Tag: Europe

Germany struggles to open up its mail delivery market

Posted by | Apr 25, 2007 | |

The German government agreed to end the letter delivery monopoly of Deutsche Post as planned, but the issue is still a thorn in the eyes of the grand coalition.

Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Social Democratic (SPD) coalition partners agreed to liberalize Germany’s mail delivery market as part of European Union moves to deregulate postal services across the 27-member bloc.

Starting Jan 1, 2008, letters weighing up to 50 grams (1.8 ounces) will no longer be the monopoly of Deutsche Post, the world’s biggest post and logistics group.

According to government sources, Chancellor Angela Merkel and head of Social Democrats (SPD) Kurt Beck reached an agreement on Tuesday evening.

The SPD had previously sought to extend the monopoly beyond the deadline, partly because other EU member states will have to open up their mail service markets in 2009.

A spokesperson for the ministry of finance said late on Tuesday evening that the Social Democrats remained convinced that the deregulation of the post service in Germany ought to take place only in concert with other European countries to make sure Deutsche Post doesn’t suffer unfair competition.

With the countdown underway to the end of its letter monopoly, Deutsche Post has been moving to diversify away from its dependence on its German operations and is hoping that its international businesses will help to offset the pressure on earnings in its domestic market.

Deutsche Post chief Klaus Zumwinkel, however, warned last week that the opening up of the letter delivery service could endanger up to 32,000 jobs.

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TNT Express generates fast growth in Russia

Posted by | Apr 25, 2007 | |

TNT Express achieved strong growth in Russia last year and following its network expansion increased its business by 35%.

TNT Express Russia announced that it undertook 1.5 million shipments in 2006. Domestic volumes, which grew faster than international volumes, currently account for 40% of total deliveries and grew by 40% last year.

International items accounted for 60% of shipments, but by less, up 20% when compared with last year. Special services, offering business solutions for individual clients, increased significantly growing by 60%.

The number of employees increased last year by 20% to more than 500, while the vehicle fleet was expanded by 30%. The number of corporate customers almost doubled.

TNT Express Russia further expanded its regional network and opened new branches across the country. New air routes were established between Kaunas (Lithuania) and St. Petersburg in response to rising volumes and to speed up the rate of delivery.

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Adam Crozier calls for more efficiency

Posted by | Apr 25, 2007 | |

Adam Crozier spoke to Jeff Randall on BBC 5 Live on Sunday night about the changes at Royal Mail in more recent years.

He said that Royal Mail had suffered from lack of investment by previous governments and that meant they were technically lagging behind as well as not being as efficient as they need to be.

However he said there was no point in dwelling on what should or should not have been done and they needed to get on with the job of modernisation and providing an efficient service. He said that Royal Mail is bringing in new products to widen the scope of the services they provide and to help Post Offices but 14,000 are private businesses and far too many are creating massive losses for Royal Mail.

On High Street closures he said that many of them have very high rents and are unsustainable. Money saved by transferring service to WH Smith can be spent on other crown post offices.

Crozier said automation was really the key to efficiency as many posties are presently spending 40% of their time sorting.

On pay, he said postal workers are currently paid 25%-30% more than competition. All Royal Mail directors are also having a pay freeze this year.

He believes that business is likely to benefit from deregulation but domestic customers are unlikely to benefit and in the longer term prices would have to rise to meet the cost of the service. However, they are achieving most targets set and Special Deliveries achieve a 99% next day delivery figure.

Postcomm said that they think regulation has been fair and that Royal Mail has made huge strides.

Howard Webber (Postwatch) said they would be concerned if the cost of stamps rose any more and that reliability and security was the most important factor to customers. He said the quality of service has improved significantly over the last three or four years.

Nick Wells of TNT Post said he did not see the present market situation as ‘cherry picking’ Royal Mail business and instead referred to VAT which he said was a stumbling block. Currently Royal Mail is exempt from charging it but TNT have to charge VAT to their customers.

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Adam Crozier calls for more efficiency

Posted by | Apr 24, 2007 | |

Adam Crozier spoke to Jeff Randall on BBC 5 Live on Sunday night about the changes at Royal Mail in more recent years.

He said that Royal Mail had suffered from lack of investment by previous governments and that meant they were technically lagging behind as well as not being as efficient as they need to be.

However he said there was no point in dwelling on what should or should not have been done and they needed to get on with the job of modernisation and providing an efficient service. He said that Royal Mail is bringing in new products to widen the scope of the services they provide and to help Post Offices but 14,000 are private businesses and far too many are creating massive losses for Royal Mail.

On High Street closures he said that many of them have very high rents and are unsustainable. Money saved by transferring service to WH Smith can be spent on other crown post offices.

One postman asked how much more efficient can a postman be? Crozier said automation was really the key to efficiency as many posties are presently spending 40% of their time sorting.

On pay, he said it was clearly a difficult time for Royal Mail and it needed to be competitive. Postal workers are currently paid 25%-30% more than competition. All Royal Mail directors are also having a pay freeze this year and that finding a way to reward workers for being efficient is something they are trying to organise. If not, they will lose more business and more jobs.

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trans-o-flex signs up Iberian partner

Posted by | Apr 24, 2007 | |

German express group trans-o-flex announced that it has recruited a partner in Spain and Portugal for its Eurodis network – the family-owned, Madrid-based logistics business, Redur.

Redur, headquartered in Algete, near Madrid, started delivering trans-o-flex shipments to Spain and Portugal earlier this month and will also cover the Balearic and Canary Islands.

The Spanish company, which had revenues of over EUR 140 million last year, has a 450,000 sqm logistics centre at Algete and a further 48 network locations and 14 warehouses.

Founded in 1967, it has a fleet of over 1,000 vehicles and 1,600 employees, and transports parcels and pallets, priding itself on its IT competence and offering tailormade solutions, said trans-o-flex in a statement.

“These factors, plus the high priority placed on quality, make Redur ideal for a partnership with us,” says Klaus J. Heinz, trans-o-flex CEO.

“We only want the most reliable partners in our EURODIS network – that’s how we can ensure that our services are offered throughout Europe at a consistent level of quality.”

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