Tag: Europe

Brussels gets tough on postal markets

Posted by | Jun 23, 2008 | |

Brussels will on Tuesday attempt to prevent backsliding by EU countries over reform of domestic postal markets, warning that practical barriers to competition as well as legal monopolies need to be removed.

European Commission officials are expected to tell a high-level conference – involving two commissioners and several ministers – that countries need to be proactive about changing practices in their postal markets or risk facing infringement actions.

Unusually, the move comes only four months after the 2008 postal directive took effect, requiring most EU countries to open fully their postal markets by the end of 2010.

However, the EU internal markets commissioner has already written to eight states – including Germany, Holland and Belgium – warning that “reforms at national level must be pursued rigorously”, and Tuesday’s event reflects worries that there could be some backsliding from the directive’s aims by member states.

EU officials are concerned, in particular, that practical obstacles may be used to prevent the opening up of postal markets, even if the required legal changes are made.
Another potential restriction is the extent to which countries are demanding that competitors provide universal service, covering a country’s entire geographical area.

Slovakia, meanwhile, has already come under fire from the Commission’s competition arm over a new law which Brussels claims extends the monopoly held by Slovenska Posta to so-called ”hybrid mail” services, used by banks, insurers, utilities and the like for mass mailings.

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Hermes names new management and plans European growth

Posted by | Jun 23, 2008 | |

Hermes Logistics has named Hartmut Ilek as its new managing director in place of Hanjo Schneider who has been promoted to the executive board of parent company Otto Group and who will also continue building up a European B2C network.

With effect from 1 February 2009, Schneider will take over the responsibility for the Services division on the Otto Group executive board, while he also becomes responsible for building up a Hermes European group with effect from July 2008. Schneider joined the Hermes Logistics Group in November 2002 and has been managing director since January 2005.

Hermes claims a 22 pct share of the European B2C parcel market. Parcelnet, the largest B2C delivery company in the UK, aims for turnover of more than EUR 300 million in 2008 and plans to set up a ParcelShop network similar to the one in Germany.

In addition, Hermes’ German transport logistics division, managed by Frank Rausch, will become a separate company that will position itself as an international linehaul network provider operating to European standards. It will also start to transport goods not only by road but also on “ecologically preferable” transport modes.

Hartmut Ilek, who has successfully managed the German parcel business of Hermes Logistics for many years, will take over as managing director of Hermes Logistics in Germany. Frank Iden will take over the position as sales & marketing director. He has been managing director of PrimeMail, a joint venture between Hermes Logistics Group and Swiss Post International, which has evolved into a specialist for large-sized and heavy mailing products for B2B, public bodies and international postal companies.

The new managing director of PrimeMail will be Christian Bartelheimer (42), who has been active in the logistics branch for many years. “We will focus on the extension of our product portfolio to ensure continuous growth and to provide a steady and enduring service to our customers. Innovative and creative services will be implemented with our strategic partners,” Bartelheimer explained.

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CEP-Research becomes part of ITA Consulting

Posted by | Jun 23, 2008 | |

ITA Logistics, the operator of CEP-Research, has announced the formation of a new subsidiary under the name of ITA Consulting GmbH with effect from June 1, 2008. CEP-Research is now part of ITA Consulting.

ITA Consulting incorporates ITA’s management consulting, IT solutions and market intelligence (CEP-Research) business units. It has been set up as a commercial partnership and the management has been extended to include Peter Weber. The company base remains in Hamburg and all previous contact details, including for CEP-Research, stay the same.

The formation of ITA Consulting is due to the excellent development in recent years of the consulting business of ITA Logistics. A large number of projects in the areas of M&A, Business Intelligence and Supply Chain Management contributed to the success. With 30 employees, ITA Consulting advises globally operating industrial companies and logistics service providers on strategy & development, mergers & acquisitions, process optimisation, transport management systems, business intelligence as well as sourcing & procurement.

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DPD extends Baltic market leadership with new depot

Posted by | Jun 23, 2008 | |

DPD is expanding capacity for its fast-growing business in the Baltic region with a new depot at the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda for international imports to be distributed in Eastern Europe and the CIS region.

In 2007, DPD increased its import volumes to the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia by 40 pct to around ten million parcels. This helped the GeoPost subsidiary to expand its CEP market share in the Baltics from 23 pct to 28 pct. In domestic shipping within the Baltic States the three companies DPD Latvija, DPD Lietuva and DPD Eesti have a market share of as much as 46 pct.

In order to cope with this volume growth, DPD opened a parcel sorting centre in the free-trade zone of the port of Klaipeda in western Lithuania in May. The depot has a total of 46 loading bays and its current capacity is 2,000 parcels an hour, which can however be expanded substantially. The centre is intended specifically to handle the rising volumes of international shipments which arrive at Klaipeda by sea and by rail from all around the world.

DPD said that it has grown strongly in the Baltic region in recent years. It has established a rapidly growing network, based on an operational infrastructure featuring three hubs, 29 depots and a fleet of 540 vehicles. Within the three countries DPD has a workforce of 750 employees backed up by self-employed transport operators. In Riga the company opened the largest sorting centre of the whole Baltic region only last year, with a sorting capacity of 6,000 parcels an hour.

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Royal Mail pays GBP 4 million compensation to customers

Posted by | Jun 23, 2008 | |

Royal Mail paid GBP 4 million compensation to customers in the first three months of the year as complaints rose to 4,200 a day.

The figure included GBP 2.7 million for lost mail, an increase of GBP 1 million on the previous quarter.

It also paid out for damaged goods, late deliveries, failures to redirect mail and letters sent to the wrong addresses.

The total of GBP 4,004,834 in compensation was up from GBP 2.6 million in the previous quarter.

The figures heaped further pressure on Adam Crozier, the company’s chief executive, as union chiefs called for him to go.

Last month it was revealed that, while his basic salary remained unchanged at GBP 633,000, Mr Crozier’s income rose to GBP 843,000 because of a performance bonus and other benefits.

Customers claiming for lost items can claim up to 100 times the 36p first class stamp or the market value of the item, whichever is lower.

Some of the increase in complaints against Royal Mail is thought to be due to industrial action over pay and the end of last year.

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