Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

DHL: big relocation

Within three days the newly relocated DHL changed the volume statistics at Bratislava airport. Within 72 hours this international air express transportation company delivered to and from the airport more goods than had been transported via the airport in three months.

Everything changed on March 31. As of this day DHL flights fly from Bratislava rather than Vienna. This change was a part of another major change regarding DHL air logistics in Europe.

Its transloading and sorting hub at Brussels airport was overloaded and could not expand anymore. Therefore Deutsche Post World Net, the owner of DHL made a radical decision in 2004.

In spite of trade unions’ objections, a strike and political pressure in Brussels it found a greenfield site close to Leipzig airport and invested 300 mil. EUR in a new European hub.

It built a 400-metre warehouse with a fully automated sorting line that can handle 100-thousand packages and letters within an hour as well as a terminal for 60 aircraft, a hangar, fuel tanks, parking for trucks for deliveries to Germany and neighbouring countries, a railway terminal and offices.

These are unloaded quickly, sorted and within a few hours the deliveries are sent on to their destinations by plane or truck. And this is repeated each night: two thousand tons of freight. One of the planes delivers the freight for Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic at five o’clock in the morning. But it no longer lands in Vienna but in Bratislava.

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TNT and DHL expand in Brazil

TNT CEO Peter Bakker told the business newspaper Valor Economico that the Dutch group planned to invest EUR 100 million in Brazil over the next 5-10 years to extend its market leadership. Following the acquisition of the domestic express market leader Mercurio in January 2007, he did not exclude further acquisitions.

Investment will be made in new vehicles, storage and distribution centres, enhanced call centre technology and an intra-regional road network, he said. Mercurio’s fleet will be increased from 1,500 vehicles to about 1,900.

Roberto Rodrigues, head of TNT Brazil and Mercurio, said the company’s volumes, including European traffic, were growing so fast that TNT was considering operating exclusive cargo flights between Brazil and Europe. A possible re-branding of Mercuro to TNT will be decided on in mid-2008.

Meanwhile, DHL is launching two new time-definite services for international deliveries from Brazil to the US and other Latin America countries, the Gazeta Mercantil reported. Until now, DHL Express has offered its DHL Express Worldwide, with delivery by the end of the next working day, to customers in Brazil.

The new DHL Express 10:30 service provides next-day delivery to US destinations by 10:30 backed by money-back guarantees. The DHL Express 12:00 service offers next-day delivery by 12:00 to eight Latin American countries, including Argentina, Chile and Mexico, the newspaper reported.

Juliana Vasconcelos, marketing director of DHL Express in Latin America, said that by delivering documents or goods on a time-definite basis, DHL customers or their clients would be able to speed up their decision-making to the same working day.

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TNT in Bulgaria: Shipping consignments is their business

TNT Bulgaria has been an active member of UN Global Compact (GC) in Bulgaria since 2002, as well as of the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF) and a member of its board since 2002. In 2003, TNT Bulgaria received the BBLF Business Award for Investor in Human Capital. In April 2004, the company was awarded a certificate of recognition from UN GC for its efforts in promoting the principles of GC with respect to human rights and labour conditions.

TNT Bulgaria currently employs more than 200 people. Vassilev, Country General Manager, believes that more staff will have to be employed in the light of increased annual turnover. “More shipments mean more resources to deliver to and collect from clients,” Vassilev says. “But the company implements many new technologies that, to a great extent, spare us the need to boost the numbers of our workforce. Recently we introduced, in the courier department, scanning “In-cab” technology, which allows for processing the operational data completely online on a mini-computer, which all couriers carry with them. This is used for both collection and delivery of shipments, and saves further work later in the office for other departments. This leads to optimisation of the whole process, and provides real-time information to our customers,” Vassilev says.

Electronic invoices were another environmentally-friendly innovation this year. “We are one of the first Bulgarian companies in our field to start electronic invoicing. It saves time and resources but, most importantly, we protect the environment. TNT Bulgaria, and TNT in general, is a socially responsible company, which takes part in different national and international projects to strengthen its image of good corporate citizens of planet Earth,” Vassilev says.

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New Start for Parcelforce (UK)

Parcelforce Worldwide is launching a communications campaign with design work by Start Creative, in an attempt to increase the number of businesses setting up Parcelforce accounts.

The designs will be used across all of its marketing collateral including posters, fliers, mail packs and on-line promotions.

Shirley Clancy brand and campaign manager at Parcelforce says half a million packs designed by the London consultancy are being sent out in a mail campaign which targets the business market and is set to run from April through to June.

She continues that the designs are based around the notion of ‘we give you the world’ and include a branded wall map.

Start was appointed to work on the campaign in March after the consultancy took part in a three-way pitch.

The consultancy has an existing relationship with Royal Mail.

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Axel Springer CEO says PIN mail buy was a mistake

Axel Springer AG said its strategy to enter the German mail and logistics business was a mistake and that it will stick to expanding its digital and international business.

“2007 was a bad year for Axel Springer AG,” Chief Executive Mathias Doepfner told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday.

“The investment into the mail and logistics business, acquiring the majority of the PIN Group, was wrong from today’s view.”

He added that the PIN endeavour, as well as a financial crisis in the capital markets in the second half of 2007 and general scepticism among investors towards media companies, had weighed on Axel Springer’s share price.

“At any rate, we cannot be satisfied with a closing share price of 98 euros on December 28, 2007, and the recent development of the Axel Springer share price,” Doepfner said.

The stock fell 28 percent in 2007 and 22 percent since the start of 2008. Shares were down 1.33 percent at 74 euros at 0924 GMT, while the DJ Stoxx European media index was down 0.63 percent.

It reported a loss of 288 million euros (USD 459.2 million) last year due to 572 million euros in writedowns from the now insolvent PIN Group, in which Springer has a 64 percent stake.

Hoping to take advantage of deregulation of the German postal market, the Berlin-based publisher had planned to set up a German mail service and challenge the country’s dominant player, Deutsche Post, but pulled out when the German government forced through a minimum wage for the industry, which was higher than PIN salaries.

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