Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

New directors extend APC Overnight prowess

Posted by | Jun 27, 2008 | |

APC Overnight has recently appointed two additional industry experts to its Board of Directors. Jon Barber, owner of Scarlet Couriers, and Syed Ziaullah, owner of Action Express, join the existing team of parcel logistics experts, comprising Quentin Abel, Paul Griffiths and Ivor Skinner. Barber takes on the role of Marketing Director, with Ziaullah taking up the mantle of Operations Director.

Barber has developed his Thames Valley-based Scarlet Couriers into one of the UK’s largest independent couriers. He brings his skills in targeted branding and publicity to his new role at APC Overnight. “It’s said that a brand is a promise that you make to the customer – underlining what people can expect of a company. Our brand stands for quality on a national scale, and our task is to make sure it is recognised wherever people need excellent delivery services,” says Barber.

Ziaullah is passionate about the parcel delivery business and his can-do attitude has proven to be the driving force of the 25 year history of his Northampton-based company Action Express. “The dedication of people involved in the network “from Day One” is a major APC strength, and the current Board offers and excellent balance of skills and experience to take the company forward,” adds Ziaullah.

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European Parcels Market: Price Pressure Eclipses Growth through Internet Trade

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

After several years of strong sales growth for courier, express and parcel (CEP) services, in the coming years the figures in Europe are expected to slip back. Average annual growth in revenues in international CEP markets, for example, will decline from 8.6 percent today to 6.6 percent in 2010. The almost constant growth in transport volume resulting from steadily rising internet trade is being eclipsed by considerable price pressure. This is one of the conclusions from the latest study conducted by A.T. Kearney. Transport costs are being driven ever higher by the rising price of oil, and this could lead to a significant shift in the choice of means of transport in future. Although costs are rising, for highly time-critical goods such as express parcels there will be no alternative to air transport even in years to come. CEP providers need to tighten up their own market positioning and service provision profile and compensate for price pressure and increases in factor costs through strict cost management. The key challenges are the pressure to differentiate, the expansion of international networks, zonal pricing, closed supply chains and continuing consolidation.

Impacts of the high oil price on the global transport industry

For highly time-critical goods such as express parcels or spare parts, but also for high-value moisture-sensitive goods, there will still be no alternative to air transport in the future. Nevertheless, in the short and medium term opportunities to benefit from this within Europe will be available to service providers who build on a good road network, as in this case fuel costs are a considerably less weighty factor than in air transport.

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Romanian couriers Curiero and TCE Logistica plan merger

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

Two of Romania’s larger courier companies, Curiero and TCE Logistica, plan to merge in the latest deal in the country’s rapidly consolidating express and parcels market. The new company will be called RTC Logistica.

Under the deal, TCE’s owner, the RTC conglomerate, will become the 70 pct majority shareholder in the merged company, with the former Curiero owner, Marchessa SA, owning most of the remaining shares.

TCE, with revenues of about EUR 11 million in 2007, is the smaller of the two companies but financially stronger. Curiero, with revenues of €14 million last year, said earlier this year it would sell a 25 pct stake to IT services company Asesoft.

The two companies said that their merger is designed to strengthen their competitive position and that they are targeting combined revenues of EUR 30 million this year. The new company will trade under the name RTC Logistica.

There have been several major transactions in the Romanian CEP market this year, including DHL’s acquisition of Cargus, GeoPost’s purchase of a 80 pct stake in Pegasus and the UPS buyout of local partner TCS.

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TNT deal rescues MPS cash shortfall (UK)

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

TNT Post has eased the pressure on the funding shortfall faced by the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) by agreeing to support the organisation which funds the scheme.

Nick Wells, Chief Executive of TNT Post, confirmed that the private postal operator has written to its customers to ask their permission to add an extra charge to their invoices to contribute towards the fund.

The Advertising Board of Finance (Asbof) collects the levy which pays for self-regulatory schemes, such as the MPS, and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Royal Mail currently collects 0.2 per cent of brand owners’ direct mail spend, which it passes on to Asbof to fund these schemes, but until now new entrants to the postal market have not collected any money, fuelling fears that the schemes could be doomed. This is despite the fact that nearly half of all downstream access mail volumes are now handled by private operators.

Asbof chairman Winston Fletcher says: “We’re absolutely delighted that TNT Post is supporting the self-regulation of direct marketing in this way. Self-regulation cannot work without funding and the fact that the largest independent mail operator, TNT Post, has come aboard is clear evidence of how important self-regulation is to the direct marketing industry.”

Fletcher hopes that many of the other independent postal operators will follow TNT Post’s lead.

The move comes at a time when the Government is piling pressure on the industry to expand the MPS. The DMA has been encouraging the industry to back self-regulation to avoid the implementation of opt-in legislation as threatened by the Government.

Earlier this year, Asbof board member Charles Ping warned the MPS would be “buggered” unless more client companies started paying the levy.

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TNT flies freight to new heights – Freight services to boost revenues in Southeast Asia

Posted by | Jun 26, 2008 | |

TNT Express announces the launch of its range of freight services for time-sensitive heavy shipments in Southeast Asia. Available now, a selection of three bespoke services – Express Freight, Economy Freight and Freight Plus – will offer customers a door-to-door, day-definite delivery service based on specified transit times schedules, fast tracked customs clearance and full track-and-trace visibility.
The move forms part of the company’s EUR 100 million investment over the next five years to build a leadership position in the region, a strategy which it announced in April this year. This launch is also the first in a series of initiatives to further expand TNT’s network capabilities in Asia, leveraging on the seamless connectivity offered by its extensive road and air networks. These networks provide customers with the widest range of multimodal freight services between Southeast Asia and Europe, China and Europe and within Southeast Asia.
Based on studies undertaken of regional market needs, TNT expects the take up rate of these services to be high. The large demand is mainly driven by customers in the high-tech, equipment and machinery and healthcare sectors that are increasingly moving large volumes of high-value goods between Southeast Asia, China and Europe. Through its global customer base in these sectors, TNT has developed extensive sector knowledge which can now be leveraged in Southeast Asia. Correspondingly, TNT’s integrated road and air services are set to be a main business driver for the company over the next five years.

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