Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

Gati opens new retail outlet in Bangalore

Posted by | Aug 5, 2008 | |

Indian express carrier Gati is continuing to expand its network of retail outlets with the opening of a new Gati Café Deliver in Bangalore.

At the beginning of 2007, the company announced plans to invest EUR 8.7 million over the next three years in a large string of retail outlets. Gati said it planned to open a total of 100 owned stores as well as franchises to 1,500 kiosks across the country in a bid to increase its domestic presence.

Bangalore is now the fourth Gati Café Deliver following the inaugural outlet in Hyderabad and two other stores in Pune and Kolkata.

Gati Café Deliver is described as a unique kind of outlet designed like a business lounge, where a customer can sit down in a relaxed atmosphere over a cup of coffee and tea and send his documents. The cafés act as express pick-up and delivery points, as well as offering fax, photocopying, telephone, printing and Internet browsing services.

In additional, the retail outlet is positioned as a single window solution, where a customer can choose from a portfolio of basic business solutions such as Gati Surface Express, Gati Air Express, Gati International, AI-Gati, Gati Desk to Desk Cargo, Gati Supply Chain Management and Gati Coast to Coast. Gati Café Deliver operates 24×7 enabling customers to send documents almost anywhere in India and abroad.

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Red Parcel Post reportedly set to build main German hub

Posted by | Aug 5, 2008 | |

Red Parcel Post, the prospective German parcel market entrant, is all set to start work on its EUR 130 million hub in eastern Germany, according to media reports. The launch of the start-up parcels carrier has been repeatedly announced and then postponed in recent years.

Regional radio station MDR reported that the company will start construction of a large logistics centre on an 860,000 sqm area of land in Stegelitz, between Leipzig and Magdeburg, within the next six weeks. The company already gained building permission one year ago but construction was delayed due to complex technical preparations for the logistics centre, MDR reported.

Red Parcel owner Walter Hellmich told the radio station that the company would make the logistics centre into its hub for distribution across Germany and to neighbouring European markets. Operations would start in mid-2009, creating about 260 jobs, he said.

In the past, Hellmich, head of the Hellmich construction group, has said that the start-up B2B parcels company would build about four logistics centres, operate a fleet of up to 800 delivery vans and aimed to carry about 35 million parcels a year. The company originally planned to launch in 2007 but has repeatedly postponed its market entry, leaving observers sceptical about its plans.

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DHL says China revenue growth slows

Posted by | Aug 5, 2008 | |

DHL has seen revenue growth at its China business slow to around 15 percent during the first seven months of the year from a recent average of over 20 percent, an executive said.

Dan McHugh, Chief Executive of DHL Express Asia Pacific, attributed the slowdown primarily to a decline in shipments abroad over the past 12 to 18 months as U.S. and European demand in particular has dwindled.

DHL has enjoyed 20-23 percent annual growth in China over the last five years.

China’s exports have been hit by a stronger currency and weaker overseas demand. Export growth slowed to 17.6 percent in June, compared with a year earlier, from 25.7 percent in all of 2007.

McHugh declined to comment on how much revenue DHL earned in China, but he said it accounted for a significant chunk of its Asia-Pacific business.

He said it was difficult to say whether the Olympics would be a net positive or negative for revenue.

The Chinese government has put in place a number of restrictions to ensure security at the Olympics and curb air pollution in Beijing, including banning some items from being shipped nationwide, more customs inspections and curbs on vehicles entering the capital.

That has created new hurdles for DHL and rivals such as FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc.

McHugh said the measures were not having a “material” impact on DHL’s China business.

But he said the company was spending about usd 2 million to deal with them, including increasing its fleet around Beijing and buying extra X-ray machines and hiring more staff to facilitate customs inspections.

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DHL appoints Hans Hickler as CEO of DHL Global Customer Solutions

Posted by | Aug 5, 2008 | |

DHL announced the appointment of Hans Hickler as Chief Executive Officer for its Global Customer Solutions (GCS) organization, responsible for the customer relationship management of the group’s largest customers worldwide.

Hans Hickler will play a key role in continuing to maximize customer relationship management on a global scale, in line with the Group’s vision to becoming customers’ First Choice. First Choice is DHL’s global service and customer initiative aimed at transforming the way it does business.

In addition to his role as CEO of GCS, Hickler is also Chairman of the DHL Global Commercial Board, which was recently set up to address, solve and leverage commercial priorities for all DHL’s business units. He will be based in Plantation, United States.
Hickler brings with him more than 25 years of experience in the transportation, express and logistics industry. He joined DHL in 2005, and most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of DHL Express in the United States. In that position, he focused on building up the DHL Express U.S. Network and implementing numerous service initiatives.

Before that, he was Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Implementation, also for DHL Express in the United States. In these roles, he devised strategies to bolster the company’s standing in the express shipping industry, and also implemented a recognized Customer Experience Initiative that successfully enhanced customers’ experiences.

Hickler started his career in the ocean transportation business, and for the next 20 years, he held seniors positions including Sales, General Management, CIO for the NOL Group, and CEO of APL Logistics. In that capacity, he also served on the Boards of several joint venture companies in the automotive and technology sectors.

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Lawmakers seek federal review of UPS-DHL proposal

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

Two U.S. senators have asked the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to review a proposal by UPS Inc. to carry some air packages for DHL. But UPS says the agencies don’t have authority over the vendor relationship.

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a letter dated Friday (1st of August) to Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, and William Kovacic, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, that the deal being worked out raises competition concerns.

“If consummated, DHL will become reliant for air transportation on one of its two major competitors,” the letter states. “This raises the question if DHL will still be able to effectively compete against UPS, since UPS will now have a large role in determining the cost and quality of DHL’s services.”

UPS spokesman Norman Black said that the arrangement the Atlanta-based company is working out with DHL is similar to one it has been operating under for several years with the United States Postal Service.

Black said UPS has not received any communications from the Justice Department or the FTC about the proposed deal. He said lawyers for UPS and DHL continue to work on finalizing a contract, which they expect to complete by the end of the year.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said the agency has seen media reports about the proposal, but she declined to comment further.

“Generally speaking, the antitrust division can look at matters that affect competition,” Talamona said.

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