Tag: Europe

The 12th Pitney Bowes leadership roundtable concludes in Majorca, Spain

Posted by | Sep 19, 2007 | |

The 12th Pitney Bowes Leadership Roundtable, “Strengthening the Industry through Partnerships” has concluded at The Hotel Castillo Son Vida, Majorca, Spain. Highlights included an Executive Dialogue with Michael J. Critelli,

Executive Chairman of Pitney Bowes and a welcome speech from the President of
Correos, José Damián Santiago. “All attendees contributed to a series of frank and enlightening discussions on how different facets of the industry can partner to build a strong future for all,” said

Luis A. Jimenez, Sr. Vice President and Chief Industry Policy Officer, Pitney Bowes, who conceived and organizes the Roundtables, “We were particularly pleased to have a record number of postal operators represented as well as contributors from customers, parcel companies and a host of industry stakeholder,” he added.

All in all 17 countries were represented at the three day event and Posts from all over the globe attended including key executives and directors from: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA. Other participants include: IPC, PostEurop, FedEx, UPS, Cisco and the Print on Demand Initiative (PODi).

All attendees said they had found the event of great value and were looking forward to the next Roundtable to be held in Whistler Canada, February 18-21, 2008.

Read More

UK etailers failing to provide contact details – survey

Posted by | Sep 19, 2007 | |

A new study of the UK’s online retailers has revealed that many e-commerce sites are not offering customers a range of contact details, while many offer limited delivery options and no customer feedback features.

The survey, from website monitoring firm NetExtract analysed a sample of 10,000 e-commerce websites in the UK. It found that many e-commerce sites are missing very basic options.

Findings of the survey:

Contact details
Incredibly. 60% of UK online retailers provided no telephone number on their website, 43% displayed no business address, while 39% had no contact email address.

In addition, 30% of sites profiled provided no telephone number or email address.

This is surprising, given that providing contact details is a very basic thing for websites, and is absolutely essential as a way of reinforcing customer trust. I would never buy anything from such a site, and a recent UK survey suggested that 50% of online shoppers wouldn’t buy without contact details either.

Delivery options
11% of etailers provided a free postage or delivery service, while only 15% offered a next day or Special Delivery service. Of the delivery companies named on the websites Royal Mail was identified in 17% of cases.

Customer reviews
The study found that only 38% of online retailers have a testimonial or comments section on their website.

More than half of the UK’s online consumers say that reviews are important in the buying process, while similar numbers have more trust and respect for those brands which display reviews.

Our recent Social Commerce Report found that online retailers are beginning to catch on. Our report found that customer ratings/reviews are being used by 28% of online retailers, and that more than half were considering adding such a feature to their websites.

Read More

Costly Chatter and Baffling Bills

Posted by | Sep 19, 2007 | |

Telecoms bills are a major source of confusion for UK residents – according to a new report from the Post Office out today.

It revealed that the average household using mobile and landline phones is around GBP 79 out when estimating their bills, meaning the UK public appears to have little idea of the real cost of chatting.

The report showed the best budgeters to be the canny Scots, with a combined annual miscalculation of just GBP 58 per household. Londoners languished at the back of the line, with an average miscalculation of GBP 134 per household.

Experts have blamed this inability to accurately budget for telecoms costs on unclear billing processes and surprise hidden charges, as well as people not thinking about the cost before making a call.

The research also showed that people found it easier to estimate their internet bills than other telecoms costs – with the average home connected to the internet miscalculating bills by only GBP 3 per year.

Work is underway by the Post Office to launch a broadband service in the autumn that will compete head to head with the major players in the market by offering a great value for money deal.

Read More

Oesterreichische Post to shed 1,200 jobs through 2009, union vows fight

Posted by | Sep 18, 2007 | |

Oesterreichische Post AG (Austrian Post) said that it plans to shed around 1,200 jobs until the end of 2009, with some 1,000 positions being eliminated in its mail and package delivery segment.

The Austrian postal services group said that the reduction in the number of letter carriers will take place within the previously announced framework of striking around 400 such positions a year through natural attrition, the Austrian news agency APA reported.

The Post’s employees union said that it will fight these plans and will no longer continue its wage talks with the company’s management, according to APA.

Read More

Swiss post office: evening parcel deliveries tested

Posted by | Sep 18, 2007 | |

The Swiss post office has launched household deliveries of parcels in the evening on a trial basis in Geneva. The postal service has been delivering packages between 5 and 8 p.m. “The post office is adapting to the change in (people’s) habits,” spokeswoman Nathalie Salamin told Television Suisse Romande.

More and more people are away at work or engaged in other activities when deliveries are made to homes in the morning. This result in parcels having to be transported back to depots and customers are forced to pick them up at a later date. This coming-and-going ends up causing the post office more work. By delivering in the evening, the expectation is that more people will be at home to receive parcels.

There may be environmental benefits too, with vehicles driving less. The Geneva trial project will run for four weeks and the results will analyzed before any final decision is made. It may be that 5 p.m. is still too early for many people who work until 6 p.m. or later. Salamin admitted that the delivery schedule may need to be fine-tuned.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest