Tag: Domestic

3.2 Million Germans vote for their mail carrier of the year

Posted by | Oct 4, 2007 | |

Often they do more than just delivering letters and parcels: mail carriers catch thieves, free people locked in a boiler room, and save the day when holidays are at stake. Customers appreciate this level of commitment: 3.2 million German citizens took part in the “Vote for your favorite mail carrier” campaign as Deutsche Post searched for the 1,000 most favorite mail carriers of the year.

“The campaign was an enormous success,” says Jürgen Gerdes, Board Member for MAIL and PARCELS Germany of Deutsche Post World Net. “The positive feedback was overwhelming.” From July 2 to August 31, 2007 customers were able to register their vote for their Mail Carrier of the Year either by sending in a postcard or online. From amongst all the entries received the company is giving away 1,350 valuable prizes, including 50 Smart for two cars. The winners will receive a written notification in October. The 1,000 mail carriers who received the most votes in their delivery districts will receive an award from the Deutsche Post Board of Management on October 27, 2007, in Berlin.

The high response rate shows just how good the image of the 80,000 mail carriers at Deutsche Post really is all over Germany. In sparsely populated, remote areas participation was particularly high: In Hemmoor, Lower Saxony, for example, 97.1 percent of households took part in the campaign. In larger cities mail carriers have a broad fan base, too, with responses particularly high in Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Augsburg, Giessen, Kiel, and Karlsruhe.

Many members of the public took the opportunity to relate highly personal and, in some cases, spectacular tales about “their” mail carrier. One such example is Petra S. from Bexbach who thanked her mail carrier for ensuring that her trip to Australia started off on the right note. He learnt from talking to her that she was expecting important travel documents and kept an eye out for the long awaited envelope at his mail office. On the day of her flight the documents finally arrived. The mail carrier immediately took them to Petra S. – with just two hours to spare before she was due to depart. “That really was last-minute,” the happy customer wrote, who was only too willing to give the helpful mail carrier her vote.

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Malta granted two-year concession for postal services liberalization

Posted by | Oct 3, 2007 | |

Malta and another 10 EU member states have managed to obtain a two-year concession from the EU before being obliged to fully liberalize their postal services market.

During an EU Telecoms Council held in Luxembourg, EU ministers responsible for postal services agreed to introduce total liberalization in this sector as from the beginning of 2011.

However, due to the recent privatization of Maltapost, Malta requested, and was granted, a further two-year transitional period and will now only be obliged to introduce full liberalization by the beginning of 2013.

Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea welcomed the deal and said this will give Malta more breathing space.

Mr Galea said Malta believes the liberalization of the postal services will benefit consumers and the economy.

“Malta feels that the liberalization of the postal services sector is important and will bring about improved services for the consumer. Existing service providers will be motivated to become more reliable and efficient, offer new services and further increase their customer focus in the light of potential competition from new market entrants,” he said.

A few weeks ago, the government sold another 25 per cent stake in Maltapost to Red Box, a fully-owned subsidiary of Lombard Bank which now holds the majority of the company’s shares. The government has also announced its intention to float the remaining shares of the company on the Malta Stock Exchange early next year.

National postal operators such as Maltapost still enjoy a monopoly on mail below a certain weight (currently a maximum of 50 grammes), known as the “reserved area”. However, with the new EU agreement, this will cease.

The same EU regulations already oblige member states to provide a basic service known as the “universal” package, which comprises at least one delivery and collection, five days a week, for every EU citizen.

The government will still be able to subsidies this service in cases of remote and “non-commercial” areas.

The postal service in Malta is regulated by the Malta Communications Authority.

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DHL introduces new product

Posted by | Oct 3, 2007 | |

As of the 1st of October, DHL, the world leader in express delivery and logistics market, will be offering its customers in Russia a new product – Domestic Transport Collect Cash. The recipient will now be able to pay for the shipment in cash. Until now this type of product was available for those customers that had an account with DHL.

At present Domestic Transport Collect Cash product is available for Moscow-based customers only. In the nearest future the company plans to introduce this product in other cities of Russia.

The payment procedure for Transport Collect Domestic shipments will be as follows. The recipient will have to contact DHL office, sign a shipment agreement and make a prepayment. DHL will take care of arranging the shipment pick-up from the consignor and its delivery to the final destination. Upon arrival, the shipment will be weighed to determine the final transportation fee to be paid by the consignee. As soon as final payment has been provided, the shipment will be handed over to the customer.

By using Domestic Transport Collect Cash product one can ship documents and goods across Russia by the end of the working day. In addition the customers may use DHL packing solutions and insurance.

Transport Collect products are traditionally in high demand with DHL regular customers that have an account with the company. By introducing new forms of payment, DHL expects to attract new customers and provide more opportunities for those who have been using DHL services for a long time.

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Sunday collections end

Posted by | Oct 3, 2007 | |

After 17 years, Royal Mail is set to abolish Sunday postal collections throughout the UK from October 28.

With low volumes of mail posted on Sunday the cost of providing this service is disproportionately high.

Claire Prosser, the policy executive at the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group, which includes Swindon, said: “As the vast majority of Royal Mail’s 115,000 letter boxes have never had a Sunday collection, the abolition of this service will have little effect on business.

“Only 50 UK businesses currently have a Sunday collection service, representing only 0.74 per cent of total volume.

“This means that it costs four times as much to handle Sunday post than items collected on other days.

“Royal Mail’s proposals may affect a minority of customers; however there are many clear benefits that abolition of this service will have.

“The reduction in Royal Mail’s overall operating costs will increase the assurance that the service can be delivered at an affordable price.

“It will also help reduce carbon emissions of approximately 10,000 ton per annum.

“Royal Mail must however tread carefully: With continued strikes, decrease in service and increase in costs, many loyal customers may lose confidence in Royal Mail, further spurring them to adopt the services of Royal Mail’s competitors.”

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