Tag: Courier/Express/Parcels

The ROI of Nice

Posted by | Jan 18, 2007 | |

Can this relationship be saved? That was one of the questions in the mind of Mike Hmel, FedEx Ground’s senior vice president of IT and CIO, as he prepared for a meeting with Sun Microsystems.
The IT department at FedEx Ground was struggling to develop a transportation management system (TMS) using what was a new technology in 1998 – Sun Microsystems’ Java software. The TMS would help determine the most efficient and cost-effective way for the $US5.3 billion company to move its tractors, trailers and dollies among its 29 hubs and more than 500 pickup/delivery terminals. As such, it would be the backbone of the Pittsburgh-based FedEx Corp. subsidiary.
But the multimillion-dollar development effort was “stuck in the mud”, according to Hmel. Implementing the software was far more complicated than Hmel had expected. Java was more than a programming language: It was a technology that would have a profound impact on FedEx Ground’s IT infrastructure, requiring a shift from two-tiered client/server computing environments to multi-tiered Web-based computing environments. It also demanded a new approach to application development. What’s more, FedEx Ground’s IT department wound up having to buy more products to support the development of the TMS. Consequently, the relationship between Sun and FedEx Ground grew strained, which didn’t make resolving the problems any easier.

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DHL to invest USD 35 million in Hong Kong

Posted by | Jan 18, 2007 | |

DHL announced a USD 35 million investment program in Hong Kong to capitalize on the continued growth of the region’s trade. The program comprises the opening of a new facility in South Kowloon which will enhance DHL Express’ ground handling capacity by about 20%, as well as a large-scale office relocation plan to further strengthen operational synergy.
Scott Price, Chief Executive Officer – Asia Pacific, DHL Express, said: “We are very pleased to celebrate the beginning of 2007 with this exciting expansion plan. DHL Express Hong Kong ended 2006 with double-digit growth, clearly benefiting from the strength of China’s growth and the dynamism of other economies in the region. This is the 5th consecutive year that DHL has recorded double-digit growth in Hong Kong. The investment program brings us close to USD 1 billion in our commitment to the Greater China area to position us for the opportunities which abound in this region.”
This investment program lifts DHL’s total investment in Hong Kong to USD645 million, which includes the USD 210 million Central Asia SuperHub, investment in Air Hong Kong, service centers and office facilities. Hong Kong’s position as the centerpiece of DHL’s hub-and-spoke network has been further cemented by the Company’s USD 400 million investment in Air Hong Kong, a joint venture with Cathay Pacific, which feeds cargo from around Asia Pacific into Hong Kong for consolidation and transit purposes.

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FedEx Jet flying with anti-missile system

Posted by | Jan 18, 2007 | |

An anti-missile system is being tested aboard a FedEx MD-10 during its regular cargo flights, Northrop Grumman said this week. The airplane launched on Tuesday from Los Angeles International Airport with the Guardian system installed, starting the operational test and evaluation portion of the program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The tests will continue through March 2008. The Guardian system uses proven military technology to defend against shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, Northrop Grumman said. The system detects an approaching missile and directs a non-visible, eye-safe laser toward it to disrupt its guidance signals.

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Slow growth for French CEP market

Posted by | Jan 17, 2007 | |

The French domestic express and parcels market is growing only moderately with e-commerce as the main growth driver, according to a report from the French postal regulator ARCEP. The liberalised mail sector is growing faster than the large monopoly sector, it also revealed.

The ARCEP annual report, based on a number of market surveys and external sources, provided figures for 2005 in comparison to 2004.

The French domestic express segment, covering light parcels up to 30kg, grew by 4.7% to revenues of EUR 1.4 billion and just under 200 million items in 2005, the report stated. Referring to other previous surveys, ARCEP said that the total French express market segment, including international shipments, had a value of EUR 3 billion in 2004.

In the parcels segment, covering single items weighing up to 30 kg, the domestic market grew by 2.6% to revenues of EUR 1.43 billion in 2005 while volumes rose by 2.8% to 355 million items, ARCEP said. The B2C segment was the largest part of the parcel market, but C2C volumes were likely to grow as consumers sold more goods through e-commerce websites, it noted. Parcel shipping generated by online orders grew by 40% between December 2004 and December 2005, the regulator said.

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Forecasts predict a 20% annual growth in China's logistics industry

Posted by | Jan 17, 2007 | |

During the 10th Five-Year Plan period, Chinas logistics industry witnessed rapid growth. According to statistics of the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Bureau of Statistics of China and China Logistics and Purchasing Association, during the 10th Five-Year Plan period, the total amount of social logistics reached RMB 158.7 trillion, increasing 1.4 times compared with that of the 9th Five-Year Plan period, with an average annual growth of 23%, which is much higher than the GDP growth rate of 9.5%. The ratio of the total amount of social logistics against GDP dropped from 19.4% in 2000 to 18.6% in 2005. In 2005, the amount of Chinas logistics exceeded RMB 1.2 trillion, with a YoY increase of 12.7%, took 16.6% of the added values of servicing industry.

As investment in logistics infrastructure is increasing in China, and logistics technique and equipment is enhancing, the logistics industry is booming.
In recent years, Chinas logistics market is opening up to the outside world. Logistics enterprises are reorganizing and integrating in the competitive environment. It is more and more obvious that state owned, private owned and foreign fund enterprises are surviving and thriving in the competitive markets.

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