But Proctor adds that while the intention is to “appear more joined up to the customer; it is going to be a long exercise”. The next step is to look more closely at group operations, he adds.

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