Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

Chinese courier companies struggle to deliver

Posted by | Jul 30, 2008 | |

With fuel costs continually on the rise, China’s private delivery companies are among the hardest-hit sectors reporting declining profit margins and witnessing increasing pressure from major international couriers as they increase efforts to make inroads into China’s domestic markets.

Pushed by the dismal outlook in the delivery industry – costs have been driven up by 16 percent since fuel prices were raised in late June – private couriers in China are struggling to swallow the losses before any price hike becomes possible.

FedEx Corp has readjusted its delivery rate scheme in China since June. The charge for overnight express delivery has been cut from 34 to 18 yuan per kg from Shanghai to Beijing, which is much lower than the 30 yuan offered by local players such as SF Express.

The price cut, which is unusual given foreign courier’s higher operational costs compared with domestic competitors, is indicative of FedEx’s determination to compete in China’s express delivery market, said An Jianghong, an analyst from Anbound Group, a consulting firm headquartered in Beijing.

Shanghai-based China Business News also reported last June that FedEx chief financial officer Alan B. Graf had said that FedEx’s launch of its mail express service in China would have a “negative impact” on the company’s 2008 fiscal revenue.

In another bid to try to tap into China’s delivery business, FedEx is to open its Asia-Pacific hub in Guangzhou in December this year. The company said in a public announcement earlier that the relocation of the hub from the Philippines to China is based on the estimates on the growing demands for air express in the region.

Other rivals are also keeping up. Following last year’s acquisition of Tiandi Hoau, a Heilongjiang-based private express company, TNT is now set to build an extensive road transportation network in China with the launch of its new Asia road network, which is a new service route that connects China and Southeast nations via road transportation.

This network is expected to be extended into China’s hinterland as the company continues its investment in Tiandi Hoau to upgrade its operational infrastructure and delivery capabilities, analysts say, which will help the foreign courier strengthen its networks within China and expand into second and third-tier cities within the country.

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SkyPostal Networks, Inc. Announces the Election of Four New Directors

Posted by | Jul 30, 2008 | |

SkyPostal Networks, Inc. announced the election of four new members of the board of directors at its recent shareholders meeting. Mathijs van Houweninge, Florian M. Schuhbauer, and Jose Misrahi will join the recent addition of S. David Fineman as Independent Directors. Christian J. Weber will serve as the Director Europe Sales and Service.

“We are proud to welcome our new independent directors to the SkyPostal board. Their experience and professional expertise are well suited to benefit SkyPostal in its growth strategy thru postal industry consolidation,“ said Albert P. Hernandez, SkyPostal’s President and CEO. “We have sought to assemble a working board of experienced postal and financial executives, who can direct the company in its mission to become a major player in the emerging private postal industry.”

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Blue Dart expands in Eastern India

Posted by | Jul 29, 2008 | |

Blue Dart, the DHL Express Indian subsidiary, announced the opening of a new warehouse in Kolkata, the capital of the Indian State of West Bengal, and plans investments of EUR 30 million in infrastructure development, according to Indian newspaper Business Standard.

The new warehouse will increase storing and handling capacity of shipments coming to and from Kolkata and will serve as a hub for the shipments to and from Bangladesh, according to the Indian daily newspaper Business Standard. The new India-Bangladesh service route, launched in association with DHL, will ensure better service quality for customers in the Eastern region by providing the possibility to send or receive documents and packages of any size.

“Kolkata and the Eastern region are of strategic importance to us”, Amod Dasgupta, vice president East Region, Blue Dart Express, was cited. “Blue Dart has been witnessing over 100 pct growth in both inbound and outbound shipments handled. Kolkata and West Bengal is anticipated to remain strong growth areas for Blue Dart. The growing business sentiments will open up a plethora of business opportunities to explore.”

The eastern region overall has seen increased investments from the company. This year, Blue Dart plans to open 11 new facilities of the 120 planned across the country.

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GLS opens new depot in Netherlands

Posted by | Jul 29, 2008 | |

GLS opened a new depot in Alkmaar, Netherlands, replacing its smaller facility.

The new EUR 250,000 depot with 34 staff has the capacity to handle up to 8,000 parcels per day. It is located on a 3,800 sqm plot of land and has 38 docks for vehicles.

Due to the company’s high performance and safety requirements, the reserves of the old facility were exhausted, GLS said. Last year the parcel volumes of GLS Netherlands increased by 5 pct.

“As a start we currently handle 4,000 parcels per day”, says Milo Kars, Director Sales and Operations, GLS Netherlands. “Since we can extend the shipment volumes without difficulty anytime, we will have enough leeway upwards considering our continuing positive development.”

The company invested in a state-of-the-art security system and video surveillance equipment. A total of 30 cameras control all shipments on their way through the depot connecting the recordings with barcode scanning data. “Parcel handling in Alkmaar is not only faster but also safer”, comments Kars. “We can trace back each individual shipment in a reliable way.”

GLS Netherlands said that the new location close to the motorway will benefit customers throughout the region.

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City Link begins company turnaround

Posted by | Jul 29, 2008 | |

City Link has reported a “positive impact” on service performance following the implementation of its seven-point recovery plan highlighted in its pre-close trading statement.

The company posted an operating loss of GBP 16.9 million on 2nd May for the first quarter of 2008, compared to a profit of GBP 9.3 million the previous year, owing to the difficulties it experienced after the acquisition of Target Express.

The company said: “Customer relationships have improved, attrition has slowed and overall service levels have been restored.”

However, despite the improvement in service for the Rentokil Initial-owned company, revenue has weakened during the second quarter, which City Link says is indicative of “weakening demand generally” rather than customer losses.

The company has identified key areas in which it could save that are expected to deliver payback within the next 12 to 18 months, although this will have a limited impact on results in 2008.

Internal forecasts of losses at City Link have also now stabilised.

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