Tag: Europe

Consultation starts on changes to Post Office network – East Essex and Suffolk

Posted by | Oct 9, 2007 | |

Post Office Ltd announces plans for East Essex and Suffolk

Post Office Ltd today opened a six week local public consultation on its Area Plan for East Essex and Suffolk. In line with the criteria and factors set by the Government in its response document, DTI The Post Office Network, Government Response to Public Consultation May 2007 (www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page36024.html) the Area Plan proposes future provision of Post Office® services through a network of 340 branches across the area, resulting in the closure of 67 existing branches.

Under the proposals more than 99 pct of the area’s population will either see no change to their nearest branch, or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.

In addition to the 340 branches which are proposed to remain in the East Essex and Suffolk areas, Post Office Ltd is proposing to establish 16 outreach services, which would use innovative ways to continue to provide Post Office® services – particularly in smaller communities – where the existing branch is proposed for closure.

Possible types of outreach service in the East Essex and Suffolk areas could include a mobile service visiting small communities at set times, a hosted service operated within third party premises for restricted hours each week, or a partner service within the premises of a local partner (such as a pub landlord).

The Government has already undertaken a 12 week national consultation before reaching a decision to reduce the UK wide network of Post Office branches by up to 2,500 from its current level of over 14000 while continuing to provide funding (subject to state aid EU clearance) to support a more sustainable network in the future. The proposals now published support the national accessibility criteria introduced by the Government.
Under the area plan proposals 92.7 pct of the area’s population will see no change in their nearest branch. A further 6.5 pct live less than one mile by road distance from the nearest alternative branch, with 2.7 pct within half a mile.

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World Post Day 2007: postal services a driver of economic development

Posted by | Oct 9, 2007 | |

Last 9th October it was the World Post Day, the Universal Postal Union is drawing attention to the importance of ensuring that all the world’s citizens have easy access to postal services.

Universal postal service, a catalogue of postal services to which citizens have access, is often considered from a political or social point of view. But the universal postal service must also be seen in terms of its economic benefits, as UPU Director General Edouard DAYAN stressed in his annual message to the organization’s member countries.

“The universal postal service contributes to a country’s economic efficiency, and providing it across borders to all businesses and all citizens helps to promote the integration of markets. In a highly competitive international environment, the universal postal service provides companies and individuals with ready access to domestic markets. It is also a key facilitator of trade between countries, or between regional economic blocs.”

DAYAN reminded member countries of the importance for citizens of being able to access postal services everywhere on a given territory. “If postal deliveries, or access to postal financial services, were to be restricted to the main urban centres, this would leave millions of people and businesses dangerously sidelined and unable to participate in the economic activity of their country,” he said.

Day after day, some five million employees process and deliver millions of letters and parcels. With more than 660,000 offices, the Post forms the single largest physical distribution network in the world.

Governments, regulatory authorities and public and private postal operators all work alongside the UPU to improve the efficiency of the universal postal service for everyone’s benefit. The worldwide distribution in July of more than 2.5 million copies of the latest Harry Potter book, the development of an international network giving access to affordable, reliable money transfers, or the reconstruction of postal installations in Liberia, a country which is getting back on its feet after 14 years of civil war, are all examples of how the postal sector contributes positively to the global economy.

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Sberbank Chief Removed, Sent to Post Office

Posted by | Oct 9, 2007 | |

President Vladimir Putin on Monday removed Andrei Kazmin as chief executive of Sberbank and appointed him to head the country’s loss-making postal service, which is set for an overhaul.

Kazmin’s departure from Sberbank — the latest in a string of personnel shake-ups since the appointment of Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov last month — had been widely predicted. German Gref, the liberal former economic development and trade minister who resigned last month, has been tipped as the favorite to take his place.

In a televised meeting, Putin agreed to a proposal by Zubkov to move Kazmin to Russian Post. The state company, which runs a giant network of offices, recorded a loss of USD 112 million last year and is ripe for an overhaul.

In making the proposal, Zubkov referred to Kazmin’s service as Sberbank chief executive since 1996 and said his achievements there were “not bad.”

Kazmin’s new area of responsibility will be “enormous,” Putin said, because Russian Post has 40,000 offices, twice as many as Sberbank runs.

Kazmin will replace Russian Post director Igor Syrtsov, who asked to step down, IT and Communications Minister Leonid Reiman said in an e-mailed statement late Monday.

In his new job, Kazmin could oversee a major revamp of Russian Post. In November, the Cabinet approved a five-year, 50 billion ruble (USD 2 billion) program to upgrade the company. The IT and Communications Ministry, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry and the Finance Ministry were due to submit an action plan by June 1.

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DHL opens new logistics campus in Ludwigsau (Germany)

Posted by | Oct 8, 2007 | |

DHL Exel Supply Chain officially launched operations at its new logistics campus for the mail order sector in Ludwigsau built at a cost of around EUR 22 million. The new distribution center near Bad Hersfeld covers an area of 35,000 square meters to store and distribute goods delivered to the final customer in a so-called “two-man handling” service and employing some 70 staff members. The new facility is exclusively targeted at logistics processes for the long-distance retail sector.

Stefan Kurrle, CEO of DHL Exel Supply Chain in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland described the new project as a trend setter: “Mail order is strongly recovering. Especially e-commerce is a fast growing market in Germany and neighboring European countries. In establishing a logistics campus for the home delivery sector we can offer long distance retail traders tailored processes for managing their goods and delivering their products anywhere in Europe. Ludwigsau helps to bring Europe closer together.”

This building allows goods to be moved efficiently from the warehouse to the loading area.

The campus concept developed by DHL Exel Supply Chain bears a typical feature; the logistics location focuses on the needs of one particular sector of industry. This enables several customers operating in the sector to use the same local logistics services including warehousing, transport, and added value services. Streamlining logistics structures increases flexibility, creates synergies for customers and service operators, and helps to organize logistics processes on a more cost-effective basis. Customers also benefit from the innovative way in which buildings have been arranged at Ludwigsau; it allows goods to be moved efficiently from the warehouse to the loading area, whereas both internal and external space can be used with greatest possible operational efficiency.

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DHL Express ships a unique collection of Marilyn Monroe dresses to the UK

Posted by | Oct 8, 2007 | |

DHL Express has delivered seven original dresses worn by Marilyn Monroe from the US to the UK for the start of an international exhibition showcasing the work of costume designer William Travilla. These dresses, which include the iconic white dress worn in The Seven Year Itch, were shipped by DHL in an overnight delivery to the UK and are now being exhibited at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Brighton from 2-7th October.

With more locations planned for the exhibition, DHL will be working closely with exhibition organizer Andrew Hansford to ensure the dresses continue safely on their world tour.

This exciting partnership is just one example of the solutions DHL offers for customers in the fashion sector. Thanks to its new B2C delivery service, DHL@Home, DHL has been able to help meet the needs of the growing numbers of online fashion retailers. The UK fashion industry is increasingly reaping the benefits of the internet to sell to customers but poor delivery services often let businesses down. DHL’s innovative delivery service uses a network of local couriers to deliver goods at a time to suit customers – enabling fashion retailers to offer quick and effective home delivery.

At the other end of the supply chain DHL is also involved right at the beginning of the design process, moving sample traffic around the world. The relocation of many factories to Eastern Europe and Asia has meant that fabric and design samples now need to be moved huge distances in very short timescales.

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