Tag: Europe

TNT Express offers paperless invoicing in Germany

Posted by | Nov 15, 2007 | |

TNT Express Germany has launched a new internet-based mode of paperless invoicing called ExpressInvoice providing invoice data in all common data formats and transmission routes to keep up with customers’ needs.

Customers can use a password-protected online platform to manage and receive their invoices in different formats and according to legal requirements by different transmission routes without having to adapt their IT infrastructure. The new offer is designed for both large and small customers, TNT Express Germany said in a statement.

The advantage of the web-based application is that there is no software installation necessary. ExpressInvoice provides not only PDF or Excel files but also the formats CSV, XML, EDIFACT und IDOC without any additional charges which are especially suitable for customers who have a lot of invoices to manage.

Invoices can be electronically transmitted by a number of methods, including FTP, SFTP, E-Mail or X.400, and integrate them easily into their accounting systems. A digital signature is available on demand.

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Business Post strikes new blow to Royal Mail with demand for split

Posted by | Nov 15, 2007 | |

One of Royal Mail’s rivals is to petition the Government to break up the state-owned postal group, in an escalation of pressure for change from its competitors.

Business Post made the call as sales at its mail division, which competes with Royal Mail, rose 59 per cent. The company argues that last month’s Royal Mail strikes have made more people aware that there is a competitive postal market.

Guy Buswell, Business Post’s chief executive, is to make a formal request to the Department for Business for Royal Mail’s network to be separated from its sales operation in January. By then it intends to produce a detailed paper with outside consultants.

Mr Buswell said: “The Government must be wondering what to do with Royal Mail. If the network were separated from sales, it would end the questions of what is Royal Mail’s future. We want to help start the debate.”

The call for change will come as the term of Allan Leighton as chairman draws to a close. The Government could use the change to make substantial changes. Rivals want the business to be split so that there is no conflict of interest between Royal Mail’s sales operation – their competitor – and its network, which they have to use for the final mile of the delivery of post.

The postal regulator is considering the implications but has no powers to order a split. Royal Mail may offer to present separate sets of accounts, but that is unlikely to satisfy its rivals.

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Post Office (UK) to launch new Christmas Club

Posted by | Nov 15, 2007 | |

The Post Office today announced plans to launch a new Christmas Club offering customers a secure and convenient way to save for Christmas 2008, with additional membership rewards that will increase their spending power.

The Post Office Christmas Club will fill a gap identified by HM Treasury’s Review of Christmas Saving Schemes by Brian Pomeroy, Chairman of the Financial Inclusion Taskforce, in March this year carried out in the wake of the Farepak collapse.

All funds deposited in the Post Office Christmas Club will be governed by strict E-money regulations and held in a protected account under the control of Bank of Ireland. The funds will only be accessible to Club members.

The scheme will be available at all Post Office branches from January 2008. Customers will be issued with a Christmas Club card which they can use to make deposits over the counter. The minimum single deposit will be GBP 5, and the maximum individual payment GBP 500, up to a total of GBP 1,000 savings per card per annum.

Funds will be locked away until 1 November 2008, when the Christmas Club card can be used as a pre-paid debit card with retailers signed up to the scheme or exchanged for gift vouchers at Post Office branches.* The Post Office has negotiated partnerships with around 200 retailers so far, covering grocery, wine merchants, fashion, travel and leisure, health and beauty companies. Top names include Argos, Boots, Debenhams, Halfords, House of Fraser, Peacocks, Sainsbury’s, Thorntons, Woolworths and WHSmith.

Christmas Club members will be able to benefit from further rewards as the Post Office negotiates discounts and bonuses with retailers. These deals will be announced from January and throughout 2008, and will provide significant benefits compared to current rates available from High Street savings accounts.

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Pál Szabó, Chief Executive Officer of Hungary's Magyar Posta : EU must focus on financing universal postal service

Posted by | Nov 14, 2007 | |

As rules on liberalising Europe’s postal markets look to be adopted in the New Year, Pál Szabó, CEO of Hungary’s Magyar Posta, points to a number of “bad experiences” in countries that have already opened up their postal markets to competition and stresses the need for a “sustainable financing solution” to allow operators to continue providing citizens with quality mail delivery.

In an interview with EurActiv, Pál Szabó, Chief Executive Officer of Hungary’s Magyar Posta, welcomed the decision to allow some countries more time to implement the directive, saying “the level of readiness of member states is quite different.” He believes that this two-staged market opening will not lead to market distortions of competition as the delay will affect “not more than 10 pct of the European postal market and will last for just two years.”

Szabó noted that, with the gradual liberalisation that has already taken place in the delivery of parcels and express services, “all big international competitors have already entered the Hungarian market […] It is sure that the level of competition will significantly increase”.

While he does not think the level of service to citizens will be compromised, thanks to a “clearly defined set of obligations for universal service providers”, he stressed that, with the elimination of the reserved area – which he underlined had proved to be a “simple, transparent” and “state-budget friendly” solution – “the most important task at the moment is to find another appropriate and sustainable financing solution in order to have the same high-quality universal services in the future”.

State subsidies, he believes, are not a feasible option for most of the new member states. He suggested that a ‘pay or play mechanism’, whereby new operators must be granted a license in exchange for respecting certain minimum standards in order to operate in a country’s market, “might be the best possible solution”.

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Williams Lea expands legal offering with LPO business

Posted by | Nov 14, 2007 | |

Williams Lea acquires Centric LPO to develop specialist legal service solutions business, in a market estimated to be worth up to USD 20 billion by 2015.

Global Corporate Information Solutions provider Williams Lea has today announced the acquisition of Centric LPO, giving the company a strong foothold in the Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) market, which is estimated to be worth up to USD 20 billion by 2015.

The company now becomes Williams Lea LPO and will continue to be led by Managing Director Chris Raybould.

The acquisition comes at a time when law firms are adopting new methods of working, reflecting the needs of their global client base and an increasing demand for pro-active customer service delivery. Additional pressure is being applied through continual advances in information technology and a market trend towards commoditisation. Lawyer’s jobs are being carved up into identifiable tasks that can be outsourced more effectively and quickly by others.

Williams Lea is the leading global provider of Corporate Information Solutions.
Tim Griffiths, Group CEO, Williams Lea said: “This is an exciting business venture for Williams Lea and a natural extension of our existing legal offering globally. Williams Lea is committed to growing its specialist legal service solutions expertise and we believe the move into the LPO space will both reinvigorate and expand our legal proposition. At a time when the market is in its infancy, we know we have a great opportunity to shape and lead the way through our innovative solutions.”

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