Tag: Europe

Royal Mail: too slow to adapt to a changing business worldChristine Buckley, Industrial Editor

Posted by | Jul 7, 2008 | |

By the end of the year there will be just over 11,500 post offices left in Britain. Twenty years ago there were nearly double that amount at 21,100.

Too many people, particularly those left without a local post office, the decline of the network is the most visible evidence of more sweeping changes that have been hitting Royal Mail.

The public has not taken the axing of one in two post offices over 20 years without a fight. The latest round of 2,500 closures, which is nearing its completion, has triggered a storm of protests, both from spontaneous local community campaigns and from local Conservative Party petitions.

It began a regional roll out in January and will finish the last set of consultations at the end of next month in Herefordshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire.

The network of small post offices, as opposed to the 500-plus larger, high-street offices, are franchised businesses mainly run by individuals or families. But their costs have proved difficult for Royal Mail because of changes in the workload at the offices.

Business dropped dramatically several years ago when the Government began to phase out the payment of benefits in cash at post offices. It switched to direct payment in to recipients’ bank accounts or via the Post Office card account, a no-frills bank account. The contract for the card account was given to Royal Mail but it is about to be renewed after going to tender. Sub postmasters fear the decimation of the highly shrunken network if the contract is not awarded again to Royal Mail and instead goes to a rival bidder, such as Paypoint.

Critics of Royal Mail’s handling of the closure programmes say that it is not just the loss of benefits business that led to the erosion of the network but an unimaginative range of services and tardiness in adapting to the changing world of communications.

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For the first half of 2008 strong growth marks turnaround

Posted by | Jul 7, 2008 | |

The Half-Year Results of 2008 mark the turnaround of HayPost from an ailing soviet dinosaur into an increasingly competitive and innovative postal operator. HayPost enjoys an increasing interest from foreign and financial private sector to build public-private partnerships. In compliance with the Trust Management Program, HayPost has made significant progress in its transformation from a classical functional process oriented organization towards a market focused company.

On a year-to-year basis total revenues increased by 16pct to AMD 2.6 bln ( USD 8.4 mln) for the first half year while operational expenditures grew by 8pct to AMD 1.7 bln ( USD 5.5 mln) , particularly impacted by the world petrol price hikes, leading to net revenues (operational result) of AMD 0.9 bln (USD 2.9 mln). From the net revenues AMD 0.6 bln (USD 1.9 mln) have been used for expenditures for post office modernization, new technology, product and organization development, transformation management and building human capital. Depreciation of fixed assets amounted to AMD 0.5 bln (USD 1.6 mln) and lead to net negative result of AMD 0.2 bln (USD 0.65 mln).

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UK parcels firm APC Overnight invests in hub extension

Posted by | Jul 7, 2008 | |

APC Overnight has invested over GBP 250,000 (EUR 316,000) in extending its facilities and purchasing additional high-tech equipment for its National Sortation Centre at Essington in the north of Birmingham.

Following a sustainable construction approach, the new hub developments boast a new 2,400 sqm mezzanine floor giving a 50 pct larger sorting area, with five specially designed lifts that transport parcel cages to the mezzanine in less than 40 seconds. APC says that the investment has boosted its capability and will offer significant improvements in customer service during peak times. In addition, a 1,400 sqm weatherproof canopy has been installed over the company’s unloading bays offering maximum protection for parcels and staff in all weather conditions.

With the additional resources, APC is able to streamline and accelerate its sorting processes by allocating distinct areas for each type of business. This includes a dedicated section called “M Sort area” for 10,000 parcels a night hub handles for local Midlands destinations. This streamlined method of specialised sortation also improves the capacity of the main sorting systems.

APC Overnight, with more than 125 local depots, transports and delivers more than one million parcels each month, and provides a better-than-99.8 pct on-time delivery record.

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BotswanaPost Launches Hybrid Mail

Posted by | Jul 5, 2008 | |

BotswanaPost launched Hybrid Mail at a function at the Gaborone International Conference Centre (GICC).

Hybrid Mail is a service designed for organisations that mail large quantities of invoices, statements, time-sensitive notices and business mail.

Launching the new service offered by BotsanaPost, Maun West MP, Ronald Ridge, said the facility would contribute to sustainable national growth by reducing the cost of mail service in offices.

The state-of-the-art facility is capable of producing 15 000 pieces of mail per hour. It relieves companies of expensive tasks such as printing, enveloping and transportation, and ensures an impression appearance because advanced laser printing and mail-processing technology is used.

Botswana Post Acting Director General, Ruth Mphathi, said contrary to common belief that the information superhighway is driving the Post Office to irrelevance, the postal sector is actually riding on the crest of technological changes.

ICT has offered an opportunity for the Post Office to provide a natural gateway to the Information Society, especially for rural communities.

Mphathi said the domestic letter mail is on a downtrend for obvious reasons, while the business mail product (including Government Mail) was on an upward trend in correlation with national economic growth. This is where the Hybrid Mail product comes in – to provide a seamless, cost-efficient solution to mailroom challenges.

Botswan Post Board Chairman, Martin Mokgatlhe, said the Post Office continues to re-examine itself on an on-going basis, adding that early this year, its five-year strategic plan known as Pinagare was reviewed.

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Post wants EU10 Billion for Postbank (Germany)

Posted by | Jul 5, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post AG may struggle to sell its Deutsche Postbank banking division as bidders are unwilling to match price expectations, WirtschaftsWoche reported, citing unidentified Finance Ministry officials.

Deutsche Post wants at least 10 billion euros (USD 16 billion) for Germany’s biggest consumer bank, a person familiar with the matter said, according to the report. That’s above offers of between 8 billion euros and 9 billion euros, the magazine said.

Spain’s Banco Santander SA and Lloyds TSB Group Plc are still interested in acquiring Deutsche Postbank, the magazine said. Deutsche Bank AG doesn’t want to pay more than 10 billion euros for a purchase and Commerzbank AG is no longer bidding for the Bonn-based bank, WirtschaftsWoche said.

Deutsche Post is also getting doubts about selling the banking division that provides stable earnings as the rising oil price is putting pressure on the logistics unit, according to the report.

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