Evaluating the Impact of a Full Market Opening on Swiss Post PWC.pdf
Evaluating the Impact of a Full Market Opening on Swiss Post PWC.pdf
Read MoreTag: Europe
Where winners are fast rather than large
Few industries are more exposed to the forces of globalisation than logistics. As supply chains are stretched across oceans and continents, manufacturers and retailers are increasingly looking for logistics partners with international capabilities.
By far the biggest deal was Deutsche Post’s GBP3.7bn takeover of Exel, the UK-based logistics group, in 2005. Others included the USD1.1bn merger of Deutsche Bahn, the German rail operator, and Bax Global, the logistics arm of US-based Brink’s. Another was the EUR490m acquisition of Paris-based ACR Logistics by Kuhne & Nagel of Switzerland.
John Allan, chief executive of DHL Logistics says consolidation is likely to continue. He points out that the world’s top 10 freight forwarding companies command less than 40 per cent of the global market.
Deutsche Post’s takeover of Exel accelerated its transformation from a German mail and express delivery group into a global freight and logistics giant.
Mr Allan says DHL is already reaping the rewards of the increased scale and capabilities provided by Exel.
DHL is not the only express delivery group expanding into other supply chain services. UPS has invested more than USD2bn in about 30 acquisitions over recent years – most of them involving freight and logistics businesses.
FedEx, UPS’s biggest US rival, has a large road freight operation and is keen to expand its ocean freight-forwarding capabilities.
The most decisive rejection of diversification has come from TNT of the Netherlands, which sold its logistics and freight forwarding operations last year to refocus on mail and express delivery.
Read MorePoste Italiane to become MVNO (mobile virtual network operator)
The Italian Post Office (Poste Italiane) announced today its plan to become a mobile virtual network operator.
Thanks to its network of more than 14.000 shops, the post office can easily reach every Italian citizen at ‘walking distance’ to sell its services. Being the market leader in payment service, it also plans to offer a whole range of mobile-based payment services.
Poste Italiane’s managing director Massimo Sarmi said negotiations with MNOs are still going on and he gave no precise timeframe about the initial availability of the service.
Sarmi also said the company hopes to reach 2 m mobile customers by 2011.
Read MoreGlos says Germany will stick to plans to end Deutsche Post mail monopoly
Economy Minister Michael Glos said Germany is sticking to its plans to end Deutsche Post AG’s monopoly on mail delivery operations by the end of this year.
Glos’ comments came amidst calls by Social Democratic politicians and trade unions to allow Deutsche Post to keep its monopoly on the grounds that other European countries have not yet made any significant moves to liberalise their own postal services.
Deutsche Post still enjoys the monopoly of delivering mails weighing less than 50 grams.
‘We need open postal markets. That is an advantage for consumers,’ he said in a speech at an international cartel conference.
Glos said the oft-touted scenario of ‘an invasion of foreign postal firms in the German market is not a realistic threat’.
Read MorePoste Italiane plans cellphone service
Poste Italiane said Monday that it would begin selling mobile phone services by the end of the year as it aims for a slice of one of the world’s most lucrative, yet saturated, markets.
Poste Italiane, which plans to sell the services in partnership with one of the country’s four existing cellphone operators, will pay a fee to use their infrastructure as it sets up what is known as a mobile virtual network operator. The company aims to have two million clients five years after the service has been introduced, the Poste chief executive, Massimo Sarmi, said at a presentation. He declined to say which of the existing Italian operators he expected to sign the accord.
To grab new clients, Poste plans to leverage its 14,000 branches, which reach into every corner of Italy, Sarmi said. About 1.5 million people enter an Italian post office every day, and the company has a successful banking business with 20 million clients – holders of bank accounts, credit cards or prepaid cards that could be directly linked to pay for cellphone services.
Virtual operators have existed in the United States and Europe for several years, including Virgin Mobile in Britain, Yoigo in Spain and Beyond Mobile in the United States. But most have failed to make a significant impact on the market. The two exceptions are Denmark and Germany, where virtual operators like Debitel have carved out more than 20 percent of the market, according to a Poste Italiane document.
Poste Italiane also said Monday that 2006 net income almost doubled to EUR676 million, or USD900 million, from EUR349 million, while sales rose EUR600 million, or 3.5 percent, to EUR17.1 billion.
Read MorePost & 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.