Tag: Canada

Canada Post to spend $1.7B on modernization

Posted by | Oct 15, 2007 | |

Canada Post is planning to spend $1.7 billion to modernize its antiquated equipment as it anticipates riding a global wave of deregulation that has already struck many developed countries, particularly in Europe.

The expenditures to be carried out over five years would allow the Crown corporation to eliminate the “decrepit” equipment jokingly referred to as computorsaurs.

“The whole way in which we handle the mail is antiquated,” Canada Post CEO Moya Greene said in an interview Monday.

“We have equipment that most postal administrations haven’t used in 20 years.”

The new equipment, which has yet to be ordered, would help the mail carrier to adjust to the large number of employees who are expected to retire over the coming years, while honouring all its promises about job security.

It would also permit the replacement of some 7,000 trucks with more environmentally friendly vehicles.

Modernizing is a requirement for Canada Post as it positions itself for the market reality of new and greater competition, Greene said following a speech to the Canadian Club of Montreal.

Although she’s not asking the government to deregulate postal service in Canada, Greene said global trends suggest markets are becoming more liberalized with varying degrees of success.

Government officials couldn’t be reached for comment. But earlier this year, they denied any plans to privatize postal services.

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UPS Survey: American businesses missing global opportunities

Posted by | Oct 9, 2007 | |

Most of America’s small- and mid-sized businesses have failed to explore the significant growth opportunities offered by an increasingly global economy. Indeed, a new survey conducted for UPS shows 67 percent of the nation’s small-to-mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still chaining themselves to the U.S. economy.

The inaugural UPS Business Monitor United States, a survey of 600 business decision-makers conducted by the marketing insight firm TNS, found that only 33 percent reported participating in any cross-border trade. Of those, 15 percent are importers and nine percent exporters. Nine percent do both.

“The survey shows that many American SMEs haven’t gone global yet,” said David Abney, chief operating officer of UPS. “And if they don’t take part in trade, they stand to lose their competitive edge in a business environment that continues to transcend international borders. For example, McKinsey** estimates that nearly 1 billion new consumers are expected to enter the global marketplace over the next decade as a result of economic growth in emerging markets, creating a significant opportunity for American small businesses.”

Survey respondents cite many reasons for not engaging in international trade, including a perception that it is too risky, a lack of knowledge about international markets, unfamiliarity with customs regulations and disinterest in expanding business beyond U.S. borders.

Among businesses that either import or export, 45 percent perceive global trade as a benefit while 18 percent see it as a disadvantage. Slightly more than half – 52 percent – say global expansion will help them remain competitive or create an opportunity to increase profits. One out of every four believes that global expansion could lead to competition that will cut into profits.

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Canada Post chooses mental health as its corporate cause of choice in response to growing impact on Canadians and Canadian Business

Posted by | Oct 3, 2007 | |

Canada Post announced today during Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) that it will champion mental health in the workplace in response to the growing personal and public cost to Canada from the issue. In adopting mental health as the company’s cause-of-choice, Canada Post will work to raise awareness of the issue and urge businesses and government to do more to tackle it.

It is estimated that 20 per cent of Canadians will suffer from a mental illness at some time in their lives. The remaining 80 per cent will be affected by the mental illness of a family member, friend or colleague. (Source: Health Canada)

“We saw a real need to lead the way in bringing the issue of mental illness out into the open. Although mental illness affects all of us, you’ll have trouble getting people to talk about it and despite the substantial cost to their business, even companies are reluctant to tackle the issue,” said Moya Greene, President and CEO, Canada Post. “Mental illness and mental health have been neglected in Canada for far too long. It is time mental well-being is positioned prominently within both health and social policies. This company, and its employees are bold enough to bring this issue out of the darkness, from behind closed doors and into the public light where it can best be served.”

The growing phenomenon of workplace depression could cost the Canadian economy some $30-billion a year, not including treatment and healthcare costs, with $8 to $10-billion of that being due to absenteeism. Statistics show that approximately half-a-million Canadians are absent from work each week due to mental health problems. More than 35 per cent of work absences in Canada are caused by mental illness. Additionally, 30 to 40 per cent of disability claims are for mental illness and, by 2010, depression is forecast to become second only to cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of disability in the world. (Source: Mental Health Foundation and World Health Organization)

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Strong Canadian dollar spurs Web sales

Posted by | Sep 27, 2007 | |

The ritual has resumed, as it always does when the Canadian dollar strengthens against the U. S. dollar. Throngs of Canadian shoppers cross the border in search of lower prices and greater selection at American stores.

But when the Canadian dollar reached parity last week, there was a new twist: online sales now let Canadians hunt for bargains in the United States without leaving home. If early indications hold true, some of the biggest winners from the rise of the Canadian dollar may ultimately be online retailers based in the United States. Because Canada’s relatively small population of just 33 million makes online operations less cost-effective, few Canadian retailers – less than a third by some estimates – sell through the Web. That limited local competition, combined with a high Canadian dollar and the incremental cost of expanding into Canada, make the country a tempting target for American retailers.

No one measures Canadian cross-border spending, virtual or otherwise. But, Paulina Sazon, a direct marketing strategist at Canada Post, said that the Canadian postal service had seen the volume of shipments through its special cross-border service for U.S. retailers increase 38 percent over the last year

A spokeswoman at UPS Canada, Christina Falcone, said the shipping company had seen “significant growth,” thanks to the strengthening Canadian dollar.

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Canadian Dollar Aiding Online Retailers

Posted by | Sep 27, 2007 | |

The ritual has resumed, as it always does when the Canadian dollar rises against the United States dollar. Large numbers of Canadians cross the border in search of lower prices and greater selection at American stores. But when the Canadian dollar reached parity with American currency last week, there was a new twist: online sales now let Canadians bargain-hunt in the United States without leaving home.

If early indications hold true, some of the biggest gains from the Canadian dollar’s strength — it settled in New York late Thursday at 99.87 cents — may be at online retailers based in the United States. Because Canada’s small population compared with the United States, some 33 million versus 302 million, makes online operations less cost-effective, relatively few Canadian retailers, less than a third by some estimates, sell on the Web.

That limited local competition, combined with the strong Canadian dollar and the moderate cost of expanding into Canada, make the country a tempting target for American electronic retailers.

No one measures Canadian crossborder spending, virtual or otherwise, but Paulina Sazon, a direct-marketing strategist at Canada Post, said the volume of shipments through the Canadian postal service’s special service for American retailers increased 38 percent over the last year. A spokeswoman at UPS Canada, Christina Falcone, said her company had also registered “significant growth” as a result of the strengthened Canadian dollar.

Although Canada and the United States share a free-trade agreement, crossborder trade is hardly free. All merchandise entering Canada is inspected by Canadian Border Services, which adds federal sales taxes, provincial sales tax (except in Alberta) and, in the case of some products made in third countries, duty.

In addition, the companies transporting the packages have border handling fees of their own, which on a USD 300 item can exceed 40 Canadian dollars. Canada Post adds a flat fee of 5 Canadian dollars.

To avoid those charges, L. L. Bean and several other companies use a Canada Post service that brings their parcels across the border in bulk rather than individually. The American retailer collects Canadian taxes at the time of the purchase and the customer is not surprised by border fees at the doorstep. The service also enables a shopper to return items to a Canadian address.

U.P.S. operates warehouses in Canada that hold inventory from American online retailers, including Crown Premiums, a collectible model-car maker in Bonita Springs, Fla. Orders placed on Web sites in the United States are filled with merchandise from the Canadian warehouses.

The J. C. Williams Group, Canada’s leading retail consultancy, estimates that American companies account for about a third of all Canadian online shopping. Canada Post said that reached about 60 percent at the height of the shopping season last year.

Jim Okamura, a senior partner in J. C. Williams, said that growing business in Canada might allow retailers to offset an increasingly saturated market.

And Canada could perform another role for American retailers. For many companies, Mr. Okamura said, “Canada is really being seen as the first step in a broad international expansion plan.”

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