Tag: Europe

Hermes expands to Italy

Posted by | Oct 16, 2007 | |

Hermes Logistics Group has acquired a stake in Italian parcels and logistics company Swiss Post Porta a Porta, having taken over 30 pct of the share capital from majority shareholder Swiss Post International (SPI) to further expand its international presence and strengthen its position as Europe’s key logistics service provider in delivery to private households.

In return, SPI which does not wish to invest in domestic networks, is able to focus on the cross-border letter market, and will also become the preferred sales partner of HLG for international B2C services in European markets.

With a central hub in Milan and 63 depots throughout the country run by sub-contractors, one of Porta a Porta’s specialist areas is the nationwide distribution of items to both business and private customers. In 2006, the company delivered some 3.5 items to private customers, giving it a 7 pct share of the market. “No other private service provider in Italy has such a well-established B2C network as Porta a Porta,” says Jean-Pierre Streich Head of Swiss Post International.

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TNT Germany gets best brand award

Posted by | Oct 16, 2007 | |

TNT Express Germany has won the “best CEP services brand” award in the 2007 “Image Ranking” of the German logistics magazine “LOGISTIK Inside”.

TNT Express improved from fourth position in 2006 to the current number one, and its brand awareness increased from 97 pct to 99 pct within the last 12 months. A total of 14 CEP brands were evaluated in the ranking, TNT Express Germany said in a statement.

The ranking was based on telephone interviews with 300 logistics decision-makers in industry and trade all over Germany carried out by media research company TNS Emnid on behalf of LOGISTIK Inside.

The ranking provides detailed information about image, brand awareness, customer satisfaction, recommendations and trade size of 90 logistics brands. The survey has been carried out every year since 2002 and constitutes a competitive benchmark in the German transport and logistics sector.

The award was presented to Thomas Kraus, CEO of TNT Express Germany and TNT Innight Group, at last week’s German logistics congress in Berlin.

At the congress, Kraus also delivered a speech about value creation through “ stakeholder-focused brand management”, and highlighted how the company measures its brand management. Another highlight of the event was a presentation of the TNT depot at Berlin’s Tegel airport for congress participants.

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Suffering SMEs turn to alternate mail services

Posted by | Oct 16, 2007 | |

Small businesses have been hit hard by the postal strike and are now seeking out private alternatives to Royal Mail, a British Chambers of Commerce survey has revealed.

The snap poll, conducted over the weekend, found that 88pc reported the strikes had “a significant impact” on their business, with cash flow and loss of sales particular problems.

Of those affected, 55pc said they were now more likely to use private delivery companies.

The BCC said the figure reflected the anger felt by small businesses at the impact the postal strike.

The problem for small firms is that their options are limited by the fact that the Royal Mail’s biggest competitors, such as TNT, Business Post and DHL, are at the same time customers.

Only Royal Mail does the ‘final mile’ bit of deliveries meaning small firms, like the rest of the population, are in the words of one business owner, over a barrel.

Mr Frewin says the last 25 years has seen a consistent rise in the volume of mail. Over the last 18 months that figure has declined. “Is it a blip or a sign of long-term decline? Our concern is that what started with a one-day strike and now two-day strikes, will continue. The worry is that the postal industry will be brought to its knees.”

Talk is that TNT might be just the business to give Royal Mail a run for its money when it comes to ‘final mile’ delivery, but the discussion about another provider stepping in to compete isn’t new.

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Week to clear post backlog after strike

Posted by | Oct 16, 2007 | |

The postal strikes have left 120 million letters and parcels stranded in sorting offices, with the post watchdog warning that the backlog will take until next week to clear.

The news came as it emerged that more than of half of small firms want to stop using the Royal Mail after the strikes which have cost the London economy alone more than GBP 300 million.

Sources at the Royal Mail said there were one and a half days worth of post — 120 million letters and parcels — stuck in the system after last week’s five-day strike and unofficial stoppages.

This could take “several days” to clear, the source said.

However Postwatch, the industry watchdog, estimated the backlog at 200 million letters and parcels. This would take a week to clear, it said. Andy Frewin, a spokesman, said: “We would expect things to be back to normal next Monday if they work as normal this week.”

A survey by the British Chambers of Commerce found that 55 per cent of small firms are now more likely to use private delivery companies. Natalie Evans, the head of policy, said: “This result really hammers home the damage that this dispute has done to Royal Mail.

“Small businesses rely on a decent post service and have been let down badly over the past few weeks.”

The survey of more than 250 company directors showed that almost half thought the strikes had cost their firm at least GBP 1,000 each.

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Technical Supremacy sets ByBoxes apart

Posted by | Oct 16, 2007 | |

ByBox has launched a new generation of electronic postal lockers that are not only available in a variety of sizes and configurations to meet every requirement; but also packed with technical innovation to make them extremely flexible, user-friendly and secure.

The result is a reliable, robust and readily accessible system that is proven to provide postal operators and their customers with new levels of service, and swift delivery and collection facilities that meet the changing needs of the postal market.

Equally suitable for internal and external use, each locker bank is flexible and can be easily changed by adding or removing a column of locker doors. Built with tough, environmentally resistant material and coated in vandalism resistant paint, they operate over a large temperature range and at up to 93 pct humidity. To protect customers from the elements, external locker banks can be fitted with a weatherproof canopy.

Lockers are available in several standard dimensions that handle everything from large parcels to letters, and sizes can be customised if required. They can also be supplied in a variety of colours and branded to aid customer identification.

A number of security features are factored into the locker bank design. They include sensors that detect any attempted break-ins, and software that detects tampering and sounds an alarm after several aborted attempts.

At the same time, user security data may be monitored in a number of different ways, using signature capture, web camera and biometrics techniques such as fingerprint recognition.

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