Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

Seur franchise owners reportedly ready to sell

Posted by | Jun 4, 2008 | |

A group of Seur franchise owners is ready to sell their holdings which add to up to a majority stake in the leading Spanish parcels company, according to media reports. DHL, UPS and investment funds are reportedly interested but existing shareholders, including GeoPost, have the right to outbid them.

The group of franchisees represents 52 pct of the capital of the parent company, Seur SA, 65pct of the franchises by number, and generate 56 pct of gross profits, Spanish newspapers Expansión and El Mundo reported. The regional operators have jointly commissioned investment bank Arcano to seek offers for their shareholdings. International equity funds and multinationals such as DHL and UPS are interested parties, Expansión wrote.

The express parcels group has a complex, decentralised ownership structure comprising regional franchisees who also own small stakes in the parent company Seur SA. Seur has 85 franchisees in total controlled by 54 companies. More than 75pct of these owners are among the prospective sellers, according to the newspapers.

The largest single shareholder is GeoPost, the French La Poste subsidiary, which has built up a 19.6 pct stake in the parent company in recent years by gradually acquiring individual franchisees through the joint venture Seur-GeoPost.

In a company statement, Seur reiterated that the right of first refusal on any shareholder shares being sold meant that it would have preference over any outsider buyer as long as it matched their offer. The head office had not been officially informed by any shareholder that it wanted to sell its holding, it added.

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GO! inaugurates high-performance hub in Central Germany

Posted by | Jun 4, 2008 | |

GO! Express & Logistics has inaugurated its new EUR 7 million sorting centre in Niederaula, Central Germany, giving it sufficient capacity for the next 10-15 years.

The 30,000 sqm facility includes a 3,600 sqm handling terminal with a completely automatic sorting system. Capacity has been increased from 3,800 parcels per hour to 6,000 parcels in the initial phase and can be expanded to 13,000 parcels as required.

The high-performance sorter of the central hub, which was installed by the Dutch company Van Riet Material Handling System, handles all the package information via a central volume, weighing and scanning system.

GO! managing director Ralf-Hans Dierks said that the new hub provides sufficient capacity for the coming 10 to 15 years. The whole facility can be expanded through additional sorters and has been built with space for future expansion. The company’s previous hub was in nearby Neuenstein.

GO!, owned by 15 regional companies, said it has been well-positioned in the German domestic express market for the last 24 years thanks to high quality and personal service for its customers. With 1,400 staff and 3,000 couriers, it now has over 100 stations in Germany and Europe. In 2007, it transported 2.7 million shipments.

Dierks said that in order to strengthen its position in the European market the company plans to continuously expand its international network through strategic partnerships. Earlier this year, GO! entered a partnership with the Danish express company 3D, De Daglige Distributorer.

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FedEx expects to win market share from Deutsche Post's DHL in the U.S.

Posted by | Jun 4, 2008 | |

FedEx Corp expects to win substantial market share from Deutsche Post World Net AG. Express unit DHL in the United States after its German peer decided to quit air-freight shipments and cut down on its ground capacities.

‘We really act on the assumption that customers will feel it when DHL scraps a third of its network,’ Michael Muehlberger, deputy head of FedEx’s Central and Eastern European operations told Financial Times Deutschland.

FedEx holds some 30 percent market share in the U.S. express market, compared with DHL’s 6 percent, according to estimates.

DHL’s loss-making U.S. operations are to tie up in domestic and international airfreight shipments with United Parcel Service Inc.

It will also reduce excess capacities of its U.S. express ground infrastructure by some 30 percent to adapt it to shipment volumes, and will expand cooperation with the U.S. Postal Service in sparsely-populated areas.

Muehlberger confirmed FedEx was in talks with Deutsche Post over a possible tie-up, but declined to provide details on why talks failed.

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FedEx Express supports European trade growth with hub expansions in France and Germany

Posted by | Jun 3, 2008 | |

FedEx Express has announced two major European hub projects to meet the growing demands of European business—a major expansion to its European hub in Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, Paris, and a state-of-the-art environmentally friendly facility in Cologne.

The expansion at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle by September 2009 and the building of a major new facility at Cologne by spring 2010 will dramatically increase capacity at the two hubs—ensuring that FedEx Express can continue to provide a seamless service for customers who wish to access European and global markets while minimizing impact on the environment.

The European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs stated that in 2007 the European zone recorded its fastest economic growth rate since 2000, and that Europe was sharing in the benefits of the trend towards greater globalization. As manufacturers continue to move towards a global sourcing and production model, the demand for fast and reliable transportation services is increasing, and critical to the growth and success of European industry.

European trade performance brings greater business opportunities both within Europe, and in the global marketplace. FedEx continues to build its network across Europe to support this growth, with sustainable development of its hub facilities across the continent.

The relocation of FedEx Express main hub for Central and Eastern Europe from Frankfurt to Cologne will allow FedEx Express to create a state-of-the-art facility with the very latest environmental design to meet the rapidly growing demand for express services in Germany and Eastern Europe. As FedEx continues limited operations at the Frankfurt International Airport, the new facility will bring new jobs to the Cologne/Bonn region and further improve working conditions for employees.

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DHL Express brings together its global team in new head office (GER)

Posted by | Jun 3, 2008 | |

DHL Express opened a new head office and global Quality Control Center in Bonn, Germany. The move to a new technologically advanced building will create greater synergy across its key business functions. DHL also aims to bring increased collaboration between its express and logistics businesses as a result of the new offices close proximity to Deutsche Post World Net’s headquarters.
The new head office in Bonn is part of a world wide infrastructure enhancement plan that will help DHL Express establish more seamless global operations. The plan also included the creation of the newly-opened state-of-the-art European central hub in Leipzig, Germany, which improves intra-European connectivity and also connects Europe with many intercontinental destinations in the U.S., Asia and the Middle East.
In addition to the well-placed infrastructure, the new head office in Bonn, when fully occupied, will be home to 260 employees and will house DHL’s pioneering Global Quality Control Center. Adapted from the model already in operation in the Asia-Pacific region, the Quality Control Center is a state-of-the-art concept that will drive service quality. It provides real time visibility and pro-active operational crisis management in operations across the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Global Quality Control Center is designed to ensure that the shipment information is visible to the network within 15 minutes of the event capture. This means that every shipment can be processed immediately, and every query answered promptly.

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